Practicing Serves with dead balls

[kninetik]

I would like to practice my serve but I dont want to run to the other side of the court to fetch just 3 balls. I do have a good number of dead and half dead balls. I'm not looking to break a speed record. I am newbie server so my point is to get it across the net and into the correct service box. Will it make a big enough difference if I hit with dead balls or new ones?

Also... How in the world do people hit topspin or kick serves without framing the ball to high heaven. I can't for the life of me hit the ball even remotely correct. Even the grip makes me nervous since the racquet once flew out of my hand due to using an overused, dead replacement grip. Any advice appreciated!

[david7410]

Yikes...

You will get a lot more pace with new balls. Hitting too many dead balls isn't good for your arm.

The trick to putting spin on a serve is to brush up on the ball, obviously. But inorder to avoid framing the ball, you have to rotate (pronate) your forearm as you brush upward.

Get a new grip on your racquet.

[kninetik]

Yikes indeed im a little surprised by your reply! Dead balls are nice and squishy and I would think they'd be just a little bit more arm friendly.

Also, since that little incident, I've been using overgrips ever since :P

[kevhen]

Dead balls will move slower so they will drop into the service box more than live balls. Then when you play with live balls in a match you will double fault more. You can use older balls to practice your serve with but get rid of the really dead balls. That is what I do.

[Power Game]

Because dead balls are "squishy" it takes a harder swing just to get the ball over the net

[kninetik]

I think ill just buy a bundle of pressureless balls then.... Problem solved? or are those poor for serves since they are made differently

[TennsDog]

Since you say you are rather new to serving, I don't think using dead balls will make much of a difference. When you are just learning, you have little feel for the ball and the focus, as you said, is just to get the ball in play. I assume you don't use much pace or spin, which will make it easier to adapt to switching between balls. Before my serve became too precise as it is now, I used to use a bag full of dead balls. I personally don't like pressureless balls because of the feel, or lack thereof. They are hard and don't bounce too well. I personally don't buy them, but that is probably mostly just a personal preference. You may buy just a 3-pack or something to see if they will work first before you buy a bunch.

[Camilio Pascual]

If you want to get pressureless balls, I suggest the hybrid Tretorn Micro-X instead, which are approved for tournament play. They are more live than pressureless balls and last longer in ball machines than other balls I've tried.