The giant American has a style of his own, but his power and consistency make himone of the best servers in the men’s game Reilly Opelka’s serve Frame byframe
1 While Reilly’s stance at the start of his service action shows that he has his weight on his back leg, his upper body is acting as a counter-balance and therefore his weight is central. Because his back leg is already bent, he does not have to rock or take his weight backwards: he can immediately bring the back leg in to drive up
2 An interesting point to note in this that the two arms are not initially synchronised. Following Reilly’s ball toss, his left arm is up in the air long before the right arm goes up. You can also see here how his right leg has drawn in. He has a very deep knee bend fromwhich to drive upwards second photograph of the sequence is
3 It is here that the right arm catches up with the left. He is now well balanced to strike up and forward. One of the keys to his serve being consistent is how well his left arm stays up after the ball toss. Both heels are off the ground and he is in perfect symmetry to launch the serve. At this stage of the action this is an excellent position
One important point that all players and coaches should remember is that you should never alter a stroke purely for aesthetic reasons. The change has to be because it leads to a more effective outcome. Underneath the sixth photograph here I have suggested a possible modification that might bring a benefit in terms of Reilly’s service speed. However, I would only suggest this as an experiment. The only way to find out if an alteration improves a shot or not is to try it, because each individual has a unique style of their own Experimentation is the best way to develop a player’s serve
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