Why/Where do you bounce the ball before serving?

[athiker]

Watching a little tennis on TV (WTA) and it appeared both players pretty much tossed directly above where they bounce the ball before serving. For some reason this never occurred to me as a reason to bounce the ball; I always thought it was just a routine for routine sake. Am I imagining things or is this why and where you bounce the ball?

I have to constantly remind myself to toss more into the court. I don't get nearly the power if I toss above me but habitually do it. I don't bounce the ball at all with my left hand, I just bounce it a couple of times with my racquet and then serve. I'm thinking if I bounce it more out into the court using my tossing hand, then toss straight above that spot, that will get me in a better body position and mindset to toss where I need to. It just may break my bad habit.

I fear I may have gone off the deep end of over analyzing but am curious if this is common knowledge to all but me, or an hallucination. It wouldn't make sense for a kick serve, but maybe a first serve guide/reminder. Ever think about it?

[salsainglesa]

Its ritualistic mostly... but you can use this time to decide how to play the point, or visualize your toss, both or something else.

Maybe its a time you can use to observe your emotional state, or pay attention to a sensorial stimulus, like the felt on the ball so you clear your mind of negative thoughts...

[LeeD]

Bounce the ball to reestablish your exact stance and body position for the prep of the serve. From there, you can toss back over your head for twists, out far right for slices, and anywhere in the middle for flat or pure topspin serves...for righties.

[mightyrick]

Originally Posted by athiker

Watching a little tennis on TV (WTA) and it appeared both players pretty much tossed directly above where they bounce the ball before serving. For some reason this never occurred to me as a reason to bounce the ball; I always thought it was just a routine for routine sake. Am I imagining things or is this why and where you bounce the ball?

When I used to bounce the ball in the same place, my toss would be very erratic sometimes.

Now ... when I am hitting a topspin serve, I always bounce the ball on the imaginary line from my body towards the middle of the net. For a flat serve, I'll bounce the ball on the imaginary line from my front foot to the net post.

Doing this has helped immensely. By bouncing the ball in a different spot for my first and second serves, it really sets a different chain of muscle memory into motion. My toss has become much more accurate. Even my swing up to the ball has gotten better.

[LeeD]

Some players toss the ball exactly the same every time, and move themselves under the ball to hit different serves.
Other's toss to different locations depending on type of serve to be hit.
Other's like to mix a little of the two.
Some bounce it 19 times.
Some bounce it ONCE.
Whatever floats your boat.

[WildVolley]

I bounce it twice on the ground. It is just a ritual to get me to relax, and think about how and where I want to hit the serve.

I don't understand Djokovic's random bounce numbers. The point is to get yourself ready to serve well.

[ethon]

Bounce to get in rhythm for the serve

[Steady Eddy]

To remind me to slow down. I can start the serve, there's no need to rush it. I'm likely to forget that unless I do something that forces me to take my time.

[Xizel]

It helps establish consistency in your mind. Now I have no hands, so I'd just miss the catch on the bounce.

[athiker]

Thanks for the responses. I've read enough that I'm going to incorporate the left hand bounce into my routine and see how it goes. I need to slow down and I need to be more conscientious about my toss location. I'm thinking about 4 measured deliberate bounces should do the trick...I don't know how Djoker does it so many times...that would bug me more than my opponent I think.

[TennisAddict121]

When I'm in a comfortable position I bounce it about 4-6 times. If I am under pressure it is anywhere from 10-15. I am Serbian so that should answer some questions lol

[TheOneHander]

Delete post.

[LeeD]

As OneHander says, about 7" inside the baseline.
Surprisingly, toss is the same whether I plan to move in or stay back, but the body movement changes, as does the stroke (I stay more sideways when I move towards net position).
When planning to move forwards, the feet land 12-18" inside the baseline.
When planning to stay back, the feet move forwards much less, and depending on strength of expected return.

[Sreeram]

I was thinking about this bouncing ritual yesterday and it became so much part of my game that without bouncing the ball of my racquet 3 or 4 times I cannot get my serve stance right.

[origmarm]

Originally Posted by mightyrick

When I used to bounce the ball in the same place, my toss would be very erratic sometimes.

Now ... when I am hitting a topspin serve, I always bounce the ball on the imaginary line from my body towards the middle of the net. For a flat serve, I'll bounce the ball on the imaginary line from my front foot to the net post.

Doing this has helped immensely. By bouncing the ball in a different spot for my first and second serves, it really sets a different chain of muscle memory into motion. My toss has become much more accurate. Even my swing up to the ball has gotten better.

One of the guys I played a lot a few years ago did this. Very good player but telegraphed his serving intentions somewhat as a result.

Orig

[athiker]

Well thanks again for the responses, at least I'm not crazy for thinking about this.

I've tried to incorporate this but failed miserably; it just feels too awkward. Something about the bending over to bounce the ball and moving my head back up to serve gets my focus off. I've gone back to bouncing it a few times w/ my racquet and that's it. I still forget to toss far enough into the courts sometimes but I'm getting better. I just need to mentally remind myself to slow down and think a moment before serving. I like to play fast but realize sometimes thinking of a few mental cues before serving is helpful.

EDIT: My latest cue, after watching my pitiful kneebend on a smart phone video clip, is to bend my knees and jump up at the ball. I always thought I was bending my knees, but I wasn't, and thinking of jumping up at the ball gets me to bend my knees first (so I can jump). Its king of remarkable how jumping up more (its really more like pushing up probably...haven't seen a new video yet) actually brings my serve back down into play better. I think it adds a touch more spin to the the serve, even my first serve.

[Maui19]

To me, this is like a pre-shot routine in golf. You want it to be exactly the same all the time, so that when you are under pressure your body is locked into a familiar routine. It is all about repeatability under pressure.

[Jake Speed]

Am I imagining things or is this why and where you bounce the ball?

I assure you, with advanced level tennis, the bouncing of the ball has absolutely no bearing on where the ball is tossed or should be tossed.

So, you are imagining things. Well, actually reading more into it than necessary.

JS