Having your serve clocked is depressing

GoaLaSSo

Semi-Pro
Stop bashing Lee guys...maybe he exaggerates a little bit sometimes but he really does bring a lot to this forum with both his tennis knowledge and his great stories, and he's a great character!

Agreed. He has some good input and can be pretty funny sometimes, but people love to harass him for every little thing he says.
 

WildVolley

Legend
Man, I love these serve speed threads. You never, ever see a woman our there making insane claims.

Me, I don't care how fast my serve is. I care how many are not returned or are popped up to my partner.

Our better yet, shanked sideways into the vision. Those are the best

That's mainly because most women can't hit fast serves.

I've never seen a woman hit a serve over 100mph on the public courts where I play. In fact, the only women I've seen hit serves over 100mph were touring pros.

I'm probably a 4.0 rated man, and while I can't serve as well, I can hit harder serves than at least several top 50 WTA players.
 

luvforty

Banned
That's mainly because most women can't hit fast serves.

disagree -

this is a male animal puff up the feather to look bigger thing... guys just like to brag... it's a survival and reproduction strategy... to get mating partners and scare away rivals.
 

Relinquis

Hall of Fame
my spinny 2nd serves seem to trouble my opponents more than my flat 1st serves even though they're slower.

it's not like the ball kicks too far above or too far outside their contact zone, i suppose most rec players just have trouble adjusting to varying types of spin.


LeeD seems like a nice guy.
 

WildVolley

Legend
disagree -

this is a male animal puff up the feather to look bigger thing... guys just like to brag... it's a survival and reproduction strategy... to get mating partners and scare away rivals.

I'm not sure I buy all the evolutionary-bio type arguments, but you are correct that men brag more about athletics than women. Men are just more interested in watching and competing in athletics than women, and it probably has something to do with testosterone.

Still, there is a large serve speed gap between men and women. And I really haven't seen any recreational woman player hit a big serve.
 

TTMR

Hall of Fame
Man, I love these serve speed threads. You never, ever see a woman our there making insane claims.

Me, I don't care how fast my serve is. I care how many are not returned or are popped up to my partner.

Our better yet, shanked sideways into the vision. Those are the best

Frankly, it's because women simply have no place in this discussion.

Typical feminist histrionics aside, the reality is women are just not genetically predisposed to big serving and big hitting. It takes a woman an entire formation in tennis from a young age just to approach hitting with power, and even then most top women can't outhit an above average male rec player. She might be more fit, more experienced and have better legs, but power for power, stroke for stroke, a rising 4.0 has the edge. As LeeD said, many 4.0 men can 'easily' hit into the 130s on a flat first serve, and note that many of these men are playing with 'men's' tennis balls: Dunlop Fort or Slazenger Wimbledon Extra Duty, some of the biggest, fluffiest and heaviest balls in history. The women, by contrast, tend to use high flying golf balls like the Wilson US Open Series or Babolat Roland Garros Regular Duty that amplify power and bounce.

Now I'm not saying that a typical 4.0 male will beat a top WTA player; that would be ridiculous. But a strong, athletic rising 4.0 will certainly have the capacity to outhit a WTA pro. It's just the disadvantages of a non-tennis-focused upbringing and lack of mental preparation that handicap the male in this matchup.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
The people you talk about are not 4.0s. They are junior boys for whom NTRP does not apply. No adult male goes through 4.0 and becomes as good as a WTA player. Saying everyone has the capacity if they did the right things at the right time is not saying much. If they had done it, they would have become elite college players, with 4.0 not even being in their vocabulary.
 

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
I remember when I purchased my radar and took it out to the courts. Most people, as has been said in this thread already, over-estimated their serves. Nothing has changed since, and I now live at a tennis club with 23 courts and players that range from weekend warrior to lower-level pros (male and female). From pre-teen to players in their 70's.

Most players, from what I recall back then, hit mostly in the 70-80 mph range, and this was with no pressure, and not worrying about placement. Majority of the serves didn't even land in the box. Only a few hit over 90.

As for the woman debate, I have never recorded a woman hit 100+ in the rec level. Not saying there are women out there who can't do it.
 

marosmith

Professional
You all do realize that the way the pros measure serve speed and using a radar gun are usually very different.

Pros serve speed is measured just after the ball leaves their racket

Radar guns are usually set up to measure when the ball has almost traveled to the net.

Now that 88mph serve, if it was measured closer to the net, was most likely high 90s the way the pros measure serve speed.

This is 100% correct.
 

luvforty

Banned
I would drink beers with LeeD and talk about the glory days of 100 mph goat serves.

is there any interest here to have an audio/video conference with Lee? 100mph serves, motorcross, surfing the big wave, throwing football 100 yards etc..... should be a fun event...

I can host, Lee will be the guest speaker, then we open up for free format discussion.
 

beernutz

Hall of Fame
Agreed. He has some good input and can be pretty funny sometimes, but people love to harass him for every little thing he says.

You and President are free to defend him just like I and several others are free to call him on his B.S.

As far as funny goes, I guess we have very different senses of humor as he is only unintentionally funny to me. Maybe reposting an example of some of his intentional humor would help?
 

mikeler

Moderator
Any thread hinting towards machoism will inevitably intice LeeD to post his legendary conquests and those of his cohorts. It is a TTW rite of passage every few months.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
I say, "don't sit home, don't work for a living, don't bend over for what you want, because on your death bed, you will be saying.... IF ONLY I"D LIVED THE LIFE I WANTED"....... ""
I got to live the life I wanted.....regrets, sure.
 
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