This is still "under construction" but will be a repository for items aimed at understanding pro, shot technique.
⬇︎ Milos Raonic has a great first serve, arguably the best ever ( Apologies to fans of Pete Sampras and John Isner. Personally, I'd pick Joachim "Pim Pim" Johansson, but that's another story). Unlike the composite of his serve on his page, I created this one from frames of 4K video to include more steps. Please click, then maximize your browser to best see his progression. This is a "platform" serve, ala his boyhood role model, Pete Sampras, and Fed. I've also included slow motion video of multiple Raonic serves including a contrast with John Isner's pinpoint serve.
Here are a pair of slow motion videos I took of Raonic serving to Djokovic at Indian Wells, both at 480 frame per second (or slowed 20X). Look closely at the ball in Milos' slice serve to the ad court and you can see the sidespin taking the ball away from and out of Djokovic's reach. Please click the box icon in the lower right of each embed video after launching to see full screen.
Here is a grid of several photos each exemplifying an aspect of pro technique. Much more to come later. Click any to enlarge. All images are mine except the small thumbnail of Shapovolov's backhand in the composite of backhand follow throughs, which is via Twitter.
Things you might look for: Nole's left hand; Milo's racket head pointing straight down at contact in "extreme flip"; Sock's right palm on forehand take back; Kirilenko's service grip; Sabine's live shoulder; Pete's coil and where his back is facing; Rafa's racket head path; 4 great backhands' follow throughs.
