toss question

[tennisfreak412]

okay this may seem like a stupid question, but bear with me.

recently, my coach has been telling me that my toss is way too high on my serve, causing be to hit the ball on its way down, causing it to go into the net, etc. now, he's told me to lower my toss, but (here's the stupid part) i don't know how. I've tried moving my arm slower, and I've willed :-P the ball to not fly so high, but I'm not sure how to lower the toss, and then how to ingrain this lower toss into my muscle memory.

any advice?

[DRtenniS1112]

I'm just trying to understand this all but hitting the ball on its way down will not cause the ball to go into the net. I know i hit the ball on its way down and do not have this problem. The only problem that occurs with a high toss is that sometimes the toss doesnt go where you want it to.

[tennisfreak412]

sorry i meant to say that i wasn't getting it into the box. it's just harder for me to consistenly get the toss where i want since it's so high, so I'd like to lower it.

[DRtenniS1112]

Okay that makes more sense. I really do not know what you could do outside of continuous practice though. I know before matches i like to take tosses without actually serving to get a feel for it with the given conditions. Practice in your house, you can also do it from your knees if you do not have a high enough place to work with.

[papa]

Many who have a toss that is too high, let go of the ball way to early. Think of your arm more as an elevator and release the ball as high as possible. Not only will it lower the toss but increase the accuracy of the toss.

[jBayjoey]

Well, one way would be to just practice your toss over and over again in a room that's about 1-2 feet above your maximum reach. Do all you guys agree this is about the right margin? If you hit the ceiling, it's more than you have to toss it. That's what I did, and my toss is conssistent. Now, my SERVE is another matter....

[Amone]

JB, I would have to say I disagree. I've done some detailed-if-quick research into serve forms of various pros, and from your numbers, you should be tossing the ball at approximately 60% of your height above your head; the "normal" toss height of pros with great serves is approximately 80%, with the highest I've seen being 90-95% (Andy Roddick, interestingly, tosses this height. Most people think his toss is short.), and the lowest being Taylor Dent's 50%. So, instead of one or two feet, I'd practice in a room approximately double your height, which is actually quite a tall room for many people; if it hits the cieling then it's definitely too high. In a situation such as that, you want it to have about .5-3 feet of clearance, depending on the height you want to have. I could not tell you, however, the advantages of the different heights. Only the heights I would advise you stick within.

[chess9]

Watch Dementieva.... :)

-Robert

[DRtenniS1112]

JB, I would have to say I disagree. I've done some detailed-if-quick research into serve forms of various pros, and from your numbers, you should be tossing the ball at approximately 60% of your height above your head; the "normal" toss height of pros with great serves is approximately 80%, with the highest I've seen being 90-95% (Andy Roddick, interestingly, tosses this height. Most people think his toss is short.), and the lowest being Taylor Dent's 50%. So, instead of one or two feet, I'd practice in a room approximately double your height, which is actually quite a tall room for many people; if it hits the cieling then it's definitely too high. In a situation such as that, you want it to have about .5-3 feet of clearance, depending on the height you want to have. I could not tell you, however, the advantages of the different heights. Only the heights I would advise you stick within.
Roddick and Dent both have huge serves so this just shows that the toss is more preference doesnt it.

[Mattle]

If you say you can't lower your toss, it simply sounds like you need some feeling and touch in your hand:P just practice that god damn toss:)

[Clive Walker]

If you say you can't lower your toss, it simply sounds like you need some feeling and touch in your hand:P just practice that god damn toss:)

Absolutely, -Ditch the bat for a while, find yourself a spot where you can measure the height you want to throw to, then practice it until you get it right.

Although, that said. I'm not sure that there is a good way to coach the toss on serve as it is so individual.

[Amone]

Well, it's just a bunch of variables. Where are you tossing to? What degree of spin do you wish to use, and what kind? How much preparation time do you need to hit the ball at your full arm's reach, and still have the form that you want to use to serve?

I, for instance, toss about 6 inches in front of me and often with a left-ward arc like Federer. Hurts my back when that happens, though, so I don't necessarily like it. Every serve I hit is a kick, so that is really why I don't toss more than a foot or two out in front. My prep time... not sure about that one. I've never really worked on my toss, I just threw it up a few times, and after a while it was the right amount of time. But hopefully, you can see what I mean with all those questions above. How to use the information can mostly be found around these here boards, in different forms.

[jeebeesus]

Dont pay too much attention to the toss. Just make sure you are placing the ball when you shift your weight forward after rocking backwards first.

This is to make sure you are not doing the dreaded "reverse pivot " as in golf where you find your weight is still on the back foot when you toss.

Try and synchronise your ball release when you transfer your weight forward.Dont worry too much about the height of your toss.Let it be something personal ,something that is comfortable and something that is YOU.

Everybody`s toss differs and there is no one standard toss.

[heathnoir]

one more thing, i'm sure you already know - make sure you hold the ball with your fingers and not in the palm/ball of your hand..

[SCSI]

Here are my swing thougts for serving:

-Relax
-Toss Low (toss as low as possible)
-Hit High (hit as high as possible)

Have you seen pros warm up their serve? They don't do the full knee bend, and they just toss up and hit it, while being very relaxed. You want to do that for a while and get comfortable with it.

If you get too mental about the toss thing, don't think about your tossing arm, but just focus on your hitting arm. Just toss up and go!

[papa]

one more thing, i'm sure you already know - make sure you hold the ball with your fingers and not in the palm/ball of your hand..

Yes and get your little finger out of the process - for many its a problem in the toss.