I’d never heard the term “unweight before the service return” before
going to Kansas City. I watched a kid (no idea now who he was) jump
about a foot off the ground before receiving serve. Exaggerated, probably
a useless “vertical jump,” but it was the moment I realized, “Hey, I’m not
teaching that correctly.”
To this day I watch many returners stand flat-footed before the serve.Pros often still don’t teach the “left, right, split, and hop” technique,
essential for quickness on the return. Yet all good players do it, most
having learned on their own, out of necessity.
Borg “unweighted” after every ground stroke. Women do this better
than men.
One of the things I learned watching Chris Evert at 15 years old in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was that a good early backswing made
one quicker. I don’t know why, but it’s true.