I have this issue big time, I can drop the racquet on edge like a pro without the ball but once that little yellow ball is tossed the racquet face opens up.
You say go slow with the drop to feel it without the ball but once we toss the ball we need to speed up in order to make contact and that’s where it gets messy.
I will follow this protocol but I suspect it will be a long battle.
Do you loose the grip completely to let the racket drop between the thumb and index finger as you demonstrate in the video, or is this an exaggeration?
The loosening is an exaggeration but in reality that is the direction of the racket drop. Note that I never loosen the grip that much so that there would be space between my hand and the handle.
There is never any space no matter how loose I hold the racket.
Because when the face of the racket is open the arm is straining, it’s not going through natural movements. When we accelerate upwards on the edge, the arm is moving naturally, comfortably and therefore it accelerates faster hence we can hit faster serves with better control.
A bit more nerdy answer is also that it will go through supination first (when on edge) which will make transitioning to pronation much easier, more natural and effortless.
Yes, it all makes sense now. Thanks Tomaz! Your attached video is the first video I have seen of yours and one of the most enlightening in my opinion. I thought that the continental grip would be sufficient to correct the linear swing path but clearly we must learn to trust our body to do what it knows best during the acceleration/deceleration part of the serve
Yes, actually the most important and effective drills to correct the waiter’s tray position are pronation drills.
The player opens up the racket face into waiter because they don’t trust that the racket face will align correctly on the ball a few hundredths of a second before contact even though it was approaching the ball initially on the edge.
I recently posted this Youtube short of my favorite pronation drill which is not included in the above video but it’s a good one to start the session with:
17 Comments
Tomaz
October 2, 2022Here’s the link to the public video article on how to correct the “waiter’s serve”: https://www.feeltennis.net/correcting-the-waiters-serve/
Gordon Miller
November 23, 2022Excellent video. I am guilty of waiter serve. Ideas presented here will help immensely. I like also the stance used by the student.
Mike Cappuccio
March 8, 2023I have this issue big time, I can drop the racquet on edge like a pro without the ball but once that little yellow ball is tossed the racquet face opens up.
You say go slow with the drop to feel it without the ball but once we toss the ball we need to speed up in order to make contact and that’s where it gets messy.
I will follow this protocol but I suspect it will be a long battle.
Michael in the UK
March 21, 2023Hello Tomaz….Thank you for adding this case study Into the course site.
Tomaz
March 21, 2023You’re welcome, Michael.
More to come now that my coaching season has started…
Dan
May 6, 2023Do you loose the grip completely to let the racket drop between the thumb and index finger as you demonstrate in the video, or is this an exaggeration?
Tomaz
May 9, 2023The loosening is an exaggeration but in reality that is the direction of the racket drop. Note that I never loosen the grip that much so that there would be space between my hand and the handle.
There is never any space no matter how loose I hold the racket.
Dan
May 6, 2023Interesting that very few of the top seeds don’t open their racket very early on the drop
Dan
May 9, 2023What is the reason you teach an on edge drop rather than open face?
Tomaz
May 9, 2023Because when the face of the racket is open the arm is straining, it’s not going through natural movements. When we accelerate upwards on the edge, the arm is moving naturally, comfortably and therefore it accelerates faster hence we can hit faster serves with better control.
A bit more nerdy answer is also that it will go through supination first (when on edge) which will make transitioning to pronation much easier, more natural and effortless.
Check also these video articles:
https://www.feeltennis.net/why-serve-difficult/
https://www.feeltennis.net/serve-pronation-clarified/
Dan
May 9, 2023I was actually referring to when the racket goes from trophy to drop rather than from full drop to contact
Tomaz
May 9, 2023Same idea, as soon as the wrist is laid back and you accelerate the arm through the loop it is straining and slowing down the movement.
Dan
May 9, 2023Thank you
Anonymous
December 3, 2023Why does the waiter’s tray serve happen in the first place?
Tomaz
December 3, 2023Good question, short answer is that because it makes logical and intuitive sense to hit the ball by aligning the strings towards it.
Here’s a longer video article on the same topic, let me know if it answers the question: https://www.feeltennis.net/why-serve-difficult/
Avishek Biswas
December 4, 2023Yes, it all makes sense now. Thanks Tomaz! Your attached video is the first video I have seen of yours and one of the most enlightening in my opinion. I thought that the continental grip would be sufficient to correct the linear swing path but clearly we must learn to trust our body to do what it knows best during the acceleration/deceleration part of the serve
Tomaz
December 5, 2023Yes, actually the most important and effective drills to correct the waiter’s tray position are pronation drills.
The player opens up the racket face into waiter because they don’t trust that the racket face will align correctly on the ball a few hundredths of a second before contact even though it was approaching the ball initially on the edge.
So that trust develops only over time doing pronation progressions: https://member.feeltennis.net/serveunlocked/serve-biomechanics/pronation-progressions/
I recently posted this Youtube short of my favorite pronation drill which is not included in the above video but it’s a good one to start the session with:
https://youtube.com/shorts/xI7nvHLqZNY