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The 'Waiter's Tray' Mistake and How to Fix It

By Jeff Counts (Hi-Tech Tennis) · Hi-Tech Tennis 240 FPS Optical Archive · Original Lesson ↗


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240 FPS Optical Kinematic Checkpoints

Camera & Framing
240 FPS High-Speed Shutter (1/2000s) · Side / 45° Oblique Plane
Kinematic Trigger
Sequential kinetic chain uncoiling from ground reaction to terminal impact
Angular Velocity
Internal shoulder rotation & forearm pronation peaking at contact plane
Jeff Counts (Hi-Tech Tennis) Analysis Note: Professional strokes maintain head and eye stability for 2–3 frames (approx. 12ms) through impact, ensuring absolute repeatability without compensatory wrist manipulation.

An extremely common technial error people make on their first serve is to open up the racket face too soon on the upswing. Andre's position in both frames is known as the "waiter's tray" position because it resembles how a waiter carries a tray on the palm of his hand.

Instead of the "waiter's tray" position, Andre needs to get in the "Big L" where the butt cap of the racket points to the net and the strings face the side fence (not up to the sky). This will allow him to get the twising motion - what we call pronation - that gets the racket to travel fast into contact.

Andre's body position is excellent in this sequence. In fact, his body position looks identical to Nalbandian's. But his racket orientation will undermine his ability to pronate into the ball properly.