A year ago I commented that Coco had the yips on her serve and forehand. It was doubtful to me the a new grip was the answer to her serving woes. A year later “grip guy” is gone and I expect she will find another guru to get her through the Open. But the yips aren’t that easily cured. Ask any golfer who can’t make a 3ft putt or pitcher who can no longer find the plate. If I were advising her I’d keep it really simple. Take some pressure off your second serve by getting a higher percentage of first serves in. Sounds pretty obvious but I don’t see her doing it. She doesn’t need 125mph first serves to win. Slow the first serve down to a speed where it’s always going to go in and save the big serve for the most important points. That’s what Bill Tilden did and many consider him the greatest server of all time. The next thing is that her swing on her second serves to needs to be harder than on the first. But it should be behind her head and with much more spin. If you have the yips trying to hit a 3/4 speed second serve is almost impossible. If you are swinging as hard as you can the nerves go away. Coco is such a wonderful athlete and person that it would be a shame for her career to stall because she can’t make a second serve.
Somehow the coaches akways take the fall but when do players take the responsibility?
A year ago I commented that Coco had the yips on her serve and forehand. It was doubtful to me the a new grip was the answer to her serving woes. A year later “grip guy” is gone and I expect she will find another guru to get her through the Open. But the yips aren’t that easily cured. Ask any golfer who can’t make a 3ft putt or pitcher who can no longer find the plate. If I were advising her I’d keep it really simple. Take some pressure off your second serve by getting a higher percentage of first serves in. Sounds pretty obvious but I don’t see her doing it. She doesn’t need 125mph first serves to win. Slow the first serve down to a speed where it’s always going to go in and save the big serve for the most important points. That’s what Bill Tilden did and many consider him the greatest server of all time. The next thing is that her swing on her second serves to needs to be harder than on the first. But it should be behind her head and with much more spin. If you have the yips trying to hit a 3/4 speed second serve is almost impossible. If you are swinging as hard as you can the nerves go away. Coco is such a wonderful athlete and person that it would be a shame for her career to stall because she can’t make a second serve.