Has anyone on the board learned to hit 130mph serves?

[5263]

Originally Posted by Loopy07

I'm not sure I can see the picture. Do you have a link with pictures to explain this? I think my best serve is only about 75-80 mph. And I see players with really bad 2nd serves can hit 1st serves pretty fast. Not sure how they are doing it.

try this vid, as it is pretty good if you can stop it at the right frame.
as soon as it clicks over from 6 to 7 secs (you have to count along and anticipate) hit pause. If you time it well, you should get a great pick of what I call launch position, which shows him with the right elbow high and that hand well below the elbow 4-6 inches. Most slower servers will have already have extended the elbow some by that point and have the hand 2-4 inches above the elbow.

Study that frame, because it is the key to big serves along with a correct toss. From the launch position, you must have excellent RHS to reach the contact pt on time, because from that low it has so far to go in a certain time frame.
does this help?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqj1F...etailpage#t=7s

[5263]

Originally Posted by kiteboard

Do you mean rotating the hitting structure upwards, only after yanking toss arm down and tucking leading shoulder down first, and then rotate the elbow upwards?

shoulder is like a seesaw, so when front comes down, it should power the back up and the elbow up too. But the hand should be still dragging during that initial elbow lift, so that it is lagging like the next stage ready to extend up in the chain.
make sense?

[kiteboard]

Sort of, but I don't know how to do that. I first taped Pete in the 89 Phillie indoor. He beat Lendl at 18yrs. old and won the first tourny of his career, but I have not used video on myself too much. Never got any leg drive going, or high elbow. My elbow was always too low coming up.

[peoplespeace]

Originally Posted by tennisnoob3

per dr.325's request....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T08Nfa0mDpQ

they both went right into the bottom of the net, but decent form....

[FloridaAG]

Love these threads - answer for me is no way.

[Devilito]

ill have to get some videos of me serving now that my shoulder has been good for a while. Pretty sure i could get mid 120s maybe close to 130 if i turn up the heat to max. The key to any strong shot is a relaxed and fluid motion. The more you have to think about it the less effective it's going to be.

[kiteboard]

Interesting comment. I know the ball can't go much faster than the frame, but if the frame is going 100mph, the ball goes 120 and so on. To say you can get the frame up there while relaxing is one thing, doing it is another.

[5263]

Originally Posted by kiteboard

Interesting comment. I know the ball can't go much faster than the frame, but if the frame is going 100mph, the ball goes 120 and so on. To say you can get the frame up there while relaxing is one thing, doing it is another.

IMO, hanging loose can help racket drop and elbow extension.

[kiteboard]

In that Sampras clip, at drop position, he is totally parallel with the baseline, and has not turned toward the net at all. The frame then tucks up under the elbow, past vertical position, compared to the toss, and all of a sudden, in 2/1000th of a sec., flips up to contact.

[cdubdub]

ive been able to hit multiple 110-115 mph serves, but 130? no wayy. im 6 ft and only weigh 145. my motion definitely has a few flaws, as well. heres a video from october..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fursMw9G1S8

[FedererBestTennis]

Is 98 mph good for a 105 lb thirteen-year-old?

[BagelMe]

I think some people tell others they have a 120 mph serve because they're not used to returning serves of that speed. Also, 120 mph i guess is what most ignorant tennis players use to describe a big serve...

[jmverdugo]

Everytime a professional tennis player hits a serve between 120-130mph everybody makes a big deal about it, the commentators talk about it, they show the screen with the numbers on TV, etc. Why is this? because not even the pros hits those serve as often as some people think, this is why that is kind of hard for me to beleive that some people here can hit 130MPH serves at will. JMO.

[spacediver]

Here are a couple serves from last summer. The knee bend and body snap are excellent, but the overall form is flawed.

Since then, I've improved the overall form, but haven't yet reached the same level of snap. It's steadily improving.

Anyway, here are the serves:

http://vimeo.com/14259063

I'm guessing they were around 110mph, as I have clocked myself at 106mph and these felt quite a bit faster.

[TennisAddict121]

Originally Posted by peoplespeace

they both went right into the bottom of the net, but decent form....

If you turn the volume up you will hear they hit the fence. I am very tall so the ball trajectory does look like it is steep (which it is) but they did cross the net

[SoBad]

Originally Posted by TennisAddict121

If you turn the volume up you will hear they hit the fence. I am very tall so the ball trajectory does look like it is steep (which it is) but they did cross the net rest assured

You're 5'11" at most and your serve is no more than 70mph (5'9" and 60mph, respectively, in Florida/SoCal).

[tennis_balla]

Don't worry about peoplespeace, he should be the last one to criticize anyones game. How are those ATP points working out for you anyways?

[tennisnoob3]

Originally Posted by FedererBestTennis

Is 98 mph good for a 105 lb thirteen-year-old?

too bad it isnt true.

[TennisAddict121]

Originally Posted by tennis_balla

Don't worry about peoplespeace, he should be the last one to criticize anyones game. How are those ATP points working out for you anyways?

If tennis_balla says to not worry, than I shall not

[dozu]

Originally Posted by tennis_balla

Don't worry about peoplespeace, he should be the last one to criticize anyones game. How are those ATP points working out for you anyways?

yo balla, stop it... he is my friend.