Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

 To Snap or Pronate, Which is Best?  There are two theories on how to hit a serve.   There are people who believe that “Snapping” the wrist is the best way and others who believe that “Pronating” is the best method of serving. The difference between the two options is difficult to detect visually. When you Snap the wrist to execute the serve the racquet-head tends to finish with the tip leading and the right and left edges going through contact almost symmetrically. When you Pronate to hit the serve the left edge (in the case of a right-hander) tends to lead the racquet through the ball. For me, both styles do the same thing when executed correctly. Both Snapping and Pronating, when done correctly, promote a wrist that dominates the arm during the serve. Whenever the arm dominates the wrist during the serve the result will be a serve lacking feel for your target and reduced racquet-head speed. A dominant wrist that Snaps or Pronates will give the serv...

I recently worked with a group of strong ITF-level juniors. Each player had a solid game; the task for me was to take these accomplished juniors and prepare them for the next tournament. Because ground strokes are essential to a player’s competitive success, I focused on adding to their existing ground stroke games.   Many players at this level have good ground strokes but lack that X-factor separating promising juniors from juniors who transition successfully into the professional ranks. I wanted to remove them from their "consistent, safety first" mindset and add some "X-Factor" to their games. During the week of training, I brought 3 different teaching theories together. I created a much stronger, more effective game that would continue to develop far into the future. The 3 Theories I worked with them on were:      1.  THE 7 TARGET ZONES: Knowing where to hit the Ball and Why There are 7 target zones on the court. They are… (1) ...