What are the different types of 2nd Serve??

[darylrulez]

can u name them all and tell me more about them? i have a strong 1st serve but a weak 2nd serve. i use the kick serve and i turn my racket a little more to the left of the continental grip when i do the kick serve. any tips?

[Mahboob Khan]

The second serve should be safe yet effective. That's why kick serve is always recommended as a second serve although it could also be used as a first serve:

Grip: Extreme continental or Eastern BH grip.

Toss the ball slightly to your left and back, and bypass the ball from 7 to 1 o'clock positions (the face of the ball is a clock). More racket speed prior to and through contact will result in more kick.

[kevhen]

Flat- I still get away with hitting a flat second serve at the 3.5-4.0 level by keeping it low with backspin while only hitting it about 50-60mph. 4.5s and strong 4.0s can easily attack this though. Easy to get a very high percentage in and avoid DFs.

Slice - Elena's second serve, sidespin is put on the ball to help take some pace off of it so it falls in and toss is usually farther to the right. Tricky to attack since it has sidespin and curves and the bounce is unpredictable. Hard to get a very high percentage in though.

Topspin (Kick) - Typical second serve with lots of spin and high kick using contental grip and toss more over the head.

American Twist (Kick) kicks to the server's right after the bounce, similar to topspin serve but with more spin and struck at just the right angle.

[Bungalo Bill]

Yeah I would agree with Mahboob and some of Kehvens.

The second serve is a serve you dont want to easily give the point to your opponent by error. It also places the returner somewhat more on the offensive depending on the quality and placement of your second serve.

For sure you want the following:

1. Net Clearance: you want to increase your margin for error so spin serves with topspin or twist are good and even a slice serve so long as you seek net clearance.

2. To not overhit it: You want to put spin and place the ball well because you should reduce the speed of the shot so it will land in. Even if you dont place it well or dont spin it tight enough this is better then hitting it long or in the net. You at least force the opponent to reply and have to hit his return to start the point. Obviously, the more quality you can put into the second serve the better for you as you try to keep the returner at bay.

The other things to consider is the game score and set score. If you are up 40-0 and have confidence in your serving abilities you might want to flatten it out just to mix things up. Playing smart is the most important thing to do on the second serve. So I would option for the topspin/twist serves to help you keep the ball in and have good net clearance.

[TwistServe]

Twist it up!...

Twist/kick serve allows me to swing 100% power and still get the ball in the service box.. A slice serve is a little bit dangerous because the net clearance isn't that great... The flat serve is even more dangerous because of net clearance, and the more I crank it, the higher probability it will hit you in the eye instead of the service box.

[darylrulez]

ok so the extreme continental grip is more to the left of the continental??