Care to look at my serves anyone...?

[quicken]

So this is what I've been working on...
The serve part of my game...
It was the weakest part (I used to tap in the balls) but after months of practice I came to be what I am today. Still not good or anything, but I personally think its a great improvement considering I used to tap in the balls...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo3JcTqHBmM

Its very inconsistent, leg bend, contact,toss -_- and all that.
No it wasnt windy at all, I am just not good lol.

Just a few questions...
How does my left hand look?
My follow through is weird isnt it?

Thanks.

[dricas24]

You need to bend your knees then jump exploding into the ball. Everything else seems fine.

[quicken]

I see thank you.

[TheShaun]

So this is what I've been working on...
The serve part of my game...
It was the weakest part (I used to tap in the balls) but after months of practice I came to be what I am today. Still not good or anything, but I personally think its a great improvement considering I used to tap in the balls...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo3JcTqHBmM

Its very inconsistent, leg bend, contact,toss -_- and all that.
No it wasnt windy at all, I am just not good lol.

Just a few questions...
How does my left hand look?
My follow through is weird isnt it?

Thanks.

i think your own observations are very accurate. work on those aspects and then seek more advice. no point adding more things to work on until you have those fundamentals under control. but not a bad motion overall.

[tbini87]

the knee bend stood out as the most lacking part of your serve to me. as you toss (or just as the ball leaves your hand) you need to get plenty of bend in your legs. from their you can use your legs to explode into the ball. should help with power and consistency.

[quicken]

I will try more knee bend, but my legs tired out after a while and I dont bend'em very much after few serves. I guess I need to get fit.

I hope it doesnt rain tomorrow here...

[TENNIS_IS_FUN]

Bend your knees more, toss more out in front of your body.

[tricky]

Ball toss is nice and high, but you're not really swinging up on the ball. This clip may help you with that.

http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/index.php?id=416273&col=260823&offset=6

[quicken]

Ball toss is nice and high, but you're not really swinging up on the ball. This clip may help you with that.

http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/index.php?id=416273&col=260823&offset=6

I need to work on my racquet drop =)

[es-0]

Ball toss is nice and high, but you're not really swinging up on the ball. This clip may help you with that.

http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/index.php?id=416273&col=260823&offset=6

Wow! That's actually a very useful clip, I must have skipped over it when I browsed the site a couple days ago. Thanks for linking that Tricky.

[montx]

Your serve was getting a little better after the warm up 2 mins or so. It looks cold and I saw the puddle of water...chilly.

It look like a good serve. You might want to look at a few serve videos and find out what you like and don't like.

[quicken]

Your serve was getting a little better after the warm up 2 mins or so. It looks cold and I saw the puddle of water...chilly.

It look like a good serve. You might want to look at a few serve videos and find out what you like and don't like.

Yes... Not the ideal condition to play tennis in but a fair one. Around 30F on top of a rainy day the day before I hit.

Thats exactly what I do, I try to emulate the forms of various pro tennis players by videos on youtube and other various sites but fail to do so miserably. lol

[montx]

it takes time and practice. The James Jensen Ultimate Serve DVD is a good one. I use the step up on my backfoot rather than the retro step to the side. It keeps foot faults in check for me and i also find it comfortable. I notice you just have your feet planted there. You might look at a few ideas and try them for better balance or for incremental forward motion. Thats why i do a step up to break my forward motion into two steps and keep my balance.

[quicken]

it takes time and practice. The James Jensen Ultimate Serve DVD is a good one. I use the step up on my backfoot rather than the retro step to the side. It keeps foot faults in check for me and i also find it comfortable. I notice you just have your feet planted there. You might look at a few ideas and try them for better balance or for incremental forward motion. Thats why i do a step up to break my forward motion into two steps and keep my balance.

Are you suggesting that I should try the pin point stance?
I did try that stance a long time ago, but discovered that I kept losing my balance and fell into the court rather than jumping up. But I guess that was way long ago, so I should give that another try.
Ill post another vid as soon as the weather gets better to differentiate the level of my serve between the pinpoint and the platform stance.

[PROTENNIS63]

1. your toss is behind your head. Try to toss more forward and to the right.
2. Land with your left leg inside the court and try to land like 6 inches from the baseline.
3. Use a little more legs.
4. This is big. You rush between serves. Toss the ball a few times. Think where you want to hit the ball. Relax. Feel confident. Then throw the ball and accelerate.


Hope this helps!

[quicken]

1. your toss is behind your head. Try to toss more forward and to the right.
2. Land with your left leg inside the court and try to land like 6 inches from the baseline.
3. Use a little more legs.
4. This is big. You rush between serves. Toss the ball a few times. Think where you want to hit the ball. Relax. Feel confident. Then throw the ball and accelerate.


Hope this helps!

Thank you very much.
Although I try to calm down before I serve, I seem to rush things though =(, definately a part of my serve where I need extreme practice hehe.

Just a question though, everytime I throw the ball a little infront of me I develop a really bad habit. I keep falling into the court rather than jumping up to the ball. Its like my left shoulder falls below my right so I hit down not up. Do you or does anyone know a good way to make myself refrain from hitting down?

[drakulie]

Why are you so hard on yourself? That is not a bad service motion.

Good luck, and thanks for sharing the vid.

[Mahboob Khan]

-- Take time with your serve. I thought your service delivery is too quick.

-- Your left tossing arm seems to be quite loose. Keep it dead still so that it places a slow/controlled ball for you to hit and do not drop it fast. It should come down as a result of the hit.

-- As you hit make sure that you fully stretch out to hit the ball. The hitting arm-racket are fully stretched up to hit the ball. I am saying this because immediately after you hit, your hitting arm seems to be bent! If you are exploding/stretching up with your legs, body, arm-racket, then after contact your hitting arm should not be bent.

[montx]

Its a lot of trial and error.

[NLBwell]

quicken:
Your service motion is pretty good. You don't need to bend your knees more (no squatting and jumping). You do a good job of putting your front hip into the court in the first part of your motion and your knees are pretty well flexed. The problem is that you kind of suck your body back toward your stomach (that's kind of how it looks if you drew arrows mapping the direction your body parts move). Your knees straighten up, your hips move back, and your head and tossing arm drop down. Work on keeping your hip out in front and your head and tossing arm high. Bring your upper body over your front hip instead of bringing the hip backwards. You likely will end up further in the court at the end of your service motion as a result of this.

[quicken]

quicken:
Your service motion is pretty good. You don't need to bend your knees more (no squatting and jumping). You do a good job of putting your front hip into the court in the first part of your motion and your knees are pretty well flexed. The problem is that you kind of suck your body back toward your stomach (that's kind of how it looks if you drew arrows mapping the direction your body parts move). Your knees straighten up, your hips move back, and your head and tossing arm drop down. Work on keeping your hip out in front and your head and tossing arm high. Bring your upper body over your front hip instead of bringing the hip backwards. You likely will end up further in the court at the end of your service motion as a result of this.

wow thats a great explanation thank you!