I Hate My 2nd Serve

[300Gkid]

I have spent countless hours staring at videos and practicing on the courts the dreaded 2nd serve. I've gotten to a point where i can get my kick serve in 9/10 times in practice. However come game time its always back to the 30 mph slice serve which is killing me as i face harder opponents, if my 1st serve's not on I LOSE. Like today, in front of my future high school coach i COULD NOT GET A SINGLE SERVE IN, and so i lost 6-3 to someone i could usually beat. The only game i won on my serve i got my first in the first 3 times, and won the points because of my 2nd serve barely escaped in deuce. I've tried the kick serve during matches but the "pressure" of hitting a 2nd serve and possibly double faulting gets to me and i end up either swing to slow or rushing which results in a double fault, so its back to the slice again.

Has anyone else experienced this, and if so how did u fix it?

 

[Rafa's best friend]

Key is NOT to slow down your swing but try to get more spin and pronation. One thing you can do is develop a controlled consistant swing that does not slow down your swing in your 2nd serve than your 1st serve. One important thing on spin is use your backhand grip for your second serve, you will be surprised how much more spin you will get, at first you will lose some pace but will get more spin

 

[Dunlopkid]

Well 300gkid, I feel your angst. I really don't know what to say other than maybe, try spinning your first serve as hard as you can, so that you can practice that topsin. Also, and this if off topic, but are you going to sponsored by Vantage (I saw your sig.) What credentials do you have and how much of a discount are you getting if you don't mind me asking?

 

[J-man]

I was abit like you. My serve has improved so much alot of spin. I found that of I bend my legs up into the serve it helps. I know not much advice but it helped me a ton

 

[Deleted member 6835]

I have spent countless hours staring at videos and practicing on the courts the dreaded 2nd serve. I've gotten to a point where i can get my kick serve in 9/10 times in practice. However come game time its always back to the 30 mph slice serve which is killing me as i face harder opponents, if my 1st serve's not on I LOSE. Like today, in front of my future high school coach i COULD NOT GET A SINGLE SERVE IN, and so i lost 6-3 to someone i could usually beat. The only game i won on my serve i got my first in the first 3 times, and won the points because of my 2nd serve barely escaped in deuce. I've tried the kick serve during matches but the "pressure" of hitting a 2nd serve and possibly double faulting gets to me and i end up either swing to slow or rushing which results in a double fault, so its back to the slice again.

Has anyone else experienced this, and if so how did u fix it?

lol sounds like me. but im working on developing a kick serve, just started getting a feel for it, so ive got a long way to go.

but good luck to you, keep working on the kick serve

 

[zzzbrianxxx]

I was pretty much in the same boat as you. What I did was learn to consistently get my first serve in. I would do a kicker much harder than I would on a second. This helps build confidence in the stroke in a match situation.

You have to learn to hit hard on your second serves and not be afraid to jump up to the ball and take a swing, otherwise you may be able to win against weaker opponents, but your game won't progress at all.

Plus, ask yourself whether or not a first serve bomb is really necessary. Is it more important to get occasional free points or give up zero free points? I vote on the latter.

 

[BounceHitBounceHit]

I have spent countless hours staring at videos and practicing on the courts the dreaded 2nd serve. I've gotten to a point where i can get my kick serve in 9/10 times in practice. However come game time its always back to the 30 mph slice serve which is killing me as i face harder opponents, if my 1st serve's not on I LOSE. Like today, in front of my future high school coach i COULD NOT GET A SINGLE SERVE IN, and so i lost 6-3 to someone i could usually beat. The only game i won on my serve i got my first in the first 3 times, and won the points because of my 2nd serve barely escaped in deuce. I've tried the kick serve during matches but the "pressure" of hitting a 2nd serve and possibly double faulting gets to me and i end up either swing to slow or rushing which results in a double fault, so its back to the slice again.

Has anyone else experienced this, and if so how did u fix it?

If you don't have a great second serve (yet!) make sure you don't have to hit one as often, ie get more first serves in play!!! Back off and aim to make 100% first serves in your first two service games. Once you are warm, go ahead and go for a few 'bigger' serves. You will be suprised by how much pressure even a 75% pace first serve that is well placed and consistent can apply to the psyche of your opponent.

And speaking of psyches ...........I notice you call it the 'dreaded second serve'. You need to change your thinking! The second serve is NOT dreaded. But it IS probably the third most important shot in the game. Work on using an Eastern BH grip and learning a good kick. Swing HARDER on the second serve, but do so to apply more spin. Swinging harder also helps to keep you loose, and therefore to avoid the 'yips' that lead to repeated double faults.

CC

 

[300Gkid]

Dunlopkid, lets see, i play some USTA tournaments not ranked that high somwhere around 120-140 in New England or something like that. I've only played in 2 tournaments. I BTW im 14, a freshmen so one of my goals was to play HS Varsity singles as a freshmen. I play as the #1 singles player on the Under 17yrs. summer team in my town. (not a huge accomplishment, we lost like 4 players last year but still) I got a Grade 2 sponsorship like most of the people who sent in an application. I guess thats about it. I'd suggest sending one in if i were you, good chance of getting sponsered before they get bigger and start making tougher restrictions, like what happened to babolat a few years ago.

EDIT: I'd call myself a good 3.5 or a weak 4.0, prolly closer to 3.5

Oh yea, thanks to all that have responded, i think im going to try a hard kicker for my first instead of the flat bomb, hopefully that will increase my chance at NOT having to hit a 2nd serve. I'll just keep working on the 2nd

 

[Dunlopkid]

I was thinking the same thing about e-mailing them before they get bigger. I just don't know if its worth it, because Vantage is more expensive to start with. Even their discounts are really more comparable to getting a couple rackets from other brands. Make sure you let us know how you like them, and good luck with that serve!

 

[stormholloway]

You have what many in the medical profession have deemed "worry shoulder". You're too worried about missing your serve so you try to guide the ball in, and you double fault. Think this way, if guiding it in isn't working, then obviously you need to change something.

You need to stay loose. Don't fear faulting because fear more than anything leads to faults. Just think of your second serve as a first serve (that way you won't fear double faulting), and just make it a conservative first serve with kick.

 

[TonyB]

I used to have the very same problem. What I did was to hit 2nd serves exclusively (for both 1st and 2nd serves) for about a month or so. I made it a point to try to hit a "strong 2nd serve" with a lot of kick for both my 1st and 2nd serves. What ended up happening was that my 2nd serve got a LOT better, and since I could only hit about 50% of my 2nd serves in the court, I ended up double faulting maybe TWICE during that whole time.

If you can practice hitting your 2nd serve as though it is your ONLY serve, then you won't be afraid when it comes crunch time and you actually need to rely on it to get you through a game.

Another thing that helped me was to hit OUT on the 2nd serve. Most of the time I was hitting it into the top 2-6 inches of the net because I was afraid to really hit it hard. But once I became comfortable with the motion, I could hit it basically as hard as I wanted and it would still go into the court because of the topspin.

That's the best way to learn it, in my opinion, because hitting harder not only allows for a harder-hit ball, but it also applies more topspin, allowing for a wider margin of safety above the net.

Bottom line is: practice it enough so that you can't get it wrong. Then you'll be able to actually IMPROVE it in the future.

 

[Hot Sauce]

Don't be too reliable on your 1st serve. Just work on every other aspect of your game. That will help.

 

[looseswing]

Also if you are hitting a second serve ts in practice and slicing it in matches you will definately hurt yourself. This used to be my problem as well (slice second serve is not very effective) but after a while I realized that I would be better of losing some matches because I am hitting a ts serve out rather than losing some matches because they other guy is killing my second serve.

 

[ATXtennisaddict]

"Play like you're not afraid to lose".

The most important time to be swinging away, IS the match. You need to develop mental strength and be used to the pressure.

 

[Deleted member 13755]

I am the most perfect person that you share your pains with.


To tell you the truth, I still haven't found a way but to practice those damned first serves.

 

[spot]

What greatly helped me was playing some matches where I would only use my second serve. It just lets you hit those second serves hard- and since you are getting 2 shots with the second serve you will rarely doublefault. It just gives you more confidence to hit the serve authoritatively knowing you get another chance at it and once you see how the increased racket speed helps then you will have more confidence in it overall.

 

[dricas24]

Is a kick serve just a fancy name for just surely serving it over?

 

[ATXtennisaddict]

I am the most perfect person that you share your pains with.


To tell you the truth, I still haven't found a way but to practice those damned first serves.

"You're only as good as your 2nd serve". I forgot which tennis player/coach said this.

Practice those 2nd serves.

 

[fuzz nation]

Of course you hate your 2nd serve... half the times you need to hit one are because you just made a dork out of yourself going for that snowball's-chance-in-hell-here's-how-they-do-it-on-TV-super-samurai first serve. Yeah, I do it all the time and yes, you need to land your first serve. It's your responsibility to start the point, not go for another improbable ace.

Here's the good news: you only need a heater once every game or two. This will remind your opponent that you might smoke it so he shouldn't move in too far, even though a lot of your first serves are slower and well placed. Bonus: serving is one of the only things in tennis you can practice without looking for a hitting partner, so get crackin'.

 

[lolsmash]

Is a kick serve just a fancy name for just surely serving it over?

no, a kick serve is a type of serve usually used for a second serve because it is loaded up with so much topspin, you can clear the net by a couple of feet and have the topspin pull the ball down into the service box and then have it kick up high out of the returners comfort zone.

 

[shindemac]

I'm currently in the phase of using 2 second serves. The first is a harder, flatter version of my topspin serve. Sometimes, I try to place it at the same time, lol! This actually makes it easier to hit second serves, since little change is required. I also throw in a hard, flat first serve when I have enough confidence in my second serve. I hope to develop 2 serves someday, but for now, it's 2 second serves.