More power, more accuracy: how to get there

Yitian Lou 15, he plays ITF tournaments, and his technique is already beautiful. But he was losing 20% of his serve power without knowing it – and running around his backhand the half way.

I spent a day at the Mouratoglou Academy on the French Riviera and took him through two things that change everything: how to actually run around the backhand so you gain time instead of losing it, and the two serve fundamentals almost every junior gets wrong: pronation, and throwing the racket instead of guiding it on the serve motion.

If you want more power on your serve and you want to hit as many forehands as possible, this whole session is for you.

What you’ll learn:
→ Why pros run around the backhand even when their backhand is better (the Andy Murray case)
→ The half-circle footwork: go around, then go FORWARD, not backwards
→ When to hit deep and when to open the angle after running around
→ Pronation on the flat serve: where your racket has to finish
→ Guiding vs throwing: the single biggest power leak in junior serves
→ Why your serve goes long (hint: it’s your contact height, not your power)

Chapters:

0:00 What you’ll learn in this session
0:36 Meeting the player
1:28 Why do all the pros run around the backhand?
2:04 The Andy Murray paradox
2:32 The real answer: vision and intention
3:01 The mistake: moving backwards on the forehand
3:19 The half-circle – go around, then step in 4:18 Drill: running around with your weight going forward
5:26 Two intentions: hit deep or open the angle 6:28 Open the court, then go down the line
7:14 The player’s level and background
7:45 Moving to the serve
8:15 Pronation: where your racket must finish
8:51 Feeling the pronation on the flat serve
9:57 Coach’s breakdown: slice finish vs pronation
10:59 Guiding the ball vs throwing the racket
11:57 The wrist is where the acceleration comes from
12:37 “Throw the racket – forget where the ball lands”
14:08 Why the ball goes long: contact point too low
15:26 Recap: pronation + throw, never guide
15:51 Final drill: finish with both arms around the body
16:38 Power first, precision later
17:58 Wrap-up

My stay at the Mouratoglou Academy was short but super intense — I saw a lot of players and filmed a lot of practice sessions. Subscribe so you don’t miss the next ones.

Which of these two mistakes do you make? Tell me in the comments.

#tennis #tennisserve #tenniscoach #tennistips #mouratoglou #tennistraining #serve #forehand #itf #juniortennis

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THE COACH
Patrick