Serve Practice

[Thanatos]

My serve is my bread and butter shot. When it goes good, my entire game just falls into place. When I'm having a bad serving day, I have to struggle in order to get through a match. I find that I have to take a basket of balls and practice my serves at least once a week to stay in rhythm. How often do you have to practice your serve?

 

[SageOfDeath]

I used to practice my serve daily. But then I learned that by serving daily I wasn't helping my serve a lot because I was actually practicing bad technique so by practicing bad technique often you don't get better. You just get consistant at hitting the ball badly.

Most of my improvement on my serve came from off court drilling. Improving my toss, catching the ball against the fence, throwing with my arms.

Beginners worry about head racquet speed too often and forget about technique and their toss.

Advanced players developed good fundementals but are now trying to improve head racquet speed, thrust, rotation, while they could still develop more into their fundementals.


I think at most levels improving your fundementals is more important than focusing on power, pace, spin, or technique even. Even if you have excellent technique and you chase a bad toss, your serve can often go out.

 

[divito]

When I practice my serve, I usually make small adjustments until I get so many in consistently and then I usually stop. I try to do it a couple times a week to make sure I can keep doing the same thing and get it imprinted in my muscle memory.

 

[theace21]

Most important shot in tennis, if you are not spending time working on it - your opponents will appreciated it!!!!

 

[papa]

I practice serving almost daily - might only be half hour sometimes but mostly about an hour. I enjoy the process and probably hit anywhere from 75 to 150 balls.

 

[kevhen]

One winter before I started playing indoors like 5 years ago, I went out when the weather was nice and hit 100-200 serves when there was no net up and just aimed close to the lines. The next spring after hitting a couple thousand practice serves, my serve had improved quite a bit.

Now I practice my serve when there is an odd number at my hitting groups or in the winter at the indoor courts when I am waiting for my opponent and a court is open. Since my serve is my #1 strength it is something I need to practice and enjoy doing so. It is the one shot that is not dependent on having a hitting partner so easiest to practice and no excuses for not having a good serve.

 

[gifted_shotmaker]

If I don't have anyone to hit with, I practice my serve. Or if I feel like I've been hitting too much consecutively, so I take a break one day and focus strictly on serves, usually for 30 min. to an hour. I have to feel like my serve is all technically sound, sort of a "routine" feeling.

 

[TennsDog]

You didn't have 20x/month, so I put 4. I practice my serve for at least 10 mins (I like to get at least 20, though) every time I hit. Serving is the most fun part of tennis, it just doesn't have the same rhythm.

 

[TwistServe]

I do serve practice about 2-3x a week about 30-45 minutes each.. 100-150 balls.. in a month I would averag about 12x

 

[x Southpaw x]

I practice my serve only during serve warm-up and in matches. Yet it's the strongest part of my game... while volleys are my weakest... yet I spend most of my practice on groundies. Can't help it, groundies are so important and most of my partners love groundies practice.

 

[mucat]

2x a week, 100-200 balls, at least an hour.

 

[Noelle]

I practice my serve every time I hit the courts (two to three times a week). I have a serve prone to falling apart if I don't practice it, since my timing goes off easily.

 

[papa]

One winter before I started playing indoors like 5 years ago, I went out when the weather was nice and hit 100-200 serves when there was no net up and just aimed close to the lines. The next spring after hitting a couple thousand practice serves, my serve had improved quite a bit.

Now I practice my serve when there is an odd number at my hitting groups or in the winter at the indoor courts when I am waiting for my opponent and a court is open. Since my serve is my #1 strength it is something I need to practice and enjoy doing so. It is the one shot that is not dependent on having a hitting partner so easiest to practice and no excuses for not having a good serve.

Well Kevhen, to me the key phrase is that you "enjoy doing so" - doesn't necessarily mean that "everything" is a joy but it certainly helps. When you enjoy the process, progress comes faster. Keep it up, including making up little games using cones, towell, hat, etc.

 

[armand]

My partner and I sometimes play a set with specialized rules that includes no double faulting; only triple faulting and to win a game it takes 8 points.
When you're dead tired of serving 2 first serves in a row constantly and still a 3rd to go, you really get tired and find new more effecient ways of serving(ie shoulder rotation)
Our serving has improved tremendously since we began doing this.

"tennis is a flawed game based on the construct of a flawed mind. Use the imperfections to your advantage"

 

[kevhen]

2 first serves would be great. I could rip the first one, slice the second, and then hit topspin or weak flat on the third. It would be difficult to lose serve with 2 first serves on every point. You could even go for aces on all 3 serves knowing you have 3 more serves coming on the next serve if you triple faulted that one. That is a good way to practice your first serve. To practice your second serve you would need to only get one serve on each point.

 

[Indiantwist]

Last year i practised a lot ( i have posted that lengthy stuff in another thread). Its basically hitting atleast 50 balls a day for 3 times a week.

These days my schedule is pretty tough and iam considering myself lucky if i can have 4 tennis outings a week (practice/match or whatever). Hence i no longer do a seperate practice.

However when iam playing, i adopt some strategies. For example when iam up 40-0,4015, i always make sure that i Aim to serve at spots i am not comfortable at (for eaxmple Kick serve to a righthanders forehand) . This seems to make some improvement.

 

[Burt Turkoglu]

....I practice the serve twice a week now....I used to never practice it.....my serve has changed from my weakness to a strength now....well worth the time I spent....

 

[Kaptain Karl]

The Poll choices are not adequate.

I practice my serve almost every time I'm on the court (which is usually 3x/week).

Agreed, that a good way to practice 2nd Serves is ... play points with only one serve. Never heard of the three-serves-per-point thing, but if it works ... great.

- KK

 

[goober]

I played my ex-tennis coach a set with me having 3 serves and him only one. I never triple faulted thank god. For the first serve I usually went for some silly serve where I hit the ball as as hard as I possibly could since I figured I have 2 more serves if I missed. I dont't think it really did anything to help me serve better but whatever works for you I guess.

 

[andreh]

I practice my serve alot simply because it's difficult shot. If don't serve much for a long period of time my serve tends to regress several levels. The same thing never happens with, for instance, my forehand. If don't hit a forehand for ten years it would still be just as good.

 

[mucat]

I practice my serve alot simply because it's difficult shot. If don't serve much for a long period of time my serve tends to regress several levels. The same thing never happens with, for instance, my forehand. If don't hit a forehand for ten years it would still be just as good.

It is a strange thing. I never really play tennis regularily until last summer, the most I have played was in highschool (which was 15+ years ago) and some doubles for a few months 6 years ago, but like you said my FH and BH is actually better and I can feel I am actually a better player then before just by getting older and wiser. However, my serve was never good so it never get worse over the year.

 

[Ztalin]

I serve 3-4 times a week, for about an hour each.

 

[POGO]

I practice my serve everytime I play tennis. I get their early so I can practice my serve and as part of my warm up. So I practice my serve about 5 times a week for about 45 minutes to an hour prior to playing a match.

 

[armand]

I played my ex-tennis coach a set with me having 3 serves and him only one. I never triple faulted thank god. For the first serve I usually went for some silly serve where I hit the ball as as hard as I possibly could since I figured I have 2 more serves if I missed. I dont't think it really did anything to help me serve better but whatever works for you I guess.

you think one set will help you? Not even Bollitieri could help with that short amount of time