How can I measure my serve accuratly?

D

DudewithBabolat

Rookie
No I don't want to do physics calculations and arrive at an answer, i just wanna serve all day and let a speedometer tell me :). Now, what brand of speedometer, is it the same as they use for cars, or the ones they use for baseball? Also, I've heard pros/coaches can give you an approximation, but I'd like to have a digital reader, i don't want to pay a private coach just to tell me my serve speed for an hour or so.

Thanks guys :)
 
5263

5263

G.O.A.T.
It's just not that easy. That's the main reason you hear all the squabbling about serve speeds on here. Most everyone has a diff method, and almost all are inferior (meaning they get a slower reading than they should) to what is comparable for a tour event; which is the standard we are all comparing with to start with.
 
D

DudewithBabolat

Rookie
That's why you're a "Hall of Fame" member, and I'm a "New User". So what's the fastest, cheapest, most efficient way for me to measure my serve speed? I've never had it measured before and was just curious how i stack up against the competition :)
 
M

moroni

Rookie
160$ oh **** i would have bought one if it was 100$ anyone knows a place that sells these for100$ ? THEY DONT HAVE TO BE THE SAME BRAND / DONT HAVE TO BE 100% ACCURATE DOESNT MATTER IF THEY ARE OFF BY 2--3 MPH
 
Rorsach

Rorsach

Hall of Fame
Get one of these and aim for the hole:

CE1_CroTar1X.jpg


;)
 
V

volusiano

Hall of Fame
Just curious if anybody knows what kind of radar is used on the tour? Brand name, model name, picture, cost, etc? Just want to know what the "standard" is...
 
Arzon

Arzon

Rookie
DudewithBabolat said:
My sister could hold it for me. But $80 is like a pair of shoes. Is there anything around 20-30?
Click to expand...

do you play at a club? My club has a ball machine are a radar gun that they use for their 18U clinics. If you're good friends with the owner, maybe they'll let you borrow it for a day or so.
 
C

Carlito

Semi-Pro
DudewithBabolat said:
I'm only 15, but my cousin in Houston is a cop, is it legal for them to do that? I'm in California, so maybe during Christmas.
Click to expand...

I got one of those radar things. If you ever play at whittier narrows or in riverside I can let you use it. It is very humbling to a lot of people. Some of my friends though they could serve 100+ but could barely hit 80.
 
D

DudewithBabolat

Rookie
Carlito said:
I got one of those radar things. If you ever play at whittier narrows or in riverside I can let you use it. It is very humbling to a lot of people. Some of my friends though they could serve 100+ but could barely hit 80.
Click to expand...

I might be going to UC Riverside actually, i heard they ended up in the top 10 universities in America.
 
G

Geezer Guy

Hall of Fame
It's pretty common knowledge that you can just measure how high the ball bounces on the back fence. If it hits the bottom of the fence on the first bounce, that's 100. For every foot up the fence, add 10.
 
S

SuperDuy

Hall of Fame
Nah bro your wrong, Jolly roger made a video of how fast u have to serve to hit the back fence. he hit it at 70mph..

On my vid I posted the serve went around 2.5 feet up the fence and people were saying it was 90s.
 
5263

5263

G.O.A.T.
SuperDuy said:
Nah bro your wrong, Jolly roger made a video of how fast u have to serve to hit the back fence. he hit it at 70mph..

On my vid I posted the serve went around 2.5 feet up the fence and people were saying it was 90s.
Click to expand...

That is not correct about Jollys serve. If you are sure, please give a point to that thread. (link)
By memory, Jolly's serve measured 70 with the radar at the opposite svc (maybe at otherside of net). Accounting for mis-alignment and distance from initial velocities, Jolly's serves that hit the fence were in the 100 range. You are aware that the serve has lost around 50% of initial velocity (which is what we discuss) right after the bounce, right? And that poor alignment makes a large difference, right?
 
Falloutjr

Falloutjr

Banned
Geezer Guy said:
It's pretty common knowledge that you can just measure how high the ball bounces on the back fence. If it hits the bottom of the fence on the first bounce, that's 100. For every foot up the fence, add 10.
Click to expand...

But what if you hit a very straight serve with MINIMAL (like 2-3 inches clearance over the net). That's how mine are. With new balls, I still frequently hit the fence on one bounce, but I still think some of the serve I hit are faster than 100.
 
onehandbh

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
DudewithBabolat said:
I'm only 15, but my cousin in Houston is a cop, is it legal for them to do that? I'm in California, so maybe during Christmas.
Click to expand...

Option #1:
Have your cop friend stand about 5 feet in front of you
with the radar gun pointed at you.

Hit your serve as hard as you can right at the radar gun but
try not to hit him. Repeat until you get your highest reading
or you hit him. (once the latter happens, run)

Option #2:
Do a search on TW on this subject.
 
callen3615

callen3615

Professional
Geezer Guy said:
It's pretty common knowledge that you can just measure how high the ball bounces on the back fence. If it hits the bottom of the fence on the first bounce, that's 100. For every foot up the fence, add 10.
Click to expand...

No way. If so I hit a 150 mph serve today. Thats total bs.


I try to 1 hop the fence. I figure if I do that I hit it pretty hard. I might hit the fence 3 out of 10 times while practicing. Some days better than others.


Speed < Placement
 
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