how fast is it?
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krprunitennis2
Professional
It's not all about speed; there's also consistency, spin, and placement.
And for the speed, with what kind of serve?
And for the speed, with what kind of serve?
rrhstennis
Rookie
QFT, just look at Hingis and other "weak" servers who have clawed to the top and dominated. However, for this purpose I would say it's just the speed alone just in a benchmark sort of way, whatever type you serve fastest. Probably flat, or if you just can't serve flat then whatever you do best with. (Although a 4.0 has a basic version of flat, slice, and topspin in nearly every case I'd say.)
I'm an average 3.5 but being 6'4" the serve is a powerful part of my game. I serve a lot like my coach, who claims hers was radared at 82 mph a couple of years ago. Thus as a 3.5 I probably serve 70ish normally for flats I'd say, so 75~85 mph for a 4.0 sounds like a reasonable assumption to me.
patrick922
Semi-Pro
on a flat serve 80 mph sounds reasonable. [+/- 10 mph]. im a 4.0 and serve around 75-80 mph on average. but when i put spin on the ball the speed goes down.
rrhstennis
Rookie
Why is it so rediculous? Saying the average 4.0 has a serve around 80 mph on average doesn't sound so rediculous to me, if that's what the OP wanted to know, then more power to them. I don't even care why they wanted to know.
patrick922
Semi-Pro
i would say placement. i have hit flat 80mph bombs to an opponents strike zone and it came back to me just as fast. and when i hit a slider out wide on the deuce side [which is probably 10 mph slower] i get a weaker reply or get a cheap ace
power_play21
Semi-Pro
ill tell you that at 130, if its in, it doesnt matter where it goes, its hard to get.
i say this from experince (have a friend who can serve that fast and a pro around my area who was on tour for a couple years, both with 130+ serves),
so i'd say at 100 or - speeds, placement, above that, 1/2 speed 1/2 placement (meaning you can serve at body or forehand and its still quite hard to get), and at 130+, can go anywhere (while in), and itll be very hard to get (efficiently at least)
patrick922
Semi-Pro
this i believe is also correct.... it is also true that pace and placement go hand-in-hand
Difference between 3.5 and 4.0 is not so much in speed but in terms of having a consistent serve. Higher 4.0s start placing the serve much better and add more spin or pace to it as well. Average 4.0 first serve is around 80-85 mph. Older 4.0s with good volleys and consistent groundies can get away with 60 mph serves. Young 4.0s can clock in between 100-115mph but lack consistency and placement.
Joe Average
Rookie
There are plenty of 4.0s who can't serve flat faster than 90 m.p.h. And there are probably just as many 90 m.p.h. servers who will never get to 4.0.
