Having Pain With Tennis Serve? Movement Analysis Can Help
The tennis serve is one of the most demanding movements in sports. It requires the legs, trunk, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and racket to work together in a precisely timed sequence.
When one part of this kinetic chain does not contribute efficiently, another area may compensate. This can reduce serve speed and place additional stress on the shoulder, elbow, wrist or lower back.
The Eight Stages of the Tennis Serve
Dr. Mark Kovacs and Dr. Todd Ellenbecker developed an eight-stage model to provide a tennis-specific framework for evaluating the entire service motion:
Start: Establishing the stance, balance, grip, and starting position.
Release: The ball leaves the tossing hand as the racket begins its movement.
Loading: The knees bend, the trunk coils, and the body stores energy.
Cocking: The legs drive the body upward while the racket moves behind the body.
Acceleration: Energy travels from the ground through the trunk, shoulder, arm, and racket.
Contact: The racket contacts the ball at the optimal height and position.
Deceleration: The body begins absorbing the large forces as arm and racket go into long axis rotation.
Finish: The player completes the follow-through and regains balance for the next shot.
Each stage builds upon the one before it. For example, limited leg drive or trunk rotation during the loading phase may require the shoulder and arm to work harder during acceleration.
How Can Movement Analysis Help?
Serve-related pain does not always begin at the painful body part. Elbow pain may be influenced by late contact, excessive wrist action, limited trunk rotation, or insufficient contribution from the legs. Shoulder pain may be associated with the timing of the racket drop, trunk position, or contact point.
Serve motion happens so fast that our human eyes won’t catch most of the details. But a slow-motion video allows the serve to be reviewed one stage at a time. This can help identify:
Breakdowns in timing or coordination
Limited contribution from the legs or trunk
An inconsistent ball toss or contact point
Positions that may increase stress on the shoulder, elbow, or back
Opportunities to improve force transfer and racket speed
Video findings should be combined with a physical assessment of mobility, strength, power, and pain—not treated as a diagnosis by themselves. There is also no single “perfect” serve that every player must copy. The goal is to determine whether a player’s technique, physical capacity, and serving workload are working together effectively.
From Analysis to a Better Serve
Once potential movement limitations are identified, the player can follow a targeted plan that may include mobility work, progressive strengthening, power development, workload modification, and tennis-specific drills. Follow-up video can then show whether the movement has changed and whether those changes improve comfort, consistency, or performance.
At Courtlete Sports Rehab & Performance, we combine slow-motion serve analysis with a comprehensive physical assessment. This allows us to look beyond the painful area, understand how your entire body contributes to the serve, and develop an individualized plan to help you serve with greater comfort, efficiency, and confidence. Book a free discovery call to find out more!
This article is intended for general education and does not replace an individualized medical or biomechanical evaluation.
Reference
Kovacs M, Ellenbecker T. An 8-stage model for evaluating the tennis serve: Implications for performance enhancement and injury prevention. Sports Health. 2011;3(6):504–513. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738111414175
