Help! I Can't break 120 mph!

[Robbnc]

I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. No mater what I do I just
can't seem to crack that 120 mph barrier. I know it really doesn't matter
that much because the people I play with seldom return my serve but it
has become somewhat of an obsession. I am a 51 year old 4.0 player. I
have an old radar box and I can hit 112 to 115 all day long with an
occasional 118.

Anyone have suggestions?

[kevhen]

Find the fountain of youth. Longer racquet? Lighter more head heavy racquet?

[dr_punk]

more fluidity? keep you back straight, don't let the ball drop, bend knees, throw slightly in front of you? i dont know

[SlapShot]

You may not be able to break 120. The only thing I'd say is make sure that you don't have any hitches in your motion that is hurting your racquet head speed. Keep yourself loose, and make sure that you aren't tensing up before you make contact.

[circusmouse]

Maybe try dealing with your obsession instead of your serve.

[theRadical]

kinda sounds like you just want to let everyone know u can hit 120, which im sure kicks ass. id say, get stronger or get younger.

[zzzbrianxxx]

Make sure your hips are fully utilized and that you are using a full shoulder turn. Do what roddick did. Not copy his motion, but just stand a couple of feet away from a fence and just smack balls as hard as you can. Learn what movements in your body create the most power. You'll want to aim for a certain area of the fence though, so when you try it out on a court it doesn't fly everywhere.

[Robbnc]

I was at the Davis Cup this past weekend and I studied Roddick closely.
It didn't seem he was up to full speed on the serve but was very
effective nonetheless.

Thanks for all the tips , i'll video my serve and try to get a feel for
where I can improve.

And no I wasn't bragging, if anything I feel ashamed that I can't serve any
faster after 37 years experience when teenage pros do it all the time.

[Swissv2]

Don't worry, you will break 120 soon!

[Phil]

I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. No mater what I do I just
can't seem to crack that 120 mph barrier. I know it really doesn't matter
that much because the people I play with seldom return my serve but it
has become somewhat of an obsession. I am a 51 year old 4.0 player. I
have an old radar box and I can hit 112 to 115 all day long with an
occasional 118.

Anyone have suggestions?

No. You never will break it. Certainly not on a consistant basis. But your obsession with speed is probably causing you to waste time and valuable psychic energy that could be spent on improving those areas of your game which are possible to improve. Your "old radar box" is probably not accurate-your seves probably aren't even reaching 112-115.

It's not speed that makes most serves great-it's spin and placement. John McEnroe never hit a 120 mph serve in his life. Sampras' serve-for all the hype about its speed-had more spin on it (rpm) than any recorded serve in history.

[lethalfang]

I was at the Davis Cup this past weekend and I studied Roddick closely.
It didn't seem he was up to full speed on the serve but was very
effective nonetheless.

Thanks for all the tips , i'll video my serve and try to get a feel for
where I can improve.

And no I wasn't bragging, if anything I feel ashamed that I can't serve any
faster after 37 years experience when teenage pros do it all the time.

Are you kidding me?
You think Michael Jordan would be ashamed that, 10 years from now when he's 51 years old, those teenagers in the NBA will be jumping higher than he will?

[dr_punk]

Are you kidding me?
You think Michael Jordan would be ashamed that, 10 years from now when he's 51 years old, those teenagers in the NBA will be jumping higher than he will?

I agree. Just let it go, no reason to be ashamed of anything.... I can't even reach 110 yet, and i'm 18

[SoBad]

And no I wasn't bragging, if anything I feel ashamed that I can't serve any faster after 37 years experience when teenage pros do it all the time.

Don't feel bad - it usually takes a lot more than 37 years of experience to develop a good serve. Give it another 20 or 30 years - most players don't get into 130-140mph on their serve until their mid-80's or so. Just keep building on your experience and you'll be outserving Roddick eventually.

[Punisha]

Don't feel bad - it usually takes a lot more than 37 years of experience to develop a good serve. Give it another 20 or 30 years - most players don't get into 130-140mph on their serve until their mid-80's or so. Just keep building on your experience and you'll be outserving Roddick eventually.

rofl add like 1-2 grams at 12 o'clock or string like a pound looser ...

alternatly use a boom stick like a PD or Big Bubba

[yemenmocha]

To the orginal poster - how tall are you?

[drgnpride]

And no I wasn't bragging, if anything I feel ashamed that I can't serve any
faster after 37 years experience when teenage pros do it all the time.



surely you are punking people with that comment. if not, seek counseling.

[Robbnc]

I'm 5'10" 185lb

Phil, You're right the radar could be off but I have let others use it and they tell me its very
close to the numbers they get on other radars. And I don't expect to be consistant at 120mph,
in a real game I serve around 105-108 on first serves and about 90 with a lot of kick on
seconds.

[Andres]

You can already hit 115 mph all night long! Why would you want so badly some miserable 5 mph more!?

115 mph, on a consistent basis, on 4.0, will give you tons and tons of free points.

Don't try to break the 120, and try to make that 115 buzzer kick a little higher ;)

[Noveson]

Am I the only seeing a problem with a 4.0 hitting 90 MPH kick serves?

[zapvor]

i say you post a video to prove it.

[Robbnc]

Wait a minute, am I being called a sandbagger? or a liar?

I will get a video.

[AJK1]

Try hitting downwind, you should get a few more mph doing that;)