Mark Philippoussis uses excellent preparation and an explosive swing to hit his powerful overhead.

THE SETUP

GRIP:
Just as with a serve, Philippoussis holds his racquet with the Continental grip. This allows him to pronate his forearm and snap his wrist for maximum racquet-head acceleration and power. It’s also the grip he uses on his volleys, which is convenient since after contact on the overhead he will close in on the net.

LEFT ARM:
Philippoussis fully extends his non-hitting arm to help sight the ball. Although he won’t have to move much for this overhead, by pointing to the incoming lob his eyes stay glued to the ball and his body stays underneath it until the moment he starts his swing.

HIPS:
The first thing a player should do once he realizes he’s going to hit an overhead is turn his body sideways to the net. Philippoussis has done this, and it will allow him to create added power by rotating his torso and hips (not just his arm) into the shot.

RIGHT ELBOW:
Philippoussis has his right elbow at a nice distance and angle from his body. Notice the nearly perfect alignment that runs from his elbow to his left arm. This is the kind of setup you want on an overhead. It keeps the body balanced and will result in a smooth and powerful swing.

FEET:
Since this overhead is a fairly easy one, Philippoussis has his feet firmly planted in a wide stance with his weight evenly distributed. His front foot is pointed forward and his back foot is parallel to the net for balance. If the lob were deeper, Philippoussis’ feet would be in motion, retreating back for the ball.

THE SMASH

WRIST:
In order to close the racquet face at impact, Philippoussis has to pronate his wrist and forearm. The wrist is in perfect alignment with the racquet face and the hitting arm. If you want an explosive overhead, you need a loose and flexible wrist.

HEAD:
Although his racquet is moving at a high speed at this instant, Philippoussis keeps his head relatively still. It’s common for players to swing with such force that they yank their heads down or take their eyes off the ball, which can cause an errant shot.

RIGHT HIP:
Philippoussis was sideways during preparation; now he’s rotating into the shot as his back hip comes through. Players who use the whole body on the overhead like this are less likely to miss it when the match is close and they get a little tight.

LEFT ARM:
Philippoussis pulls his left arm and shoulder down to allow his hitting arm and racquet to come through. This tilting of the body will give him more leverage on his swing. His right shoulder will then come over the left, again just like on a serve.

RIGHT FOOT:
With his right heel well off the court, Philippoussis is transferring his momentum forward and into the shot. This will help give the ball added pace. Most of his weight and balance is now on his left foot, which is planted and stabilizing his body.

Article by Dennis Van Der Meer, Photos by Danny Moloshok, Michael Steele – Tennis.com