100+ mph TW club

When I was a kid I could hit over 100, when I got clocked. I was probably 5'5. The problem was the inconsistency of the serve. It was either on or off. When I was on, I could ace people 4-6 straight times and mess with their heads, when it was off, it was real bad.

I'm about 5'9 now and am working on getting my serve more consistent. With practice I am sure I can break 100 again, and ill try and film it.
 
Whoa, didn't know this thread existed! I will peruse and kill time. Dunno if you remember Swiss, but I posted a vid a couple years back of me doing 110+ mph so hopefully that'll qualify. If not, I'll get a vid up again someday, although I wouldn't hold my breath because I have more pressing things I need to work on.
 
I served a couple of ones 120 mph today, ill definetely post a video! Does Km/h count?? 1mph= 1,61 kmh
 
TheMagicianOfPrecision said:
Cool video, looks cool with those "bubbles", they dont exist in Sweden.
Is that America?
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What kind of indoor courts are those? It looks like they were made in a metal style building?
They should hang some cheap mesh nets between the courts to keep balls on the court but pretty cool set up.
 
boojay said:
Thanks, glad you liked it. Sort've.....it's in Canada which is part of the American Empire. It's a pressurized tennis dome. Every shot sounds like a gunshot, it's a blast (pun intended).
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Yeah that sound is awesome, i usually play in a complex that is totally protected from sound !:| If you hit a serve 120 mph it sounds as if someone farted...sounds ridiculous. Pressurized tennis domes doesnt exist anywhere in Scandinavia i dont think, they build complexes instead, i would assume the pressurized domes are a lot cheaper...
 
Sup2Dresq said:
No offense but the 100+ club isn't too hard to get into if you have height and some luck getting it in.

I've been convinced of that when I saw a professional hockey player hitting what appeared to be 110+ serves with little to no problems and no form.

Now if you are well under 6ft and made the club. My hats off to you .. like Drakulie and others.

Here is a video of this Washington Caps player



p.s. The Slovakian player is 6'4 and 233lbs
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That's not 110+

That is probably 100mph
 
EikelBeiter said:
That's not 110+

That is probably 100mph
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Agreed. Actually, I was somewhat hesitant to even say 100, but given his size and the fact that I've seen worse serves clocked at over 100 mph before, it could very well be. In fact, the fastest serve I've seen measured was 124 mph by a guy who didn't even play tennis. He wasn't very tall (5' 9"ish), but he was very broad and armed his way to that speed. It wasn't in, however.
 
boojay said:
Agreed. Actually, I was somewhat hesitant to even say 100, but given his size and the fact that I've seen worse serves clocked at over 100 mph before, it could very well be. In fact, the fastest serve I've seen measured was 124 mph by a guy who didn't even play tennis. He wasn't very tall (5' 9"ish), but he was very broad and armed his way to that speed. It wasn't in, however.
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Yeah i wanted to say 95, but he is a very big guy so i'd give him 100 but definitely not 110+
 
Plenty of people can serve over 100mph, even some 3.5s. Usually the younger guys can rip it up while the olders guys hit more in the 85-90mph range. I have hit with guys who have been clocked at 118mph and others who seem to hit similar around 120mph. I have been radared at 110mph using week old balls.

But my most effective serve is my slice serve since it has so much spin on it and curves a bit so I can jam people with it. When I have a lead I may go to the flat bomb and surprise people but I only get may 30% of my bombs in but like 75% of my slices. I also use the kicker too and will mix all three serves and their placement depending on what my opponent struggles most with.

Hitting 100mph is not too big a deal. I would say Americans serve harder than Australians and other people from around the world since our other sports like football and baseball use upper body throwing motions similar to tennis. Rugby and Aussie football use under-handed pitching motions not similar to tennis. Their is one girl here who serves like she was throwing a cricket ball with her arm very straight like a windmill and coming over the top of her head. Everyone thinks her serve is very weird but it is very consistent and good enough for her as one of the top female players at our club.
 
Meaghan said:
saw this vid today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9aNypGJRVc&feature=related
tbh looks like the pace of my second serve. I think he must have a dodgy radar!
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Balls appear slow in video. How slow depends on the fps of the camera takes video at, the fps compression (up or down - higher fps on the compression of the camera's video usually means it appears slower), and also the compression fps that the hosting site converts your already compressed video. Watch the video again. Do you notice how the ball seems to stutter even while bouncing? It's easy to mistake it for being slow because you see the ball in steps rather than one fluid motion. Also, because we move much slower than a ball bouncing or being hit, we will appear to move normally which further tricks us into thinking the ball is indeed slow. I may not like Drak's online persona but the man can hit the ball.
 
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mtommer said:
Balls appear slow in video. How slow depends on the fps of the camera takes video at, the fps compression (up or down - higher fps on the compression of the camera's video usually means it appears slower), and also the compression fps that the hosting site converts your already compressed video. Watch the video again. Do you notice how the ball seems to stutter even while bouncing? It's easy to mistake it for being slow because you see the ball in steps rather than one fluid motion. Also, because we move much slower than a ball bouncing or being hit, we will appear to move normally which further tricks us into thinking the ball is indeed slow. I may not like Drak's online persona but the man can hit the ball.
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Well didn't look 105 to me either, but the ball bounces up pretty high, so it probably is 105.

Perhaps if he would finish his downswing it might have been even faster right ? :D
 
mtommer said:
Balls appear slow in video. How slow depends on the fps of the camera takes video at, the fps compression (up or down - higher fps on the compression of the camera's video usually means it appears slower), and also the compression fps that the hosting site converts your already compressed video. Watch the video again. Do you notice how the ball seems to stutter even while bouncing? It's easy to mistake it for being slow because you see the ball in steps rather than one fluid motion. Also, because we move much slower than a ball bouncing or being hit, we will appear to move normally which further tricks us into thinking the ball is indeed slow. I may not like Drak's online persona but the man can hit the ball.
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I agree, I looked again and it does appear faster than first impressions.
Ive judged Drac by his actual serving motion where he gets his pace from muscling the ball rather than his legs, trunk and rotation, therefore it was deceptive and looked like he was just knocking it over.
It would be intersting to see that serve with him moving thro the ball with his legs and trunk rotation and not falling off the ball as in the video. He could prob add another 15mph to that serve.
 
Mike Cottrill said:
You be doggin Drak... Might not want to do that :mrgreen:
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oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.............

PeterKentHandbags3_418w1.jpg
 
Drak's serve looks legit over 100 to me. I'm not sure what you guys are looking for, but it has real nice weight and pace to it.
 
Not sure what this discussion is about as he has posted video and radar proof of his serve speed- having returned his serve many times, I will tell you when he wants, he hits the snot out of it -
 
FloridaAG said:
Not sure what this discussion is about as he has posted video and radar proof of his serve speed- having returned his serve many times, I will tell you when he wants, he hits the snot out of it -
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Actually, it's not a radar>>> it's an older model AM-FM Radio. :)
 
Power Player said:
Drak's serve looks legit over 100 to me. I'm not sure what you guys are looking for, but it has real nice weight and pace to it.
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Having recently faced Draks serve 'in real life' I'd say it's over 110mph, maybe even over 115. The kind of radar devices used by Drak (and others) are well known to UNDER-estimate "true" serve speed. :) BHBH
 
^^^Ahhh, you are too kind. Perhaps you mean 110 kph. :)

BTW, someone told me you are thinking of the kps88 again??? What happened to sameness??? naughty, naughty. :evil:
 
BounceHitBounceHit said:
Having recently faced Draks serve 'in real life' I'd say it's over 110mph, maybe even over 115. The kind of radar devices used by Drak (and others) are well known to UNDER-estimate "true" serve speed. :) BHBH
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I too was fortunate (or unfortunate, depends on how you look at it) to be on the receiving end of Drak's serves and there is no question that his first serves are > 110 mph. I was surprised that he can generate so much pop given his history of shoulder problems and for someone not super tall.
 
J011yroger said:
Sorry...What?

Were you looking for video of my serve?

This is from a practice set this morning. I am trying to tweak my motion a bit to make it more repeatable and put less strain on my lower back.

http://www.vimeo.com/7378235

J
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Looks to me like you're muscling those, Jolly, which would explain the back problems. I wouldn't doubt you could serve 100+ mph with your current motion, but I can see the strain that's being put on your body. That said, I have the same problems on my serve, which I plan to fix.
 
boojay said:
Looks to me like you're muscling those, Jolly, which would explain the back problems. I wouldn't doubt you could serve 100+ mph with your current motion, but I can see the strain that's being put on your body. That said, I have the same problems on my serve, which I plan to fix.
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Ya, I am just serving at around 70% effort to feel it out. Any tightness is probably a result of being a bit unfamiliar with the motion.

I am generally pretty loose, and really only tighten up when I am hurt, or things are going bad in a match (Which of course only serves to make them worse).

Currently I top out in the mid 120's (if I can get warmed up and my back feels good) but I believe I should be able to get into the low 130's. The way I see it the less strain I can put on my back, the more I can focus on location and getting after the ball.

Serving today didn't bother me a bit. And I was pretty stiff, (Stupid 7am court time + late Yankee game.) so that is a really good sign that I am on the right track.

J
 
J011yroger said:
Ya, I am just serving at around 70% effort to feel it out. Any tightness is probably a result of being a bit unfamiliar with the motion.

I am generally pretty loose, and really only tighten up when I am hurt, or things are going bad in a match (Which of course only serves to make them worse).

Currently I top out in the mid 120's (if I can get warmed up and my back feels good) but I believe I should be able to get into the low 130's. The way I see it the less strain I can put on my back, the more I can focus on location and getting after the ball.

Serving today didn't bother me a bit. And I was pretty stiff, (Stupid 7am court time + late Yankee game.) so that is a really good sign that I am on the right track.

J
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orly.jpg



liar.jpg
 
RoddickAce said:
Ok, so last time I posted here, my serves were estimated to be around 70-80 mph. I've improved my serve in terms of consistency and control, but what would some of you estimate my serve speeds to be around?(and how to get it higher)

Most recent serve (just 1 serve, but with slow motion):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgrPgiYATuQ

Serves from over a month ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWZqfRH5kLQ
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Nice placement, but hard to tell the speed from this angle, can you maybe set up a camera right behind you and maybe a bit above?
 
mozzer said:
Nice placement, but hard to tell the speed from this angle, can you maybe set up a camera right behind you and maybe a bit above?
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Thanks, I haven't gotten to play recently but I dug up some videos of some aces/unreturned serves from the past with better lighting so the ball path is more clear.

"Recent" serve (1 serve + slow motion):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXRgM1-BAeA

Aces/unreturned serves from November:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO-s8Hdw13E

Any tips on upping the pace?
 
The ability to serve 100 mph just isn't that big a deal. I play 4.0, but at 6'1, 230 lbs (and solid), it doesn't take much to break 100.

I'll post a video soon of 120 mph serves. Can I serve 60% at 120?
No, maybe 20-25%. But that still gets me in the club--right?

Had a tennis buddy a few years back that I swear could get 130-135. Tall, lanky, pitched minor league baseball.

Guess that's my point. If consistency and placement are ignored, the mph can be reached without textbook technique or 5.5 level strokes.
 
diamond brian said:
The ability to serve 100 mph just isn't that big a deal. I play 4.0, but at 6'1, 230 lbs (and solid), it doesn't take much to break 100.

I'll post a video soon of 120 mph serves. Can I serve 60% at 120?
No, maybe 20-25%. But that still gets me in the club--right?

Had a tennis buddy a few years back that I swear could get 130-135. Tall, lanky, pitched minor league baseball.

Guess that's my point. If consistency and placement are ignored, the mph can be reached without textbook technique or 5.5 level strokes.
Click to expand...


The commonly accepted conversion is 1 1/2 from baseball to tennis.

So if your minor league buddy topped out at 90 on the fastball, that would work out to a 135mph serve.

Of course that is given that the guy has equal ability with each sport, I wouldn't expect a 90mph pitcher to lay down 135 right off the bat (pun intended), nor would I expect a 120mph server to break 80 with a baseball right away.

In my experience, it is easier to go from baseball to serving, than the other way around, because the racquet is heavier than a baseball.

Personally I can serve the cover off a tennis ball, can throw a football OK, and can't throw a baseball to save my life. The baseball is just too light, and I get afraid that I will throw my shoulder out and chicken out.

J
 
Man...I use virtualdub, and I get 14 frames from contact to a bit after the ball hits the court. I use the link given in the beginning of the thread to calculate it, and I get get 103 mph initial speed, I give a 0.5 second margin of error ~ 99.8 or sumn.

BUT I compare videos and clearly the guy at the bottom has like 10-15 mph more than me and he's at around 100.

Mine:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXRgM1-BAeA

100mph serves:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj_xRIzTR-U

Is there maybe a software that's more precise than virtualdub?
 
What's the best tip you can give for me to serve 100+ consistently. I'm not even sure if i serve 100, but i've heard my serve his pretty fast, how does a 100 serve feel when returning? Thanks, i'm a highschool tennis player.
 
OK I'm back AGAIN! I will never give up until I can crank my serve up to above 100 mph.

Here are my newest serves with a better camera angle (than before) I guess. Any estimates as to what my flat serve speed is?

(I only had two tennis balls with me that day because I was just randomly serving when waiting for my practice partner. I normally use more balls when actually practicing my serves)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FstpGWmmJZA
 
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Roddickace,

I don't know if you have a coach, or if you are looking for advice. But have you experimented with serving while holding the racquet all the way down at the bottom, even with your pinky hanging off the bottom of the racquet?

Also, you are throwing your shoulders open way, way too early, so you are not getting full racquet drop.

You have already flown open at the point of maximum racquet drop, so your shoulder rotation adds nothing.

Me:

fu3t7d.jpg


f237kx.jpg


You:

2i9sgeh.jpg


oscok8.jpg



J
 
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