I've been playing tennis since I was about 9 and once I turned 14, I stopped hitting slice serves and hit exclusively kick serves for the next 10 years. It's gotten to the point where the only natural movement for my arm is to swing up and out, and literally any other motion feels unnatural and at times as awkward as if I play with my left hand. My kick serve is reliable. It goes to around shoulder height after the bounce with a 15-30 degree kick and I can also make it a more modest topspin serve, but having only one serve (high bouncing and kicks to the right) makes it very hard for me to dictate play. I need to add the low-bouncing wide slice serve to my arsenal so I'm not just a predictable kick server. Any videos or instruction?
I'm embarrassed to ask this. How do I hit a slice serve?
- Thread starter Rally
- Start date
Where do I toss the ball? On the kick serve I toss behind my head and a little into the court, and I only swing when the ball drops.
Assume deuce court. An easy and effective slice serve is to toss and swing exactly like you're going to hit flat down the T. Don't full allow the racquet face to square up to the ball at contact but keep the same "down the T heater" swing path. What you get is a slice to the doubles alley that's totally disguised. It's really kind of "slider", but the disguise aspect makes it very effective. Works on the ad side too.
This won't give you a slice into the body, which can be a super effective serve as well.
This won't give you a slice into the body, which can be a super effective serve as well.
goran_ace
Hall of Fame
When first learning it I'd exaggerate and toss it as far to the right as possible (assuming you're right handed) and work on getting the feel of that brushing motion around the outside of the ball. You're not going to be able to get the ball to bend right to left much if you're using the same toss as your kick beind your head. As you get more comfortable with that gradually inch that toss back more towards center until you find a spot that feels right with your swing and doesn't tell your opponent that you're hitting the slice out wide, but generally that spot will be somewhere to the right.
eh.. Not sure how to find it but saw a good video on this..
Toss the ball in the regular serve position but hit with the racquet face not square such that it would strike the right side of the ball first. When you do this - if you do it properly the (with the swing path straight to the ball) the ball will go way to the left.
so now what you do is compensate for this by swinging the racquet more to the right so the swing path is not right at the ball. Toss the ball more to the right as well - you will get the same spin - but now the ball will land in.
It's very much like hitting a topspin ground stroke if you think of the physics a bit. Swing with a closed face - bam - ball has spin but goes straight into ground. Now adjust your swing path so its more more low to high - you can get the ball to clear the net now.. Same idea..
Toss the ball in the regular serve position but hit with the racquet face not square such that it would strike the right side of the ball first. When you do this - if you do it properly the (with the swing path straight to the ball) the ball will go way to the left.
so now what you do is compensate for this by swinging the racquet more to the right so the swing path is not right at the ball. Toss the ball more to the right as well - you will get the same spin - but now the ball will land in.
It's very much like hitting a topspin ground stroke if you think of the physics a bit. Swing with a closed face - bam - ball has spin but goes straight into ground. Now adjust your swing path so its more more low to high - you can get the ball to clear the net now.. Same idea..
Is this a low bouncing serve or a high bouncing serve? Playing it out in my head makes me think the ball won't stay low to the ground on the bounce like it would on a groundstroke slice or volley.
Chas Tennis
G.O.A.T.
First determine what serving technique you are using. The greatest number of regular tennis players, estimated at 50% by Van der Meer, use the Waiter's Tray technique. Of the other half, by my estimate, maybe 20% have a high level technique and the rest miscellaneous techniques.
http://www.hi-techtennis.com/serve/big_l_student.php
Take a video of your serve to see if you have a WT. If the racket face faces the sky, as in the Hi Tech picture, it is likely a WT. Regular speed video (30 fps or 25 fps) with a fast shutter speed is required but not high speed video.
----------------------------------------------------------
There may be considerable variety on how the high level slice serve is hit.
Toss for kick and slice high level serves. Note the head moves forward between toss release and impact.
Hand and racket paths for some Frank Salazar serves in Fuzzy Yellow Balls overhead videos. Toly made composite videos from certain frames.
Racket sideward motion. The frame before, during and after impact were made into a gif by Toly. This shows the sideways racket motion and the fact that impact occurs close to the high point of the racket head path. (The racket head is still rising much more for the kick serve.)
Video of the above slice serve. 240 fps.
To do stop action single frame on Vimeo - Click Vimeo and full screen. Hold down the SHIFT Key and use the ARROW KEYS.
http://www.hi-techtennis.com/serve/big_l_student.php
Take a video of your serve to see if you have a WT. If the racket face faces the sky, as in the Hi Tech picture, it is likely a WT. Regular speed video (30 fps or 25 fps) with a fast shutter speed is required but not high speed video.
----------------------------------------------------------
There may be considerable variety on how the high level slice serve is hit.
Toss for kick and slice high level serves. Note the head moves forward between toss release and impact.
Hand and racket paths for some Frank Salazar serves in Fuzzy Yellow Balls overhead videos. Toly made composite videos from certain frames.
Racket sideward motion. The frame before, during and after impact were made into a gif by Toly. This shows the sideways racket motion and the fact that impact occurs close to the high point of the racket head path. (The racket head is still rising much more for the kick serve.)
Video of the above slice serve. 240 fps.
To do stop action single frame on Vimeo - Click Vimeo and full screen. Hold down the SHIFT Key and use the ARROW KEYS.
Last edited:
movdqa
Talk Tennis Guru
I looked around for a bit for an instructional video and this one seems decent:
I started out with the flat serve and then the slice serve back when the kick serve wasn't common. I don't hit that many slice serves these days but I don't have to think about it much - it's just like a flat serve to me but with more left-to-right motion of the racquet. You might try practicing it on some easy overheads too. A lot of pros use a slice overhead on very deep lobs. You can use a very slow carving motion just to see what it feels like.
I started out with the flat serve and then the slice serve back when the kick serve wasn't common. I don't hit that many slice serves these days but I don't have to think about it much - it's just like a flat serve to me but with more left-to-right motion of the racquet. You might try practicing it on some easy overheads too. A lot of pros use a slice overhead on very deep lobs. You can use a very slow carving motion just to see what it feels like.
Dragy
Legend
It will not bounce like a slice groundstroke cause it has no backspin keeping the trajectory with sharp angle against the ground (opposite to topsipn dipping downwards). However, with good speed pure slice serve will stay pretty low from the bounce.
In order to build slice serve from your ingrained kick/topspin (as opposed to learning from the ground) I suggest "rotating" the whole picture clockwise - toss to the right and swing the very same swingpass as your kick, but towards the new ball position. Forget the court and floor so far - just you and the ball.
There was also a nice video of building slice serve from the sideways slice - you toss the ball to the side and cut under that at hip level - backspin shot as outcome. Then gradually lift the contact point - you get more and more sidespin component. Finally you get to pretty much upward toss (still not over your head, though) and pure sidespin action. Tune the toss to be as much inside the court as required - and you are there.
Todd Hicks
Rookie
You might try dropping the ball on the court or tossing it up a few inches to the side and putting a slice stroke on the ball just as you would if you were close to the net and in the middle of a play.
Ciaron
Semi-Pro
On reading the posts and seeing the vids, I realize I've never had a flat serve .. my grip (Eastern) is the only grip I use . I've never served with a continental grip . Ok so I've never had formal coaching or taken instruction and I'm hardly a pro but have just improvised along the way over the last 30 years . Go figure
Moveforwardalways
Hall of Fame
I once saw a coach tell a kid who asked about learning a slice serve, "Slice? Slice serves are for *** (insert infamous place Trump would grab someone here). All a man needs is a kick and flat serve". Kid never asked again. This is the quality American coaching that we have in this country.
More or less my story. I was trying to make my high school team many years ago and my coach made me learn a kick serve and western forehand pusher playstyle. After high school I took a hiatus from from tennis and when I picked it back up, I lost my consistency and was surprised to find out I had an all court mentality. I followed my gut and changed from an APD GT to a PS97 with some added weight and I'm now looking to dictate play and close out points in under 6 shots than win a war of attrition. Since I'm not playing high school tennis anymore, I don't feel restricted to play "winning tennis" and feel very hungry to improve all aspects of my game. I now value a good slice serve as much as I value a good kick serve because I can keep my opponents guessing with different balls if I develop a slice serve.
movdqa
Talk Tennis Guru
Slice serves uses less energy as well.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
This is a really good way to do it. You can rally with someone and ask them to hit deep lobs. Just practice slicing them back over. It is a very good way to return deep lobs as well.
Brauvenklatsch
Rookie
Sometimes when I want to serve wide at the deuce court, I hit the ball from the back side of the ball and brush the ball somehow horizontally. But I can also serve wide differently by tossing the ball slightly to the left, then just hit the side of the ball (hit the ball starting from its right side instead of from the back).
fuzz nation
G.O.A.T.
When I teach a slice serve, I try to keep it really simple.
Using a relatively flat serve as our reference, I try to change only two things. The first is to alter the grip position just slightly more toward backhand - not even a full bevel over from a flat serve. The other thing (in the case of a righty server) is to aim the serve about five or six feet more to the right, since you're trying to hit the ball with a slightly angled racquet face that will send it more to the left.
Change nothing else, swing through the ball with a full, loose move the same as you employ for a comfortable flat serve. Racquet speed makes spin, so don't steer the racquet or paddy-cake the ball. Expect to spray the ball around a bit because you're basically hitting your normal flat serve with a "crooked" racquet. Some repetition will help you develop the instincts for controlling this serve.
Once the slice serve comes to life and you can hit it with a little consistency, then you can work on hitting your flat ball and your slice from the same setup. Instead of aligning your feet and body to aim more to the right when hitting the slice, you can just locate your toss slightly more to the right from your regular setup and that will give you the swing path that will make the slice happen (along with your grip position and wrist attitude through contact).
I'd also say you'll ideally be comfortably stretched vertically through contact with this serve.
Using a relatively flat serve as our reference, I try to change only two things. The first is to alter the grip position just slightly more toward backhand - not even a full bevel over from a flat serve. The other thing (in the case of a righty server) is to aim the serve about five or six feet more to the right, since you're trying to hit the ball with a slightly angled racquet face that will send it more to the left.
Change nothing else, swing through the ball with a full, loose move the same as you employ for a comfortable flat serve. Racquet speed makes spin, so don't steer the racquet or paddy-cake the ball. Expect to spray the ball around a bit because you're basically hitting your normal flat serve with a "crooked" racquet. Some repetition will help you develop the instincts for controlling this serve.
Once the slice serve comes to life and you can hit it with a little consistency, then you can work on hitting your flat ball and your slice from the same setup. Instead of aligning your feet and body to aim more to the right when hitting the slice, you can just locate your toss slightly more to the right from your regular setup and that will give you the swing path that will make the slice happen (along with your grip position and wrist attitude through contact).
I'd also say you'll ideally be comfortably stretched vertically through contact with this serve.
Update: I figured out why for the life of me I couldn't hit a proper slice serve. I was tossing the ball as if it were a slice serve, but I was leaning back as if I were hitting a kick serve. Once I straightened up and stopped leaning back, there was a significant improvement. It's still a work in progress, but once I get healthy again after my elbow tendon injury, I think I can have a reliable slice serve in two weeks of practice. Thanks for the advice and videos, everybody.
