Selected Mechanics: Fashion or Function?

In the continual evolution of my tennis mechanics from (originally) 1960s-era technique to modern mechanics (and there have been many, many cycles of evolution), I have often pondered the question of what is really a fundamental change versus what is merely a current style.

Sampras:
Left (non-dominant) toe
raised during start of serve.
Not necessary; don't imitate.

An obvious example of a stylish change that was very popular a decade ago or so was imitators of
Pete Sampras' habit of lifting his left-foot toes as he began his service motion. There is a whole generation of players who lift the toes of their non-dominant foot as they begin their serve, and yet this technique absolutely adds no benefit to the serve.

In fact, if anything, this toe-raising style increases the risk of a mis-location in the forward part of the serve, which thereby increases the risk of a foot fault. Of course, this isn't an issue at club-level play, but if a player rises to higher levels of competition, this foot-fault risk becomes more problematic.

Laver's old-school footwork.
Non-dominant food on court
behind the baseline, dominant
leg swinging forward at
impact.

Okay, so this imitating-Pete-Sampras'-serve toe raise is a clear example of technique fashion and not function.

There are many other examples that are not so clear cut. Let's look at a few:

1. Jump serve with landing on non-dominant leg, dominant leg kicked backward:
First a bit of history.... In about 1961 the rules of tennis were changed to allow a server to jump while serving. Prior to that, the server was required to keep a foot on the ground until the ball was struck. As a result of this old rule, servers kept their non-dominant foot on the court surface behind the baseline, and swung their dominant leg forward, stepping into the court first with that dominant leg.

This landing-on-dominant-leg serving technique persisted well beyond the rule change. This was due in part to players having learned under the old rule, and if they were aware of the rule change at all, still saw no reason to mess with their existing technique. Also, new post-rule-change players were watching the masters such as Rod Laver et al, and imitated them.

Fed's modern post-serve-footwork landing. A jump serve
landing on the non-dominant foot but with the dominant
leg kicked vigorously backward.

Enter the full adoption of the jump serve. Most players are landing on their non-dominant foot. However, some have a dominant leg that is rather inactive or moving around and forward during the serve; others kick their dominant leg back rather aggressively. It is the latter technique that is currently taught most frequently and by the pros who are in the know. Fashion or function?

On this one, I suggest this technique has some real benefit. Although I've not seen any explanation of the reason for the technique, I suspect that it has to do with conservation of rotational inertia. As the hips and then shoulders rotate up and forward into the ball, the counter motion of the dominant leg probably facilitates greater racquet speed toward impact with the ball.

2. Forehand-groundstroke follow througjh:
Over the shoulder versus windshield-wiper aroung the upper body? Well, I covered this in my previous article, didn't I? So a re-hash isn't necessary here; just take a look at that one if you haven't already read it.

John Bromwich, who
retired as a touring pro
in 1954, and his two-
handed backhand

3. Semi-western versus eastern forehand grip:
The semi-western grip is most frequently taught. Yet Roger Federer is doing pretty well with his eastern grip -- having one of the best forehands in the game. In my opinion, this issue is more fashion than fundamental.

4. One-handed versus two-handed backhand:
When I was learning the game in the late 1960s, everyone advised against the two hander because "it limited one's ability to return balls hit wide to the backhand." Well maybe that's slightly true, but the benefits waaaaaaay outweight the drawbacks in my humble opinion. But anyway, at this time, I believe that the complete player has two backhands: the flat or topspin two hander, and the sliced one hander. It takes exceptional talent and incredible practice time to be as consistent and effective with a one-handed-topspin backhand. The current resurgence of the one-handed-topspin backhand is more style than substance in the sense that many players will be far ahead to use two hands for backhand topspin.

5. The racquet-up, hand-mirror forehand take back:

Hand-mirror take back:
fashion, not fundamental

In addition to today's commonly-taught semi-western forehand grip, the forehand take back is usually taught to have the racquet pointed upward and with the non-ball-striking face pointed toward the player's face as though she's holding a hand mirror and admiring their own visage. Then the racquet loops down and in to initiate the forward stroke.

So.... is it necessary to use the hand-mirror technique when making the forehand backswing? In my opinion this is more fashion than fundamental. The real issue is whether one is maintaining racquet momentum and, more importantly, having the racquet face in the proper orientation as the forward stroke begins. It is certainly not necessary to use the hand-mirror take back to accomplish these two objectives, although the hand-mirror take back may, to some degree, facilitate the desireable forward-stroke technique.

There you have it: some food for thought.

Have fun. Be healthy. Play tennis!