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Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction

Jim McLennan | Tennis Instructor

Tennis Videos, Tennis Tips, Tennis Lessons, Tennis Podcast

sports & recreation professional

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Elbows on Court

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/09/26

Perhaps the most important element in the game is to PREPARE But for sure there can be many ways to turn and get ready My childhood coach, Blackie Jones (pictured at the left) at Acalanes High School in Lafayette California taught me to line up for the ball by pointing the bones in my […]

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Tom Stow Introduction

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/09/18

We hosted a USPTA sponsored specialty course at Fremont Hills, Sunday November 4th from 1 to 5pm. Four prominent local tennis professionals shared their experiences with, and teaching methods derived from their lessons with Tom Stow. The following pages can be used as reference material for the specialty course, and hopefully will also provide interesting […]

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Bianca Andreescu – “She plays different than other...

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/09/12

Bianca the problem solver. Belinda Bencic on Bianca Andreescu: “She won Indian Wells, Toronto, she’s final here. I’m not very surprised about this. She has put together great results. For me it’s not a surprise. I think she’s a very smart player on the court, plays different than other players. That’s why she’s good.” Her […]

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Our Game is Played in a Box

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/08/31

Yes I am a tennis nut – and have played taught and studied the game for a long time I am now believing that the single most misunderstood element of the game has to do with court position and shot selection. Said more clearly, players have more options when moving forward and fewer options when […]

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Djokovic – Prepared in Time with the Bounce – the...

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/08/12

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey- perhaps the best tennis book… He described multitasking and mindfulness in the 1970’s before either term was popularly used Gallweys idea was to focus totally on the ball, and that any thoughts on how to hit the ball would interfere with the shot Minimalism – classically so Tom Stow was […]

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Fire the Extensors (when serving) !!

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/07/19

Having lunch with the famous Vic Braden at a USPTA conference in Carmel Valley 1989, someone walked by and asked Vic to give a tip on the serve, to which he (famously) replied, “FIRE THE EXTENSORS BABY” It may be that Vic called many “baby” but the memory has stayed with me. As regards extensors, […]

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Federer – Sequential Elements on the Serve

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/06/25

Allow the tossing arm to rotate back (not out in front) to move the weight into a balanced position The most common problem occurs when players shift their weight forward doing the tossing action Federer releases the ball at eye level […]

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Federer – the back foot – and the Scissor Kick Overhead

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/06/01

For the scissor kick overhead, the player drifts back, pushes off and up strongly from the back foot A tricky maneuver but very helpful for players who lose their balance forward when serving. Similarly, Federer keeps his weight back on the serve, even dropping his back hip and shoulder Then he pushes up, his hip […]

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Tennis Jujutsu – it not always “GO BIG OR GO HOME”

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/05/16

The martial art form “Jujutsu” involves manipulating the opponent’s force against themselves. Phrases that arise include flexible, pliable or yielding. I see so much of this in Federer’s game. Especially his low, short skidding slice. Yet somehow I find a lot of the material on the internet is about bigger shots, more power, more spin, with very […]

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The Underspin Backhand – Rosewall to Federer

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/04/19

The one handed under spin backhand can be a weapon Ken Rosewall drove his nearly flat under spin backhand with ruthless precision to the corners of the court. “Muscles” as he was called. Steffi Graf knifed her under spin backhand, keeping the ball low to ultimately open up the court for her dominating forehand. And […]

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Steps to a Half Volley like Federer

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/04/06

Photos courtesy Jim Fawcette ©jfawcette Federer astounds on the half volley He makes the most difficult of shots appear simple And this has nothing to do with so-called NO MAN’S LAND, for certainly the ball can land at your feet no matter where you are positioned. Want some simple keys to improving your half volley? […]

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Serving with your Wrist in a Cast

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/03/21

This is perhaps a “thought” piece For certainly some will push the serve, some will snap the wrist (impossible with a cast on) and some will rotate their forearm. At this point – I believe all methods work. This one, for better or worse, is far different. In my studies of the serve, and the […]

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The Live Arm

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/02/15

Overhand throwing might be a lost art Whether male or female, adult or junior – some throw much better than others. How come? Permit me a guess… Some whip the ball, and others use a subtle pushing motion And for better or worse those two types have similar serving actions Mike Krukow, former Major League […]

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Leg Kick on the Serve – What is yours?

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/02/04

There are many ways to play this game, many ways to hit the ball, and truly many ways to use your legs when serving. The USTA has an 8 stage model of the serve – which finishes with a pronounced back leg kick (featuring Andy Roddick, the previous model was Maria Sharapova) But what of […]

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John McEnroe – slo mo – the receivers point of view

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/01/16

Are there takeaways from this delivery that might help you (and I ) ? YES !! Observe his “dual leg drive” up and into the hit – by staying balanced and getting good use from his back foot he maximizes his leg drive Observe his head with reference to something behind him and note how […]

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Stan Wawrinka – a simple kick serve

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2019/01/07

Stan Wawrinka holds three Grand Slam titles – Australian Open, French Open and the US Open. He owns a brilliant backhand, heavy, penetrating, and truly dominating. But this article and video is about his serve – from a camera angle that shows simplicity. Including …… A pinpoint stance but where Stan gets entirely rebalanced after […]

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Federer – Up and Down – then Down and Up

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2018/11/10

The following five shot sequence identifies key elements within the serve (as demonstrated by the redoubtable Roger) but importantly – these elements are part and parcel of a fluid and effortless delivery And a definition – I am calling UP and Down the moment when the racquet head is UP and the body is DOWN […]

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Wall to the Ball

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2018/11/08

Both Roger Federer and Bianca Andreescu square the face to the incoming ball – though still moving forward they have both “aligned the wall to the ball.” Tom Stow often introduced the simplicity of the volley technique by using a stool or chair such that the […]

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USNews

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2018/11/06

40 years experience as a player teacher and student of the game foundational point of view students describes my approach as “brilliant simplicity” far far less sales pressure, deadlines and special offers more about content, and our relationship if you love the game you owe it to your self – check out Essential Tennis Instruction […]

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Federer – The Model Serve – and projects for you

Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction ·

2018/10/13

This magnificent picture was taken by my friend Jim Fawcette – shot at the Laver Cup in Chicago I want to highlight a number of aspects of his form captured in this photo And for sure […]

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Jim McLennan"s Essential Tennis Instruction

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