starting the serve motion from deuce/ad side
- Thread starter dlam
- Start date
SwankPeRFection
Hall of Fame
Nope.
10 char
10 char
PhrygianDominant
Hall of Fame
Slightly different angle...
Orion3
Semi-Pro
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!!
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
Rookie
Open shoulder from LHS is only real difference I can think of
tennis tom
Legend
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!
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!
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.
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
Hall of Fame
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
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
Professional
I'm the same. We must figure out why!
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Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
I'm right-handed and my deuce serve is much better than my ad serve.
dlam
Semi-Pro
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
Legend
Better in what way??? Placement? First serve percentage?
tennis tom
Legend
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
Legend
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
Legend
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.
Timbo's hopeless slice
Hall of Fame
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
Legend
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
Rookie
I like going wide to the deuce side but it is because I am lefty more than anything.
tennis tom
Legend
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
Thanks for the videos, I watched them and they are professionals. I was addressing the "don't move your feet" comment more for instructional purposes for beginners to maybe 4.0's. It's in the vein of "you can't run before you learn how to walk". Not moving one's feet while serving will help a rec player perfect a more consistent ball toss. I'd say if you're a 4.5 and above or maybe a young athletic 4.0 you may possess the skills to jump into the serve and get up to the net quicker.
corbind
Professional
Percentage-wise I get more serves in and better serves to the ad side. I thought about it and likely it's because it's just easier to put side spin on the ball for me (righty) serving to the ad side wide. It's a more natural swing and seems like just less work or hassle.
Serving to the ad side (usually down the middle of the box or T almost never wide) it seems I have to move my arm more across my body.
Serving to the ad side (usually down the middle of the box or T almost never wide) it seems I have to move my arm more across my body.
dlam
Semi-Pro
thanks for the responses.
I m planing to just serve righty on both sides
it feels more natural on the ad side for me with righty serve and I make absolutely no set up adjustments.
In fact I m like to practise solely on the ad side prior to match and then make my adjustments on the deuce side.
On the deuce side, Im planning to continue a routine, where I will hold with my left hand and then grip with my right hand after the start of my serving motion.
I m planing to just serve righty on both sides
it feels more natural on the ad side for me with righty serve and I make absolutely no set up adjustments.
In fact I m like to practise solely on the ad side prior to match and then make my adjustments on the deuce side.
On the deuce side, Im planning to continue a routine, where I will hold with my left hand and then grip with my right hand after the start of my serving motion.
Baxter
Professional
Me too, but I usually give it away by standing too far from the center mark.
dlam
Semi-Pro
Served very well after doing the prematch routine of serving from the ad side so I get get my senses adjusted to the distance to the net court.
then i would go to the deuce side and serve lining up to the baseline and not look at the net court but aligning my body/feet to the baseline and then use my eyes to aim above the net court after my toss
Didnt do this in my last match and lost my rhythm and confidence serving. I had to resort to reverse spin serves.
Having a good prematch serving routine is so important to get my visualization pattern ready.
then i would go to the deuce side and serve lining up to the baseline and not look at the net court but aligning my body/feet to the baseline and then use my eyes to aim above the net court after my toss
Didnt do this in my last match and lost my rhythm and confidence serving. I had to resort to reverse spin serves.
Having a good prematch serving routine is so important to get my visualization pattern ready.
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dlam
Semi-Pro
My righty serve is getter better and notice that I like to serve it flat on the ad side and the left foot pointing seems to help
I like to move my left foot slightly forward as well towards the ad court
On the deuce side I made some mechanically adjustments so I don't disrupt my rhythm
I like the spinner from the deuce side and move my left foot slightly back and key on my left heel to make sure it's perpendicular to where I want the serve to end up
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