What are you thinking about when you serve?

[Cindysphinx]

I'm struggling to find a consistent thing to think about when I serve. Toss location? Toss height? Spin? Pace? Placement? Weight transfer? S&V? Stay loose? Something else?

When you step up to serve, are you thinking of all of these things, or is there one thing you think to yourself that seems to work?

[spadesss]

i tried not to think or over think.
just do it.
i have an idea or gameplan such as "my serve down the middle is better at ad court so i go there more often" or my opponent has a weak back hand, serve to hand 90% of the time."
i remind my self now and then between points.
hopefully, those 100 or 1,000 ball hit in practice will guide me through the serving process. don't think about the toss-swing.

[fearless1]

Depends.

If I'm in practice mode and doing some tweeking, then I'll be thinking of technique, form, power, etc.

In a match though, the only thing that matters is aiming the shot so you are more likely to hit the target you are aiming at. With serve especially, it's ironic that the more you think about serve mechanics and perhaps try to control certain aspects of it too, the worst one tends to hit it.

Hitting LOTS of practice serves, tweeking, experimentation, etc will help you to answer many of your own questions in ref to serving.

[fuzz nation]

Honestly, I try to keep my head up and my eye on the ball for good contact.

The one other thing I sometimes need to refocus on is my timing. If I get too rushed and snatch up at the ball, I don't get a loose, powerful motion so I need to tell myself to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n.

[Kaptain Karl]

... whether or not I got enough items crossed-off my To-Do List...?

Seriously ... my serve is grooved enough that I'm only thinking of the spot I'm hitting with that ball. (I've already decided which spin and location to use, so that's "automatic" once I've begun my motion.)

I'd recommend you need to spend many more baskets of balls perfectly practicing your Serve. (How do you practice your serves now?)

- KK

[ubel]

Usually thinking about where I want to serve it and how aggressively I need to play depending on the type of return that is most likely going to come from the spin, direction and power I put on the ball. Playing aggressively on serve to force errors is vital for me in holding my serve, as I generally have a tendency to go walk-about if I don't focus on appropriate aggression and more often than not if I go walk-about I'm probably getting broken :o

[Cindysphinx]

... whether or not I got enough items crossed-off my To-Do List...?

Seriously ... my serve is grooved enough that I'm only thinking of the spot I'm hitting with that ball. (I've already decided which spin and location to use, so that's "automatic" once I've begun my motion.)

I'd recommend you need to spend many more baskets of balls perfectly practicing your Serve. (How do you practice your serves now?)

- KK

Right now it's freezing so I haven't hit a hopper of serves since October. It's killing me, man! There's still ice on the courts, so I have a few more weeks before I can go try to get anything grooved.

Winter totally bites.

[batakdepores]

Hi Cindy,

Since I'm not rusty anymore, thanks to playing every weekend, I don't think too much when I serve but I don't mind listing my thought process, it goes something like this:

Where is he/she (my opponent) standing? Where is the partner standing (doubles game)?
(action) Call out the scores
(thought) I'm going to serve flat/topspin/slice to x location
(action) bounce bounce bounce
(action) look up once more to make sure returner is not currently picking his/her nose or watching next court's game
(action) toss, ugly throphy pose...
(thought) Eat this S*** (action) 5mph over the speed limit (55mph here in NY) bomb!

Pretty much it, Cindy.

[MrCLEAN]

I'm not sure if you mean what are you thinking about during the swing, or just in general. During the swing, about the only thing I think about is keeping it smooth, nothing in particular.

As far as the pre-shot routine, the score dictates to some extent what I want to do. I decide what kind of serve to hit, where, and if the score dictates that I can go for a little extra, or take a little off if I NEED a first serve.

Nothing major though, I just let it happen.

[JRstriker12]

Cindy,

I try to make all my important decsions before I get set to make my serve. Just before I step to the line I take a look up and I decide where I am going to hit it, whether it will be flat or use spin, pace, and whether I plan to come in or not.

During my serve, the only thing I really think about is trying to be consistent on my toss and to keep my head up and look at the ball through the serve. I hope to get to the point where I really don't have to think about those two thing though.

[tennis-n-sc]

Since I'm a 99% doubles player, I only try to think "First serve in." Hopefully, lots of practice and muscle memory will take care of all the other things you have mentioned.

But, from time to time, other fleeting thoughts do appear. Did I wear colored underwear with the white shorts? My partner did and it is disgusting. Is my fly zipped. Birds. Wind. Sun. Job. Kids. Wife. Dogs. Who is that girl? this guy's backhand sucks. And, then some unimportant things, too. :)

[maleyoyo]

First, I took a deep breath and fully exhale to relax. Second, I decide what I want to do with the serve. Third, I visualize the ball going to the court the way I intended. Fourth, I anticipate how the opponet would react to my serve.

[Tim Tennis]

Very interesting, if I am competing seriously I will think about a lot of things before I serve. The score, opponents weakness, where I have been serving, just how important the point is. Then I will select the serve I want to use, (flat, topspin, slice, power serve) and where I want to place it. Basically I weight the percentages. Once I have decided what I want to do I relax and go with the plan. While I am executing the serve I try to stay relaxed and make sure I get the full range of motion to hit the serve I have decided to go for.

Best regards,

Ed

[Cindysphinx]

Since I'm a 99% doubles player, I only try to think "First serve in." Hopefully, lots of practice and muscle memory will take care of all the other things you have mentioned.

But, from time to time, other fleeting thoughts do appear. Did I wear colored underwear with the white shorts? My partner did and it is disgusting. Is my fly zipped. Birds. Wind. Sun. Job. Kids. Wife. Dogs. Who is that girl? this guy's backhand sucks. And, then some unimportant things, too. :)

:snicker:

I can add to that list: "OK, those boobs are fake, fer sure. They don't even move when she runs."

"Barbi? Who goes by the name Barbi? She looks like a Barbi."

"I hope I don't hit her in the ear, 'cause those earring might rip her ear completely off. And how can anyone serve with half a pound of gold on their wrist?"

"If you're gonna dye your hair, dye it already."

"Gawd, I hope my butt's not sticking out the back of my skirt. I feel so bloated."

"Ugh. Another wedgie. I wonder whether I've waited long enough since the last one to do a manual retrieval."

[Supernatural_Serve]

Once I bounce that ball twice and begin the toss, the only thought on my mind is getting maximum extension and racquet head speed. I am thinking "Go attack that ball with as much upward explosive energy as possible" while remaining relaxed and controlled about it.

Before that I am visualizing the path of the ball to my target,

Before that, I am visualizing the 2 or 3 shot pattern that I want to run as a "play"

[Kaptain Karl]

I used to have one regular hit scheduled on a court which caused some weird thinking. From the South End you were looking at your toss in line with the flight path of a popular -- and busy -- Regional Airport. Every once in a while I'd toss the ball and there'd be a Citation or a DC-8 right there! In those moments my thought would be ...

-

-

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Acck!!!


- KK

[TonLars]

You need to have your serve practiced enough so that youre confident in the technique and not thinking about that so much. Then, youll maybe just have a couple reminders youll think about during serve games that apply to what you sometimes have trouble doing as well, and youll refer to that if youre missing some serves. For me, I need to remind myself to get my toss up high enough.

On first serves im just thinking where im going- either to the T or out wide usually. You should decide this before you start your serve motion, not during. I tend to usually do an even mix between those locations, but then I catch myself going every other and try to think about where really the most effective and consistent spot to go to would be after seeing how they return and how im doing. I also dont want them to catch on to a pattern I would develop in this way of mixing it up, so ill sometimes go to the same location 2 or 3 times just for the sake of that.

2nd serve, again you need to have confidence and have practiced it. Im pretty much just thinking "get it in" and getting my toss high enough and hitting it almost with as much racquet speed as the first serve, but with more spin to kick it up. I guess im also thinking about location, but I serve probably 85-90% of 2nd serves to the backhand side, which is usually the weaker, and hardest to attack off of. I thrn later in the match will go to the other side, and like to use this tactic on big points, because I will often draw an error from them not expecting it to go there, or sometimes even get an ace off the 2nd.

[Bagumbawalla]

Watch the ball.

Fix "hold" it with eyes.

Concentrate on swing path through ball.

B

[gsquicksilver]

i think about aceing the hell out of my opponent! :D

[tennis-n-sc]

:snicker:

I can add to that list: "OK, those boobs are fake, fer sure. They don't even move when she runs."

"Barbi? Who goes by the name Barbi? She looks like a Barbi."

"I hope I don't hit her in the ear, 'cause those earring might rip her ear completely off. And how can anyone serve with half a pound of gold on their wrist?"

"If you're gonna dye your hair, dye it already."

"Gawd, I hope my butt's not sticking out the back of my skirt. I feel so bloated."

"Ugh. Another wedgie. I wonder whether I've waited long enough since the last one to do a manual retrieval."

Now yer gettin' it. There is great humor in tennis!!!!:grin:

[Ross K]

If you're a talented and skilled server, you're not, I don't think, meant to think of anything much at all except maybe what you're doing with the toss - the rest then follows sequentially and naturally? And as for myself...

I confess to regularly concentrating on all sorts of areas (not all at the same time - noope), such as achieving a deep knee bend (alas Roddick); really studying the ball and watching it drop before ever so slightly delaying the strike (ie, it's as if I'm trying to read the the writing on the ball and then timing the hit to just a fraction after when I'd normally feel to); or I concentrate on increasing the speed at which the racquet is propelled forwards from down around the back to when you make contact; sometimes it's the shoulder turn aspect; sometimes it's pronating at the very end; sometimes it's my feet and the jump into the ball; it might be hitting at a full-height stretch... OMG!... and I haven't even tried the 'spaghetti arms' v/loose style that was recently on a thread and for which incredible claims were made!

Well, the bottom line is I have a relatively reliable but ultimately weak serve. (Another thing I do - truthfully - is when I serve I'm thinking I'm Andy Roddick. Unfortunately the reality is I'm more like Andy Roddick's grandmother!... dear oh dear...)

[MordredSJT]

This highly depends on whether you are practicing or playing.

If you are practicing, there are any number of things that you can concentrate on. Toss location, contact point, extension, racket drop, knee bend, leg drive, rhythm, where the ball is actually going...these are all things I frequently pay attention to. The thing is, I only do ONE at a time. If you try to think about everything all at once, you will rarely accomplish anything.

As far as playing is concerned, after I have decided where the ball is going and with what spin (this happens while I'm addressing the line, well before the actual serving takes place)...I tend to think of absolutely nothing at all. If something is going quite wrong with my serve on a certain day I may troubleshoot a little. It is usually my toss location or my leg drive...but I just make a mental note of it, mentally and possibly physically rehearse an adjustment and go back on autopilot.

[Silentgunz]

When im about to serve I bounce the ball three times or more then i think of where im going to place the ball and then I do it. If i think to much it makes everything hard... then ill probally screw up so thats about all i think about.. but if im practicing serves then i think about everything like my toss and motion

[JRstriker12]

:snicker:

I can add to that list: "OK, those boobs are fake, fer sure. They don't even move when she runs."

"Barbi? Who goes by the name Barbi? She looks like a Barbi."

"I hope I don't hit her in the ear, 'cause those earring might rip her ear completely off. And how can anyone serve with half a pound of gold on their wrist?"

"If you're gonna dye your hair, dye it already."

"Gawd, I hope my butt's not sticking out the back of my skirt. I feel so bloated."

"Ugh. Another wedgie. I wonder whether I've waited long enough since the last one to do a manual retrieval."

Tennis Gold!!!

[elee3]

I do all my thinking of type of serve, location, game plan, previous errors, fixes to fix the error etc before I step up to serve. Too much thinking on the serve usually ends up getting me nervous and I screw up. The only thinking I do once I step up to serve is reminding myself about the simple fix like toss higher, brush more for more spin, etc. If there's nothing to fix I'm usually just thinking "smack that ball." No complex thinking like I need to hit a kick serve at him then go behind him and then drop shot and then lob and then come into the net and then overhead with a Sharapova scream and then either fist Nadal style if I win the point or smash racquet Safin style if I lose the point.

[Trinity TC]

I think about a spot about the size of a dime that I'm aiming at and then I blank out my mind.

[Bodacious DVT]

i focus on where the racket will make contact with the ball.

[LuckyR]

Just like any other stroke, during the serve you should not be thinking of anything except where you want to hit it, and which category of serve you are using.

As I step up to the line, I note, 1- where I'm going after the serve (S&V, Australian, baseline etc), 2- How far up or back is the receiver, for choice of serve (flat if encroaching, slice if very far back, etc), 3- where the receiver is left to right, to choose the location I aim for (cheating too much to the forehand, go up the T, etc).

[OrangeOne]

"Ugh. Another wedgie. I wonder whether I've waited long enough since the last one to do a manual retrieval."

Ahah! We've just discovered that...

CindySphinx is Rafael Nadal! :-D

I'll have to stop replying to your interesting question threads during the FO CindyRafa, I'd really like Roger to win that one and can't risk helping you! ;)

(On-topic - the style and the spot. I'm thinking where I'm hitting, and about the serve style I've selected too).

[soyizgood]

On my first serve, I think about the type of serve to use. I can either hit flat, topspin, or slice. I mix it up to keep the opponent honest. I'm not worried about anything as I get them in about 70-75% on first serve.

On 2nd serves I typically do a topspin serve. I play it safe and not go for everything. I just want it to bounce back to the baseline, preferably on their backhand side. For as long as I don't double fault, I am content.

[thejackal]

i think about girls

LOL

[dave333]

Everything that screwed me up during the last serve, I'll think about during my 3 bounce ritual. Also, I make sure I bounce and catch the ball 3 times in the role as I find it I am usually more concentrated when I do that.

[4brotherdrive]

I bounce the ball and say, take it easy in my head. Then I get butterflies and I am like no your not going to get nervous. Then I am like crap, and say a short prayer and think please go in please go in. I toss the ball and hit it while making a noise similar to that of a wildabeast moaning. The product is a killer ace down the tee. But seriously I think where should I place it, what type of serve I want to hit, I dont really think too much about technique unless theres something wrong with my serve.

[sureshs]

Ahah! We've just discovered that...

CindySphinx is Rafael Nadal! :-D



Man, then he is really desperate for tips from this board to improve his sinking game.

[Hondasteve]

I think DEEP knee bend, what path my right arm needs to take to hit the serve I want, and getting my elbow cocked at 90 degrees. You gotta keep it simple!

[joeyscl]

i think about ur mother

[Swissv2]

Nothing but the service routine and the placement.

[AJK1]

Serving comes so easily to me, i don't think of anything except what i'm gonna have for dinner that night.

[Movement]

it's easier to list what I don't think about. Anything but my opponent.

[GeauxTigers]

I'm struggling to find a consistent thing to think about when I serve. Toss location? Toss height? Spin? Pace? Placement? Weight transfer? S&V? Stay loose? Something else?

When you step up to serve, are you thinking of all of these things, or is there one thing you think to yourself that seems to work?

1. "Breathe"
2. "Watch the ball too long"
3. "snap your wrist"

[GhostLigre]

For me, I think about the next ball, which is the return of serve. So when I'm serving, I think defensively. I don't really think about my serve placement because I can only hit to the backhand. My serve isn't that consistent and very predictable cause I hit to the same spot. So I just think about getting it in and then getting ready for the baseline rally.

[FitzRoy]

I find that I serve my best when I'm thinking only about where I want the ball to go. I don't really mix up the spin much (something I'm working on currently), so I generally produce the same type of serve every time, with second serves being spun much more of course. But thinking about the target is crucial for me on the second serve; if I don't focus on that and only that, I tend to get into trouble with double faults.

I don't know if that method is ideal for others, though. I just practice a lot of serves, until the point that all things technical are separate from active though. That's what has worked best for me.

[Phil]

Right now it's freezing so I haven't hit a hopper of serves since October. It's killing me, man! There's still ice on the courts, so I have a few more weeks before I can go try to get anything grooved.

Winter totally bites.

In the country where I come from, we have a way of dealing with such things as freezing cold weather...we play INDOORS. If you have a coach-as you say you do-then you can afford to play/practice indoors.

[moxio]

Placement, usually. I have enough confident in my motion that I don't generally worry about it.

[Bungalo Bill]

I'm struggling to find a consistent thing to think about when I serve. Toss location? Toss height? Spin? Pace? Placement? Weight transfer? S&V? Stay loose? Something else?

When you step up to serve, are you thinking of all of these things, or is there one thing you think to yourself that seems to work?

I think; go up, reach, relax...

[donut]

think wat sampras would do and how hed do it and how hed look

[sureshs]

In the country where I come from, we have a way of dealing with such things as freezing cold weather...we play INDOORS. If you have a coach-as you say you do-then you can afford to play/practice indoors.

What are you doing at Mahboob's place?

[andreh]

I try to think about strategy.

* What kind of serve (kick, flat etc)
* where to place it
* Stay back / S&V
* What to do with the next shot - volley behind/in front of opponent / Stay back and approach if the return is short etc...

I try to plan each point as much as possible so I can control the game.

[zapvor]

i think about what my wife Kirilenko is making for dinner when i get home

[J011yroger]

*shrug* I put it up, and belt it...sometimes it even goes in.

J

[thenjimmysaid]

Be optimistic. It's hard to get the serve in when you're thinking "Oh god, i HOPE this goes in"

[dennis10is]

I don't think about anything really, I visualize as clearly as a dared to the spot that my serve will land.

And then I serve it under handed.

[skiracer55]

...you have to have good technique, which involves hitting a lot of serves the right way, so you can get past the "30-30, second serve, Hail Mary, full of grace, please make this serve go in" phase. Once you get all that sorted out, my current coach told me to always have an objective. If it's as simple as "blast one right down the middle at this clown," then that's fine. It's when you don't have an objective that trouble starts, because you start wondering if the serve is going to go in at all. As they say, any plan's a good plan if you don't know where you're going.

Having said all that good stuff, I decide what I'm going to do before I line up. Then I don't think about what I'm going to do as much as I visualize it like a video of what I'm about to do...then just play out the video. Works like a charm. I got this from one of my coaches (Dave Hodge, current Stanford Men's Assistant coach), who serves at about 125 m. p. h. If it works for him, it's good enough for me...

[Kaptain Karl]

skiracer55 - Go to the Tentative/Nerves thread in the Tennis Tips/Instruction forum....

- KK