Serve: The finish doesn't matter
Why the racket shouldn't swing across your body right after contact.
Many players are taught to finish the serve with the racket swinging across the body towards the opposite leg. Martin Baroch considers this dangerous advice: that finishing position is pure relaxation and has nothing to do with the ball any more.
Summary by The Strong Baseline. Original article: The most dangerous coaching advice towards stroke production – Serve (1) by Dr. Martin G. Baroch on cpta-tennis.org.
What counts is the moment right after contact. With the best servers, the arm keeps working towards the target for a while, the forearm turns inwards (pronation) and the elbow stays far away from the upper body.
Key point: Let your arm keep working towards the target after contact – where the racket ends up is secondary.
