Big Fat Slice to the Ad Court

[Cindysphinx]

I'm working on getting some Serious Slice on my serve, mostly by increasing my racket head speed and making sure I hit the side of the ball. It has been fun, watching that big 'ol curve ball. To the extent I've been able to really do a big slice in a match, my 3.0 opponents have a lot of trouble with it.

From the deuce court, it seems to go well. From the ad court, not so much. The ad court slice often seems to hit the net. I don't seem to have this problem on the deuce court.

Is there any reason this should be happening? Is there an adjustment I can try to get those ad court curve balls to clear the net? It would be neat to nail this serve down so I can ace people up the middle on the ad court . . . .

[Topaz]

Cindy...what helps me is, when I'm holding the racquet (continental of course), to spread my index finger away from the rest of my fingers a bit, moving it up, away from the butt cap. Make sense? For some reason, it is a trick my pro showed me, and it helps me with slice.

Though, especially to the ad court, the mental picture of where I want to brush against the ball helps, too.

[Joker]

Why would you want to slice from the ad court really? If your that far off, wouldn't it seem easier to just go around and hit a forehand?

[habib]

Why would you want to slice from the ad court really? If your that far off, wouldn't it seem easier to just go around and hit a forehand?

Someone needs to actually read the post, not just the title.

[desilvam]

On the deuce court, if you are right handed, you could be hitting it over the center (lower part) of the net and then the curve takes it out wide.

on the add court, you probably are hitting it wider over the taller part of the net, because the curve is working the ball towards the center?

of course there could be other explanations.. just throwing in something to think about..

[In D Zone]

I'm working on getting some Serious Slice on my serve, mostly by increasing my racket head speed and making sure I hit the side of the ball. It has been fun, watching that big 'ol curve ball. To the extent I've been able to really do a big slice in a match, my 3.0 opponents have a lot of trouble with it.

From the deuce court, it seems to go well. From the ad court, not so much. The ad court slice often seems to hit the net. I don't seem to have this problem on the deuce court.

Is there any reason this should be happening? Is there an adjustment I can try to get those ad court curve balls to clear the net? It would be neat to nail this serve down so I can ace people up the middle on the ad court . . . .

Maybe you are meeting the ball too far in front of yourself. Try tossing less forward, or lean into it more just before your swing.

Another point is avoid moving the shoulder too aggressively (compared to when service to the Deuce side) - your are facing diagonally and directly at the Ad side when you serve. All you have to do it focus on the toss and slicing thru the ball.

[Cindysphinx]

On the deuce court, if you are right handed, you could be hitting it over the center (lower part) of the net and then the curve takes it out wide.

on the add court, you probably are hitting it wider over the taller part of the net, because the curve is working the ball towards the center?

of course there could be other explanations.. just throwing in something to think about..

You know, that could be it. When it hits the net, it doesn't hit by much.

So that counsels in favor of tossing a bit farther back. I think.

I knew it had to be court geometry and not just me! :)

[Bagumbawalla]

A couple things you might try-

First of all, hitting fairly wide to the backhand side (ad court) leaves the returner with several options- down the line, cross court drive, sliced "dink", angled topspin. You could, instead, serve into the body on the add side, or even down the middle. It permits you to hit over the lower part of the net, reduces angles for returns , lessens the possibility of sliced returns, makes it easier on your partner- who does not have to cover the line so much, and often jams the player outright.

Also, you might add a bit of top to get the ball over the net and back down into the court. rather than hitting pure sidespin- follow through to the side, but also a bit up and over the ball. Now you have a ball that not only curves, but also bounces up at a weird angle as well.

[Slazenger]

I'm working on getting some Serious Slice on my serve, mostly by increasing my racket head speed and making sure I hit the side of the ball. It has been fun, watching that big 'ol curve ball. To the extent I've been able to really do a big slice in a match, my 3.0 opponents have a lot of trouble with it.

From the deuce court, it seems to go well. From the ad court, not so much. The ad court slice often seems to hit the net. I don't seem to have this problem on the deuce court.

Is there any reason this should be happening? Is there an adjustment I can try to get those ad court curve balls to clear the net? It would be neat to nail this serve down so I can ace people up the middle on the ad court . . . .

This is one of those things were someone really has to see what exactly is going wrong.
If you can hit a good accurate slice serve with good mechanics on the deuce court, you should be able to do so on the ad court as well. It is, after all, the same motion.

It would be nice to see how the ball behaves when you hit it from the duece court. If the ball is going into the net, you could be hitting the serve too out in front; your toss may be too low; your head or shoulder or both may be dropping just before contact causing your body to collapse;
Or you may just be putting too much sidespin and not enough topspin on the ball.

The slice serve is my favourite serve to hit.
The slice up the T on the ad court is a great serve to come in behind on.