As Blackie Jones (my first coach) would ask of a student,"If there are two parts to the serve, being the toss and the swing, do you think it is better to swing at the toss, or toss into the swing?"

And as his lessons and demonstrations proceeded, we were schooled in the tempo, the technique, and the benefits for a toss that was low without being overly low, and this produced a motion that was rhythmic and flowing.

The post ETI 012 | Tossing into the Swing appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

Whether pitching, throwing footballs, unleashing your forehand, or unwinding on the overhead or the serve - your non dominant arm plays a very, very important role.

I have a daughter, and have never liked the term, "throwing like a girl."

That said, inexperienced as well as inexpert throwers let their non dominant arm hang at their side when throwing. And in that manner the throw is one sided.

But take a look at any throwing skill and you will see the non dominant arm coil with the wind up and uncoil prior to the throw/pitch/forehand/overhead or serve.

The post ETI 011 | The Non Dominant Arm appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

At the net put your forearm at net level and parallel to the net strap, with the racquet head at right angles to your forearm.

Now practice quickly turning your hand and wrist such that the racquet head snaps forcefully against the net strap.

Take your time, keep experimenting – and once this feels somewhat natural – toss up a few (rather than tossing down a few) and see how it feels on the serve.

You may be pleasantly surprised!

The post ETI 010 | The Pete Sampras Snap appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

If you want to hit the ball with less effort and more power, take a page from the baseball batter or the boxer - both wait with their body weight on the back foot before swinging the bat or delivering a punch.

Too often players pay too much attention to grips, swings, and spin without ever mastering their balance. And truly even the pitcher puts their back foot on the pitching rubber before hurling the pitch.

The post ETI 009 | Waiting and Weighting appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

"You are only as good as your second serve."

I know, I do write about this quite a lot, but I believe it - and in nearly every instance the statistics of the professional matches support the idea.

The match winner always wins more points on their second serve, and the match loser will always lose more points on their second serve.

The post ETI 008 | Pressuring the Second Serve appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

Watch the professional players who are adept at moving inside the baseline to finish the point. They will invariably make contact when the ball is well above the net, if not the absolute apex of the bounce.

And at this height (which is nearly always above the level of the net) the net is less an obstacle. In fact, in many instances it appears the stroke and follow through are almost level if not slightly down, that is they are driving the ball over the net but down and into the court.

The post ETI 007 | The top of the bounce appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

Tennis is a game of “UP.”

Suzanne Lenglen, French world champion in the 1920's, was trained by her father. And the story goes that they would have a tennis outing to a park in Paris, but, and this is an important but - they would play as long as she did not hit a single ball into the net. And the practice stopped (dead in its tracks) with her first netted error. Long, or wide and they continued, but the net was the obstacle to be avoided at all costs.

The post ETI 006 | Looking through the net appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

Holding your finish for just a moment clarifies your balance as well as the quality of your stroke and follow thru.

Further, this method has been used by so many famous coaches – Tom Stow, Robert Lansdorp and more. It will help you as well.

Stow remarked that if the stroke started correctly (balanced on the back foot with a compact but loose preparation) and finished correctly (weight shifted forward and arm well extended toward the target) then everything between the start and finish - meaning contact - would be just fine.

The post ETI 005 | Holding your finish appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

Many years ago, in my training with Tom Stow (I was in my early 20's and had already played 4 years of college tennis) he totally remade my game with constant reference to balance, to posture, to playing with less effort and more "conk."

Watching our very best players, you can see a similar poise, balance if you will. Federer is the acknowledged master of all this. But you too can start by working on how you carry your head.

As amusing (hopefully) as the drill in the video appears, see if you can see if you can perform your swings with a “ball on the hat.”.

The post ETI 004 | Balance – in the extreme appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

Push on the ground and the ground pushes back. This is somewhat a common phrase from mechanics and physics, but it dos take some explaining. Meaning if you were on thin ice and pushed on the ground, it would not push back but rather you would break through the ice.

Said another way, if you are on a bathroom scale and you drop and suddenly land you will be lighter when dropping but heavier when you land. And this down and up action adds to the power of the upward drive.

So when using the ground to create more topspin and more power, the key is how you push on the ground, and whether you can create an upward rotational movement.

The post ETI 003 | Corkscrewing – using your legs for topspin and power appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.