Serve Consistency

[TennisFrkJC92]

My first flat serves go 110-120 mph when i hit it at full power and goes in. However, they go in only about 1 out of 10 times. My second kick serves sometimes go out but i think that's just nervous problem.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve my consistency on my serves in general? Technique, mental suggestions?

[socalstar]

practice and review your technique.

[kthomas]

My first flat serves go 110-120 mph when i hit it at full power and goes in. However, they go in only about 1 out of 10 times. My second kick serves sometimes go out but i think that's just nervous problem.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve my consistency on my serves in general? Technique, mental suggestions?


Hit up on the ball and to the right some. That's all there is to it. Somedays you can't hit the flat ones good....just gotta slice them then, like roddick does

[Jonny S&V]

My first flat serves go 110-120 mph when i hit it at full power and goes in. However, they go in only about 1 out of 10 times. My second kick serves sometimes go out but i think that's just nervous problem.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve my consistency on my serves in general? Technique, mental suggestions?

Tell yourself on your second serves "It's going to go in" over and over again. You'll start to believe it after a while.

[Jonny S&V]

Hit up on the ball and to the right some. That's all there is to it. Somedays you can't hit the flat ones good....just gotta slice them then, like roddick does

Roddick doesn't hit the slice often, and when he does it's out wide on the deuce court. He is just blessed with an extremely consistent flat serve, and he mixes it up and goes for the kicker about 30% on first serves, 60% flat and 10% slice.

[wihamilton]

hard to comment on technique w/out seeing your serve, but a 110-120 mph serve that goes in 1 out of 10 times is not very useful. Better to have a 90 - 100 mph serve that goes in 5/6 out of 10 times. I would suggest adding some topspin to your first serve to make it more consistent.

Mentally speaking, in a tight spot focus on a particular element of the serve... like "accelerate racket head through the ball," as opposed to thinking, "plz don't double fault!" In other words, focus on execution.

[TennisFrkJC92]

hard to comment on technique w/out seeing your serve, but a 110-120 mph serve that goes in 1 out of 10 times is not very useful. Better to have a 90 - 100 mph serve that goes in 5/6 out of 10 times. I would suggest adding some topspin to your first serve to make it more consistent.

Mentally speaking, in a tight spot focus on a particular element of the serve... like "accelerate racket head through the ball," as opposed to thinking, "plz don't double fault!" In other words, focus on execution.

TY I'll try that.

[Vision84]

Yes find a key little thing that works for you on the execution as wihamilton suggests. Don't let the doubts creep in.

A flat serve is going to have less consistency in general than a spin serve. That is a good idea to add some kick or slice onto your first serve. Also speed is overrated and I personally find spin harder to return than just a fast flat serve.

Another thing you can do is use your second serve as your first serve. I often do this with my kicker and generally get good success out of it. I often do this early in the match as well to help get into a rhythm on my second serve and loosen up my arm before i bang out the big flat one on the first serve.

[Lost Boys]

My first flat serves go 110-120 mph when i hit it at full power and goes in. However, they go in only about 1 out of 10 times. My second kick serves sometimes go out but i think that's just nervous problem.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve my consistency on my serves in general? Technique, mental suggestions?

I have a similar problem, so thank you for starting this thread!

[shindemac]

Try using your second serve as your first serve. Work on improving it, but instead of pace work on hitting the corners and extreme angles. You can still throw in your old first serve from time to time.

[WBF]

If you don't have a bad techique, I would recommend slowing the serve down for matches, but practicing at full speed to eventually get to the proper consistency. I had a similar situation a while back, now I have a serve that makes people shake their heads in annoyance.

[rosenstar]

Hit kickers, or hard second serves, as first serves. also work on your technique. make sure you are NOT slowing down your swing on your second serve. you should be spinning your second serves, not tapping them in.

also, check your grip. Make sure you are using a continental grip, or even a backhand grip for kick serves.

[zebano]

Mentally speaking, in a tight spot focus on a particular element of the serve... like "accelerate racket head through the ball," as opposed to thinking, "plz don't double fault!" In other words, focus on execution.

This is what I do with my second serve and I rarely double fault. I'll have to try applying the same thinking to my first serve. :o

[Tennis_Monk]

110-120 mph?. Vow thats some serve dude. I can only dream of serving that pace.

My serve is respectable. One of my weapons. But i dont serve any where close to that speed. I havent clocked my serve but i guess i dont think it will exceed 90.

[Slazenger]

My first flat serves go 110-120 mph when i hit it at full power and goes in. However, they go in only about 1 out of 10 times. My second kick serves sometimes go out but i think that's just nervous problem.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve my consistency on my serves in general? Technique, mental suggestions?

First of all, only in rare cases should the ball be hit at top speed, such as with a smash or a high volley;
all other shots, including service, should be played at only an optimal speed.

Your 110-120mph speed of your flat serve is not optimal (for you).
Venus Williams can serve in the 130s but that speed is not optimal for her.
Her optimal flat serve speed is in the 110s.

So first thing you can do is take a little of your serve. Still hit through the ball and hard but not at full capacity. Take it down to the 100s and see how that goes.

Second thing you should do is vary your first and second serve. Serve is not all about speed. Mix in the slice and kick serves on the first delivery. And even on the second delivery if you are feeling confident.
I will sometimes slice the second serve out wide on the duece court and hit an ace because my opponent is expecting a kicker up the T.

Last and most important is serve placement. Practise hitting all 4 corners and the body serves. Also experiment with different placement for your slice and kick serves.
Not only does very good placement compensate for reduced pace, it also makes planning a point much easier.

[TennisFrkJC92]

I've tried all of your advices and i've been using my second kick serves as first serves to throw off my opponents from time to time and it's been working actually. And i took my flat serve down a notch in the high 90 and 100s mph range and 1 out of 2 to 3 shots were going in. And for the nervous second serve problem, i haven't had much success fixing it, but i'll keep working on it by telling myself small quotes of encouragement such as "this is goin in" and stuff like that. TY everyone

[fuzz nation]

If you routinely use a first serve that you land only one out of ten, you're putting huge pressure on your second serve, right? You only need to hit your heater once every game or two just to let your opponent know that he needs to back off. Now you've got some real estate to work with and with some accuracy on your spin serves, you can really make anyone across the net uncomfortable.

Concentrate on working more velocity in to your spin serves before you worry too much about the flat heater - once an opponent gets hip to the timing on your flat serve, they can often just block it and put you in trouble by using your own power against you.

If you miss two first serves in a row, slow down your routine, take a breath, and get collected. An opponent can get a big boost if they rarely have to worry about tracking down your first ball, so get the darn thing in and control some points!