Body weight transfer with kick serve on deuce side

[EddieBrock]

On my GS, volleys and first serve I've been really trying to use my legs and get my whole body into the shot as opposed to arming it. On the ad side with the kick serve I can load my legs and push up into the direction I'm trying to hit the ball.

What about with the kick serve on the deuce side though, especially in doubles?

Usually you try to stay more sideways and as a righty brush up from left to right, but if you were to try and push your body into where you're aiming wouldn't that open your shoulders and body up towards the court too early?

Something else I noticed is when I get really nervous in matches I will sometimes swing left to right on the ball, but as I'm swinging I feel my body opening and the ball will go in the net. So I wonder if this is from trying to face my target too soon.

 

[Dragy]

If you want it high and spinny, drive your body up into the ball, while swiping from below the ball - up and across.

If you want more penetrating kick, you will drive your body in and up as opposed to mostly up. And make more fat contact.

 

[EddieBrock]

If you want it high and spinny, drive your body up into the ball, while swiping from below the ball - up and across.

If you want more penetrating kick, you will drive your body in and up as opposed to mostly up. And make more fat contact.

When you say "in and up" which way should you be going into the court?

 

[Dragy]

When you say "in and up" which way should you be going into the court?

More or less same direction you swing. Maybe a bit of side-jump, but not crazy. When you hit a topslice serve from the deuce side, you land inward like straight towards the net. If you land towards the opponent, you likely open up and hit a slice.

 

[fuzz nation]

On my GS, volleys and first serve I've been really trying to use my legs and get my whole body into the shot as opposed to arming it. On the ad side with the kick serve I can load my legs and push up into the direction I'm trying to hit the ball.

What about with the kick serve on the deuce side though, especially in doubles?

Usually you try to stay more sideways and as a righty brush up from left to right, but if you were to try and push your body into where you're aiming wouldn't that open your shoulders and body up towards the court too early?

Something else I noticed is when I get really nervous in matches I will sometimes swing left to right on the ball, but as I'm swinging I feel my body opening and the ball will go in the net. So I wonder if this is from trying to face my target too soon.

Your orientation should be significantly different when you switch between serving to the deuce vs. the ad court. You're going to feel "less sideways" relative to the entire court when hitting to the deuce box (if you're a righty) because your target is more over to the left. Slide over to the ad side on the baseline to serve to the ad box and you need to be set up much more sideways to hit in that direction.

If you're still working on dialing in your orientation toward your target for this kick serve, you can try hitting a few serves in each direction (deuce and ad courts) while standing just inside the baseline. Instead of setting up relative to a line in front of your feet, this may help you with setting up more relative to your target.

 

[nyta2]

...if you were to try and push your body into where you're aiming wouldn't that open your shoulders and body up towards the court too early?

leaning into the court/contact is different from rotating into the court/contact...

 

[EddieBrock]

leaning into the court/contact is different from rotating into the court/contact...

That's true. So if you're serving a kick serve from out towards the alley in doubles you'd keep your body sideways but get your body weight going forward and towards the left?

Maybe my problem is also setting up with my body turned too much towards the court so it's hard to get my weight towards the target

 

[EddieBrock]

This is still a bit confusing for me. I have a problem on important points with my kick serve where my body falls down and to the left while my swing is from left to right and the ball lands in the net and further left than I'm aiming. So even though I'm aiming towards the T on the deuce side the ball lands in the net and more towards the alley.

I'm going to practice again tonight and just want to have a mental image of my body weight transfer. It seems like to get the spin I'd want to push up with my legs forward and to my right (so towards the ad side) so I'm jumping up from left to the right in the same direction I'm swinging. Is that right? Or should I be pushing more straight forward into the court?

I'm playing doubles and if I'm serving from way over on the deuce side and aiming for the T it seems like it's even more different than in singles if I'm standing closer to the T.

I hate that feeling of falling and hitting the serve with just my arm and double faulting, which I did on both break points in my last match

 

[johnmccabe]

Learning kick serve is one of the most interesting experiences I had in the entire tennis learning. It's such a weird motion and finding which knob to turn to achieve the desired result can be a really fun diagnostic process.

After learning the fundamentals for kick, the breakthrough for me came from adjusting the toss and hitting hand lag.

 

[Dragy]

If you fall, this means you don't launch with your legs and don't keep your core strong. If this is true, your kick serve isn't likely explosive enough, just my guess. In which case, you will be better serving topspin-slice serves:

- Toss to 12 o'clock slightly inside the court
- Swing at the ball at 45 degrees
- Swing more through than your "kick" serve

This will be much more composed, faster, less easy to your opponent and more consistent for you. And no falling to the side, just go up and through into the court.

 

[EddieBrock]

If you fall, this means you don't launch with your legs and don't keep your core strong. If this is true, your kick serve isn't likely explosive enough, just my guess. In which case, you will be better serving topspin-slice serves:

- Toss to 12 o'clock slightly inside the court
- Swing at the ball at 45 degrees
- Swing more through than your "kick" serve

This will be much more composed, faster, less easy to your opponent and more consistent for you. And no falling to the side, just go up and through into the court.

That might be better on these break points or when I'm nervous then. I need a serve I can count on 100% to get in the box that's not a sitter when I'm anxious.

When I say fall I don't mean I'm falling on the ground, but that my body feels like it's collapsing to the left even as my arm is moving up to the right with my kick serve attempt.

I think what he shows here is what I'm doing because on break points I'm extremely results focused and trying so hard to make sure if goes into the box that I don't trust my normal serve and want to look at the ball going in. He shows that if you turn your head too soon and look at the target it pulls the ball to the left. It's also consistent with the general idea to keep your body more sideways during a kick serve

 

[Digital Atheist]

Maybe my problem is also setting up with my body turned too much towards the court so it's hard to get my weight towards the target

Maybe, I guess, but you are speculating (not for the first time) and if you don't really know, how can we even begin to offer a reasonable response in return? I will keep saying this.

Have you actually looked at your own serve on video yet? If the answer is yes then you are theoretically in a far better position to identify your own issues than those of us "flying blind". If not, well, then that's the first thing you need to do.

I think what he shows here is what I'm doing because on break points I'm extremely results focused and trying so hard to make sure if goes into the box that I don't trust my normal serve and want to look at the ball going in. He shows that if you turn your head too soon and look at the target it pulls the ball to the left. It's also consistent with the general idea to keep your body more sideways during a kick serve

More guess work. This give me the impression you haven't ever looked at your own serve (intuition).

If you want to continue to self diagnose without looking at or offering any video of your own serve and then asking people for help based on that (almost certainly faulty) diagnosis, then you can also continue to expect the same results as all your other threads. If on the other hand you have looked at your own video but won't share, that's fair enough and entirely up to you, but by the same token you can't expect us to waste time speculating while you quietly keep that video hidden.

If you really want to improve your serve, then either:
1. Find a good real life coach (not always feasible, I know)
or
2. Post a video so the responses you get will better align with the reality of your serve.

Edit: I apologise if that sounded snarky, since it wasn't meant to be. However, I believe you have taken some coaching lessons before, and may well still do so. That is great, but it means there is video somewhere, and you need to post it if you want to glean anything from these forums. Your current methodology isn't working and here is the proof:

Kick serve swing path and finish

With the kick serve do you want to be more sideways on to the court and swing about 7 to 2 and just let the racket naturally stop so your wrist bends in towards your body? I was watching Ian's video and he mentions the racket only being in contact with the ball for a fraction of a second so...

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Effect of tightness on kick serve?

I've heard that if you're tight and don't have a relaxed wrist the kick serve will not work well. I'm able to hit amazing kick serves in practice and double fault all the time when it counts so I'm thinking that having a tight wrist might be the culprit. How can I tell from my serve result or...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Miss kick serve long when nervous

I used to have a horrible problem with nerves and my serve would go completely haywire when I was nervous. Now when I'm nervous and hitting a kick serve that I miss I noticed it always go long. I'm not missing it by a mile or anything, but when I was down set point at 5-6 I double faulted long...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Aiming kick serve

Do you basically aim the serve by feel or there any tricks/techniques I can use to get better at aiming? Sometimes when I'm trying to kick down the middle on the deuce side I end up way over on the ad side and other times when I'm aiming for the middle of the box on the deuce side I'll end up...

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Finally had someone watch my serve when it fell apart

For the most part I've been serving well, but I got really nervous when we were way ahead for some reason and double faulted twice in the game and my serve felt terrible. I had asked a friend to watch and he said my motion was unrecognizable from my previous service games in the match and when...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

How to toss for kick serve?

I've got a huge match coming up in the next week so I don't want to make any huge changes, but I've struggled with my toss for years and especially with the 2nd serve. Looking online shows a ton of videos and instructions on where to toss for the kick serve, but not how. With my slice serve I...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Tossing arm/shoulder on kick serve

When should the tossing arm come down on the kick serve? The other day when I got tight I felt like I was dropping my head and not seeing the ball, but in thinking about it I think maybe I was dropping my left (tossing arm) and shoulder too soon and that pulled my head down. So the next time I...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Recovering after the serve

This is something I don't do very well. I'm really focused on hitting a good serve and then watch it to see how it bounces and then never recover properly. The other day I was hitting cross court with someone and doing very well. Then I tried serving and playing out cross court points and I just...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Worst anxiety yet on serve

I posted something years ago about having trouble with this and got some great advice that really helped, but can't get the search to work and what happened recently was even worse. When I was standing at the line to serve my whole body started shaking and I couldn't get it to stop which made...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Breathing on serve to stay relaxed?

I've noticed when I'm serving well I tend to exhale when I hit the ball and have gotten the advice that I need to breathe before starting the motion to stay relaxed. During a match I tend to get extremely nervous and tight and really struggle with the toss. I posted about this before, but have...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Serve timing goes away when nervous

I've struggled with the serve for years and one aspect that gives me trouble I didn't appreciate was the timing of the shot. In my last match I double faulted about once per game, sometimes more. My opponent was standing in on both serves and I was trying to go bigger/move it around more and I...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Body weight transfer with kick serve on deuce side

On my GS, volleys and first serve I've been really trying to use my legs and get my whole body into the shot as opposed to arming it. On the ad side with the kick serve I can load my legs and push up into the direction I'm trying to hit the ball. What about with the kick serve on the deuce side...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Slice serve sitting up too much

I've been working hard on my kick, but tried out my flat/slice again and my slice is sitting up too much when I go out wide on the deuce side. What adjustments can I make to get it to stay low?

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Serve ball toss during motion help

I've struggled with my toss for years and it's what's destroying my serve and my confidence to play matches vs. just hitting or clinics so I'd really like to fix it. When I'm nervous it gets much worse, but sometimes even if if I'm relaxed it's still a problem. Of course usually if I have a...

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Front foot placement on serve

Something I've noticed is a few players start with their left (assuming right handed) foot facing the net post, but then they rotate it to be parallel to the baseline before they hit the ball. See Zverv below: Others will start with their foot parallel to the baseline like Federer here: My...

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Collapsing on 1st serve when tired

Lately I've been serving really well and feeling confident on my 1st serve. However, when I get really tried, like towards the end of a long match or after a few grueling points I noticed I collapse on my 1st serve and hit it in the net. I'm still hitting it hard, but I tend to miss and very...

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Rocking motion ruins my serve toss

I practiced my toss just on my knees where I would toss and then catch with the hitting arm and my accuracy was pretty good. Then I tried it standing still and I could still toss well. When I try to incorporate starting the weight on my front foot, rocking back and then forward again I get this...

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Opening shoulder on slice serve

I was watching videos from 2 different coaches and they appearec to give conflicting advice. Top tennis trainig says to open shoulders early and use them to ensure your throwing your hitting shoulder at the ball to generate the slice. Crunch time coaching says to keep your shoulders closed...

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Hitting frame on kick serve

When I played I hit 2 or 3 kick serves in a couple sets where I ended up hitting the frame and obviously missing them. That's not really something I've done before that I can remember and am not sure why it just started.

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Using slice for 2nd serve?

I'm playing in a round robin and I know some of the players are pretty tall and just crush my normal kick 2nd serve. Against those players a slice works a lot better, but I'm also afraid of double faulting. Is there a good technique for a slice 2nd serve where your main focus is on consistency...

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Kick serve and volley in doubles

One of the returners in my doubles match was using short slice returns, which is difficult for me to hit an offensive shot off of and it kind of left me in no man's land. Plus the opposing net player was getting involved and they were both sometimes coming in. Even though I'd never done it...

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Technique for doubles 1st serve

I'm primarily a singles player that is playing doubles on a 4.0 league. Doubles faults have been an issue (to put it mildly) for years so I've just been hitting kick serves in matches. In my last match I made almost all my first serves and my kick was actually causing trouble for our opponents...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

There comes a point in time when you have to accept that musing in here over the latest serve tragedy isn't going to solve all your problems.

 

[zoingy]

This is still a bit confusing for me. I have a problem on important points with my kick serve where my body falls down and to the left while my swing is from left to right and the ball lands in the net and further left than I'm aiming. So even though I'm aiming towards the T on the deuce side the ball lands in the net and more towards the alley.

I'm guessing this happens on the ad side too, except the entire thing is rotated such that "falling to the left" becomes "falling into the court"?

Something that has personally helped is the realization that if your entire body is tilted to the left, leg drive is going to propel you to the left. But to drive up and to the right, you can maybe try:

• "chest up" - more thoracic extension means you can still throw upwards without the rest of your body being so left-tilted.
• "move under the ball" - getting some rightward momentum earlier can help keep you driving up and to the right. I definitely find this harder with platform stance than with pinpoint, but I think it still works.

 

[EddieBrock]

Maybe, I guess, but you are speculating (not for the first time) and if you don't really know, how can we even begin to offer a reasonable response in return? I will keep saying this.

Have you actually looked at your own serve on video yet? If the answer is yes then you are theoretically in a far better position to identify your own issues than those of us "flying blind". If not, well, then that's the first thing you need to do.


More guess work. This give me the impression you haven't ever looked at your own serve (intuition).

If you want to continue to self diagnose without looking at or offering any video of your own serve and then asking people for help based on that (almost certainly faulty) diagnosis, then you can also continue to expect the same results as all your other threads. If on the other hand you have looked at your own video but won't share, that's fair enough and entirely up to you, but by the same token you can't expect us to waste time speculating while you quietly keep that video hidden.

If you really want to improve your serve, then either:
1. Find a good real life coach (not always feasible, I know)
or
2. Post a video so the responses you get will better align with the reality of your serve.

Edit: I apologise if that sounded snarky, since it wasn't meant to be. However, I believe you have taken some coaching lessons before, and may well still do so. That is great, but it means there is video somewhere, and you need to post it if you want to glean anything from these forums. Your current methodology isn't working and here is the proof:


There comes a point in time when you have to accept that musing in here over the latest serve tragedy isn't going to solve all your problems.

Your speculation that I haven't looked at my own serve is wrong. Not only have I looked at it on video, I actually paid someone to do a video analysis and as my many posts over the years have indicated still struggle with the serve at times. He gave me a bunch of the typical kick serve drills and stopped being helpful.

The problem is I am not able to look at it when it doesn't work in a match situation. I tried recording my serve during a match once and the opponents made a big deal and it impacted the match so it's too hard to do.

Also I have a real life coach that says there's nothing wrong with my serve. He won't help me with technical issues though. All he says is to relax.

The feeling I got on those double faults is the one that only happens when I'm in a match and it doesn't happen when I record or in front of a coach. So please tell me how to fix this issue when it's impossible to record without describing it here or trying to self diagnose it.

I am looking forward to your non-snarky reply

I'm guessing this happens on the ad side too, except the entire thing is rotated such that "falling to the left" becomes "falling into the court"?

Something that has personally helped is the realization that if your entire body is tilted to the left, leg drive is going to propel you to the left. But to drive up and to the right, you can maybe try:

• "chest up" - more thoracic extension means you can still throw upwards without the rest of your body being so left-tilted.
• "move under the ball" - getting some rightward momentum earlier can help keep you driving up and to the right. I definitely find this harder with platform stance than with pinpoint, but I think it still works.

Exactly. If I'm aiming for the backhand it will fall towards the center of box and go more into my opponents body. Except that it doesn't happen as often or as much because on the ad side I feel like I can get my weight going in the same direction as my target and my swing path (left to right and up and into the court).

Yesterday I tried just keeping my chest up and didn't miss any serves into the net. So that's an improvement. They also didn't go as far to the left, but I did miss a few long. It's weird I started out serving great and held easily with no double faults my first 3 service games. Then all of a sudden I threw in 2 double faults in my last game and then another in the tiebreak. All the double faults were long.

I asked my opponents (this was just for fun) and they said maybe I'm dropping my arm or not tossing high enough. It's touch to get this fixed.

My issue here was not the same one that happens when I'm in a match situation and it falls down and to the left

 

[Dragy]

when it's impossible to record without describing it here or trying to self diagnose it.

Do you only play matches with one same player? Or was the experience too traumatizing? Why not just record your match and not give a duck what anybody thinks or says about it?

Or ask someone to record you serving from the stands, without even knowing the exact moment he/she will be doing it?

 

[nyta2]

Your speculation that I haven't looked at my own serve is wrong. Not only have I looked at it on video, I actually paid someone to do a video analysis and as my many posts over the years have indicated still struggle with the serve at times. He gave me a bunch of the typical kick serve drills and stopped being helpful.

The problem is I am not able to look at it when it doesn't work in a match situation. I tried recording my serve during a match once and the opponents made a big deal and it impacted the match so it's too hard to do.

Also I have a real life coach that says there's nothing wrong with my serve. He won't help me with technical issues though. All he says is to relax.

The feeling I got on those double faults is the one that only happens when I'm in a match and it doesn't happen when I record or in front of a coach. So please tell me how to fix this issue when it's impossible to record without describing it here or trying to self diagnose it.

when my kicker doesn't work in a match, it's usually because i'm tense, therefore tend not to load upper and lower body correctly or toss slightly off, etc...... but i was able to come to this conclusion on my own because there have been many practices where i can nail 20 of 20 kickers all in the same 3rd of the box (eg. to the right bh) - therefore i "know" there's nothing technically wrong with my serve... must be something about "match situations" effecting it...

I am looking forward to your non-snarky reply

internet == snarky... non-snarky is usually the exception, not the rule.

Exactly. If I'm aiming for the backhand it will fall towards the center of box and go more into my opponents body. Except that it doesn't happen as often or as much because on the ad side I feel like I can get my weight going in the same direction as my target and my swing path (left to right and up and into the court).

Yesterday I tried just keeping my chest up and didn't miss any serves into the net. So that's an improvement. They also didn't go as far to the left, but I did miss a few long. It's weird I started out serving great and held easily with no double faults my first 3 service games. Then all of a sudden I threw in 2 double faults in my last game and then another in the tiebreak. All the double faults were long.

how do you think sabalenka used to feel!

I asked my opponents (this was just for fun) and they said maybe I'm dropping my arm or not tossing high enough. It's touch to get this fixed.

My issue here was not the same one that happens when I'm in a match situation and it falls down and to the left

if you can't figure it out yourself... hire a coach to watch your match.... which i've done many times... very valueable in this situation as well as commentary about strategy, tactics, shot selection, hints on how to handle specific situational shots, etc...

 

[Shroud]

So please tell me how to fix this issue when it's impossible to record without describing it here or trying to self diagnose it.

Here is a thought. Play a practice match. In that match you only have one serve. If you miss it, then you lose the point. Its a different game. When you play a few matches like this, its liberating to actually have 2 serves and helps manage the 2nd serve pressure.

 

[PKorda]

Unless you have a very good kick serve I'm not sure a kick on the deuce side serves much purpose that a good top slice can't accomplish. On the ad side can kick it to move someone off the court but on deuce side you're not doing that. As long as you can serve with spin and pace that should suffice for most people.

 

[zoingy]

Yesterday I tried just keeping my chest up and didn't miss any serves into the net. So that's an improvement. They also didn't go as far to the left, but I did miss a few long. It's weird I started out serving great and held easily with no double faults my first 3 service games. Then all of a sudden I threw in 2 double faults in my last game and then another in the tiebreak. All the double faults were long.

Sounds pretty good! It's possible that now that you're not falling back, you may need to toss a bit further into the court.

 

[socallefty]

When I say fall I don't mean I'm falling on the ground, but that my body feels like it's collapsing to the left even as my arm is moving up to the right with my kick serve attempt.

Keep your toss hand up for much longer than you are currently - when you bring down the toss hand too soon, the body becomes unbalanced and starts collapsing to the non-dominant side. And when you get tight on big points, it is easy to have a lower toss and bring down the toss hand too quickly.

 

[EddieBrock]

Do you only play matches with one same player? Or was the experience too traumatizing? Why not just record your match and not give a duck what anybody thinks or says about it?

Or ask someone to record you serving from the stands, without even knowing the exact moment he/she will be doing it?

It only happens when I'm under stress in competitive matches, which means doubles for me these days. I actually recorded my league matches twice and once the other team refused. One of my partners said it made him nervous and it just ads to the complexity of the match. I had someone record me from the stands years ago. That's an option

when my kicker doesn't work in a match, it's usually because i'm tense, therefore tend not to load upper and lower body correctly or toss slightly off, etc...... but i was able to come to this conclusion on my own because there have been many practices where i can nail 20 of 20 kickers all in the same 3rd of the box (eg. to the right bh) - therefore i "know" there's nothing technically wrong with my serve... must be something about "match situations" effecting it...

internet == snarky... non-snarky is usually the exception, not the rule.

how do you think sabalenka used to feel!

if you can't figure it out yourself... hire a coach to watch your match.... which i've done many times... very valueable in this situation as well as commentary about strategy, tactics, shot selection, hints on how to handle specific situational shots, etc...

Something with tension is going on with the particular miss down and into the bottom of the net that's very different from my "normal" missed kick serves. I can go on the court and make 16-18/20 kickers, but some will be to the left of where I'm aiming and the quality of the serve will vary considerably. I'm capable of hitting decent ones, but in my mind when I do is rather random.

The ones that fall down and to the left have the same feel and result every time and I only experience it on tense moments, which gives me a very strong sense of deja vu and flashbacks to missed serves of the past. It's a definitely feeling of my body going to the left (as a righty), my arm swinging with nothing behind it up and to the right and the contact feels very thin. When I'm about 90% finished with the serve I get that feeling in my stomach that I've hit that serve again and just want to scream.

Here is a thought. Play a practice match. In that match you only have one serve. If you miss it, then you lose the point. Its a different game. When you play a few matches like this, its liberating to actually have 2 serves and helps manage the 2nd serve pressure.

I'll give that a try.

Unless you have a very good kick serve I'm not sure a kick on the deuce side serves much purpose that a good top slice can't accomplish. On the ad side can kick it to move someone off the court but on deuce side you're not doing that. As long as you can serve with spin and pace that should suffice for most people.

The main reason I'd want to use it there is because it's supposed to be more consistent than a slice. What other serve would you suggest?

Keep your toss hand up for much longer than you are currently - when you bring down the toss hand too soon, the body becomes unbalanced and starts collapsing to the non-dominant side. And when you get tight on big points, it is easy to have a lower toss and bring down the toss hand too quickly.

My teammate practice opponents mentioned that I should keep my toss hand up longer. I know I'll sometimes miss my first serve with the toss too low and I end up rushing and almost jamming myself. So that's something else to focus on during big points. Chest up and tossing arm up

 

[Dragy]

The ones that fall down and to the left have the same feel and result every time and I only experience it on tense moments, which gives me a very strong sense of deja vu and flashbacks to missed serves of the past. It's a definitely feeling of my body going to the left (as a righty), my arm swinging with nothing behind it up and to the right and the contact feels very thin. When I'm about 90% finished with the serve I get that feeling in my stomach that I've hit that serve again and just want to scream.

Most likely it’s a toss issue. Or kind of — cured by better, more precise and focused tossing.

But better film it and check.

 

[Roforot]

Keeping toss arm up will help keep your head up. If you try to see where your serve lands, which happens if its a key second serve, you can upset the balance…

Also make sure you’re not gripping racquet too tight. After a missed first serve, try holding the racquet in your off hand before setting up for the 2nd.

 

[EddieBrock]

Keeping toss arm up will help keep your head up. If you try to see where your serve lands, which happens if its a key second serve, you can upset the balance…

Also make sure you’re not gripping racquet too tight. After a missed first serve, try holding the racquet in your off hand before setting up for the 2nd.

On the second serve I really want it to go in so I might be looking at the target early.

 

[Roforot]

On the second serve I really want it to go in so I might be looking at the target early.

This is something that will show up under pressure but in normal practice may not be an issue. As a test, take some practice serves and intentionally pull your head down(exaggerate) and you'll see how it brings your serve into the net. Obviously one can hit a serve in while jerking your head down but it is suboptimal. You mention you face the net too early... so it could be you are unintentionally trying to see if it's in.

 

[EddieBrock]

This is something that will show up under pressure but in normal practice may not be an issue. As a test, take some practice serves and intentionally pull your head down(exaggerate) and you'll see how it brings your serve into the net. Obviously one can hit a serve in while jerking your head down but it is suboptimal. You mention you face the net too early... so it could be you are unintentionally trying to see if it's in.

Next time I practice I'll give that a try and see what happens. It would be great if I can recreate the problem in practice. That way I'd finally figure out that's the issue and in a big point in a match I can focus on keeping my tossing arm up and head up and facing away from the net longer