starting the serve motion from deuce/ad side

[dlam]

Do you guys do anything different when starting the service motion from the deuce vs the ad side.
Like a different set up trigger or routine? More closed /open stance? different toss? Flatter serve vs spinner serve?

[SwankPeRFection]

Nope.

10 char

[PhrygianDominant]

Slightly different angle...

[Orion3]

Most right-handed people serve with a closed stance. Feet pointing right, towards the net post for both deuce and ad-court. They may vary the angle slightly, but normally the difference is slight.

Only odd-balls (like me) vary their feet a lot. I have always pointed my front toe towards the place I'd aim to hit a hard flat serve. Straight down the T on the deuce court and at the corner on the ad court. I can hit a hard or more spinning slice from the same toss - as a junior, people always had a hard time reading my serve. thesedays not many people I play even try to read my serve!!

[Clive Walker]

Open shoulder from LHS is only real difference I can think of

[cll30]

Am right handed and my serve to the ad court is much better and has a more natural feel to it. Not exactly sure why that is.

[tennis tom]

Serving from deuce side: Closed stance, heels parallel to hash mark. Ball toss arm aimed at right net post, or the one o'clock position.

Ad side: Stand a racket and a half away from the hash mark. Left foot aimed at target, right foot parallel to baseline, perpendicular to arch of left foot.


Don't move your feet!

[LeeD]

Your starting stance from either side, both sides, should be to serve dead center at the receiver without doing anything. That is yor defaut stance positioning. Then, when you want to serve wide right or wide left, you adjust your forward swing and it's followthru to that side.
Just keep in mind that wide serves go over the higher net, while up the middle serves go over a 36" high net.

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Oh, i dunno about not moving your feet, I do almost exactly what Ferrer does, a little step with my left, then bring my right up to pinpoint.

works for me, maybe it is a short guy thing? (Laver did it too)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-pnLAGaTk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcalpD9qw_E

[corbind]

Originally Posted by cll30

Am right handed and my serve to the ad court is much better and has a more natural feel to it. Not exactly sure why that is.

I'm the same. We must figure out why!

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by corbind

I'm the same. We must figure out why!

I'm right-handed and my deuce serve is much better than my ad serve.

[dlam]

Originally Posted by cll30

Am right handed and my serve to the ad court is much better and has a more natural feel to it. Not exactly sure why that is.

I can see the ball curve into the ad side better with my right handed serve
On the deuce side I can see the ball curve in better when serving with my left hand and I played a match like this where I switch hands serving

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

I'm right-handed and my deuce serve is much better than my ad serve.

Better in what way??? Placement? First serve percentage?

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by Timbo's hopeless slice

Oh, i dunno about not moving your feet, I do almost exactly what Ferrer does, a little step with my left, then bring my right up to pinpoint.

Not moving one's feet enables rec players to master getting the ball toss in the correct spot. Your are correct on the right foot pirouetting, rotating, unloading, up to "pinpoint"--what ever the correct term is for this element. If a player can't serve properly when not moving their feet, they sure won't be able to do it when trying to serve big, flying into the air, jumping into the court.

I play occasionally with a pal who has an elaborate service ritual. He walks towards the back fence, makes a circle, walks to the service line, steps ON the service line, then "swerves" and tries to volley. Foot faults EVERY time, (given up on trying to get him to fix that), double faults close to fifty percent of the time and chokes on big points 100% of the time. And he practices this before every rec match--he's gotten real good at it too! I unfortunately had to play with him once when he double fautled three of his four serve attempts. The rest of his game is equally predictable--but he is one of the world's nicest guys.

[OrangePower]

Originally Posted by tennis tom

If a player can't serve properly when not moving their feet, they sure won't be able to do it when trying to serve big, flying into the air, jumping into the court.

I'm not sure what you're saying - if you consider moving the back foot into pinpoint as "moving the feet" or not.

In my case, I can't serve out of the platform stance. I can't get a decent kneebend and my weight transfer is all wrong. So if I were forced to serve without moving my feet at all, I'd be sunk. Using pinpoint stance on the other hand, I can get a good bend and good rotation.

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by OrangePower

I'm not sure what you're saying - if you consider moving the back foot into pinpoint as "moving the feet" or not.

I think we're on the same page with this. I think what you mean by moving the back foot to the "pinpoint" is rotating the foot from being flat on the ground, up onto the toe, like a pirouette. This would allow for the body rotation.

This is a good example of why trying to explain an element like this is so difficult by words versus demonstrating from the service line.

[LeeD]

Lots of players step forward with the FRONT foot at the initial phase of the ball toss.

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Originally Posted by tennis tom

I think we're on the same page with this. I think what you mean by moving the back foot to the "pinpoint" is rotating the foot from being flat on the ground, up onto the toe, like a pirouette. This would allow for the body rotation.

This is a good example of why trying to explain an element like this is so difficult by words versus demonstrating from the service line.

Tom, there are two basic variations on foot position while serving.

Platform. This is where both feet remain in teh same position throughout the service motion. Federer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcjZ5r_YHV0

Pinpoint. The front foot stays more or less in the same location but the back foot comes up to it before the knee bend. Ferrer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-pnLAGaTk

Like Orange Power, I find I can't really serve out of platform, and for the same reasons.

Your mileage may vary

[OrangePower]

Originally Posted by Timbo's hopeless slice

Tom, there are two basic variations on foot position while serving.

Platform. This is where both feet remain in teh same position throughout the service motion. Federer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcjZ5r_YHV0

Pinpoint. The front foot stays more or less in the same location but the back foot comes up to it before the knee bend. Ferrer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-pnLAGaTk

Like Orange Power, I find I can't really serve out of platform, and for the same reasons.

Your mileage may vary

^^^^ Good links.

And it's not just the "little guys" who use pinpoint... check out Sod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaAhBME6jtA

My serve is more like Sod's (but much, much crappier of course). Ferrer has more pronounced movement of the front foot.

[Setmatch45]

I like going wide to the deuce side but it is because I am lefty more than anything.