1st serve

[Nod15]

hi, i was wanting some information on how to change my first serve. i generally hit a Flat, hard first serve with alot of pace but i have a very low % of them going in. Im 16, 150lbs, and 6' 1" and some of the college guys i hit with said that i should change to a slice first serve or a kicker. Ive tried this but i have no idea how to get alot of pace on it like a flat serve. Could i get some help? :D

[Off The Wall]

I would recommend lessons. A professional can direct your development in this area.

For instance, You can develop a power slice, but slices and kickers won't reach the same MPH as your flat serve. And that's okay. You have to sacrifice some speed to increase your percentage of in serves.

[quicken]

I dont know what you do on a kicker. But I usually throw it a little behind my first serve (Toss wise). But if I put the toss infront of me more, I would still get a descent speed and a descent spin.

[tbini87]

do you already have a slice or kick serve? what type of second serve do you have? i generally hit a big flat serve as a first serve, but will go to a kick/slice serve if i am struggling. i just really use my legs and let it rip on my first serve. the spin you create will help keep the ball in, and you don't need it to be blazing because the spin will create problems for your opponents. it is hard for me to get back a well hit serve with spin than it is to get block back a smoking flat serve.

[tennisdad65]

Best thing is to try and copy the pros. Easier said than done, but its easiest to copy them on the serve.

Roddick is about your height, hits his first serve flat at 135+ but gets a high percentage in because:
1) he explodes up into his serve. This gives a pretty good topspin component even though his racket face is flat (no slice or sidespin).
2) He pronates his wrist just before impact and snaps his wrist down quickly. this also adds to the topspin component.

The topspin component was much more obvious on Sampras's big flat serves down the middle from the AD court. Sampras also pronated fairly late, so he also had some slice component on his 'flat' serves. His supposedly Flat serves on the AD court down the middle, used to hit high on the backstop and move (slice) away from the reciever.

I assume you are pronating early on your first serve, and hence your serve is flat and low %. You can experiment with pronation just before impact and you will notice a significant increase in your First serve %. The speed will drop 10-15 mph but it is worth it.

[BeHappy]

keep hitting your serve 'flat', but throw the ball further to the left, the further to the left you throw it the more it will go in.

[dman72]

If you are 6'1, you should not have so many problems getting flat first serves in. It's probably a toss or an extension issue. Take a lesson or watch a video and practice a high enough toss and make sure you are extending fully and snapping the wrist. First serve kickers are for short guys. :)