kick serves with the old style serving motion

[lawrence]

ive been trying out lavers motion, and the general stance of all the old-era tennis players (which is how they bring the right foot up so the lower torso is facing the net pretty much)

and its pretty fun i have to admit, but has anyone managed to try kick serves with this? it kills my back to bend when my legs are in that position

[TNT16]

ive been trying out lavers motion, and the general stance of all the old-era tennis players (which is how they bring the right foot up so the lower torso is facing the net pretty much)

and its pretty fun i have to admit, but has anyone managed to try kick serves with this? it kills my back to bend when my legs are in that position

That is a great question and something I have been wondering also. The last pro I remember displaying the classic footwork on a modern serve (including kick serve) is Boris Becker - and I think that this was a source of power for him.

So I think the answer is it can be done - but certainly it seems that for whatever reason it is no longer being taught/practiced.

[tennisdad65]

I actually serve using the old style. My right leg kicks up to almost knee height, which has a lot of folks wondering about my technique :). I arch my back a lot to get the power, but I am a yoga guy which helps a lot on the back arch :).

I do not jump up into the ball, but I go up on my toes of my left foot which never leaves the ground. The timing of going up on the toes just before impact is important to add to the topspin component.

Stand more face on (~30 degrees) than you normally would. The stance is great for flat and slice serves. It is simpler, and I get a much higher percentage and much more power than using a pronounced sideward stance. Not much can go wrong if you keep your head up at contact. Less body rotation means that the swing path is more straight on and thus less sidespin.

You can do a topspin/slice serve which kicks up, by tossing just over and in front of your head. Because of the more 'face on' stance, the before contact swing path is still straight and up but finishes to the right a bit. Consequently, the serve does not go sidewards after the bounce, but rather gets a forward 'kick' component.

You are not gonna get too much body rotation (like sampras), so back arch (like stich) or knee bend (like roddick) is crucial to generate power.

[BeHappy]

I actually serve using the old style. My right leg kicks up to almost knee height, which has a lot of folks wondering about my technique :). I arch my back a lot to get the power, but I am a yoga guy which helps a lot on the back arch :).

I do not jump up into the ball, but I go up on my toes of my left foot which never leaves the ground. The timing of going up on the toes just before impact is important to add to the topspin component.

Stand more face on (~30 degrees) than you normally would. The stance is great for flat and slice serves. It is simpler, and I get a much higher percentage and much more power than using a pronounced sideward stance. Not much can go wrong if you keep your head up at contact. Less body rotation means that the swing path is more straight on and thus less sidespin.

You can do a topspin/slice serve which kicks up, by tossing just over and in front of your head. Because of the more 'face on' stance, the before contact swing path is still straight and up but finishes to the right a bit. Consequently, the serve does not go sidewards after the bounce, but rather gets a forward 'kick' component.

You are not gonna get too much body rotation (like sampras), so back arch (like stich) or knee bend (like roddick) is crucial to generate power.

DO NOT ARCH YOUR BACK IF YOU DON'T WANT A SLIPPED DISK!!!!!!!!!!

They served like that because they were required to by the rules, not by choice.Their serves sucked by modern standards.Your feet should be at least perpindicular to the baseline unless you want to suck too.

[Djokovicfan4life]

DO NOT ARCH YOUR BACK IF YOU DON'T WANT A SLIPPED DISK!!!!!!!!!!

They served like that because they were required to by the rules, not by choice.Their serves sucked by modern standards.Your feet should be at least perpindicular to the baseline unless you want to suck too.

Yeah, your back shouldn't arch, it should just APPEAR to arch as a by product of good knee bend.

P.S. Why were they required to arch their backs? Did they want all of the good players to injure themselves? :confused:

[TNT16]

Yeah, your back shouldn't arch, it should just APPEAR to arch as a by product of good knee bend.

P.S. Why were they required to arch their backs? Did they want all of the good players to injure themselves? :confused:

They were not required to arch back but to keep one foot on the ground; this until a rule change allowed leaving the ground with both feet as you hit.

Arching back . . . ever watch Davidenko?