The Saccadic Tracking Loop
“Watch the ball” isn’t as simple as it sounds. When an object’s motion is sufficiently fast, it’s actually impossible for the eye to smoothly track that object throughout its entire flight path. Instead, the...
“Watch the ball” isn’t as simple as it sounds. When an object’s motion is sufficiently fast, it’s actually impossible for the eye to smoothly track that object throughout its entire flight path. Instead, the...
“Keep your eye on the ball,” is good advice for a 5-year-old. It is a rough, approximate instruction. When analyzed with a 5-year-old’s level of understanding, it accurately describes the role the eye is...
I know, I know. The way Federer watches the ball is beautiful. It’s elegant, it’s graceful, and it looks really, really good in slow motion. But it is not the way every player should...
There’s a lot that goes into athletic movement, but the basic idea is pretty simple – the more muscle you can recruit to help you move and balance, the more athletic you’re going to...
You’re 5’ 9’’, 140 lbs (1.79m, 64kg), and female. How hard can you serve? Answer: at least 124 mph (200 km/h), because that’s how fast the rocket Coco Gauff threw down in her third...
When you watch professional players return serve, they rarely look rushed, and when a player hits heavy spin at them, they never look bothered. There’s a clip from an exhibition tournament were Federer requests...
There’s one defining aspects of Carlos Alcaraz’s world class forehand that often gets overlooked – generous use of gravity. Carlos’s unique mechanics are precisely the result of this technical decision, so let’s dive in...
The calendar just switched over to April, and I’d like to christen the new month by recapping the technical underpinnings behind a perfect forehand. Before we start, a quick word of warning: Don’t click...
The “buggy whip forehand.” The “reverse forehand.” The “over the head follow-through.” It goes by many names, but my favorite pays homage to the first man to really abuse it on the pro tour...
I get this question a lot: If I’m trying to master the modern forehand, who should I emulate? Look no further than 2022 Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime. We always talk about how the optimal...