Is 72 mph slow ?

No it is not bad, and also depends on how tall you are. Also depends on if you are using those cheap movable portable speed guns. They are very inaccurate. You really should have it clocked under real radar gun that posts on the fence like in the US open, sometimes there are an error of 30-40 mph betwween them......
 
Not for your average 16 yr. old but there are certainly 16 yr. olds who serve a lot harder. It is important to serve hard however do not get too wrapped up in speed because placement and spins can be more effective.
 
Rafa's best friend said:
Also depends on if you are using those cheap movable portable speed guns. They are very inaccurate. You really should have it clocked under real radar gun that posts on the fence like in the US open, sometimes there are an error of 30-40 mph betwween them......
Click to expand...


The portable radar guns have an accuracy of -2/3 mph. Not 30-40 MPH.
 
Silentgunz said:
i got my serve clocked for the first time and my fastest was 72 mph... is that slow for a 16 yr old ?
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That is not bad at all, but as Drtennis said, don't worry about the pace as much as the spin and placement. By the way, were ou surprised at the speed? Did you think you served faster or slower.

A lot of people on these boards swear they hit over 100 easy, and really have no clue how fast they actually serve.
 
drakulie said:
The portable radar guns have an accuracy of -2/3 mph. Not 30-40 MPH.
Click to expand...

I figured you'd weigh in on the accuracy of those portable radar guns once that other poster questioned them.;)
 
Portable radar guns tell you 2-3 mph just because they want to sell their product. It really depends on where you place the gun as well, you are supposed to put by the net but the ball does not reach the beam right away, by the time it reaches the beam, it has already lost about 10-15mph. The gun at the US open clocks the ball as soon as it comes off the strings.
 
We had one of these that measured it
yhst-23896291585213_1923_6895178
 
Rafa's best friend said:
Portable radar guns tell you 2-3 mph just because they want to sell their product. It really depends on where you place the gun as well, you are supposed to put by the net but the ball does not reach the beam right away, by the time it reaches the beam, it has already lost about 10-15mph. The gun at the US open clocks the ball as soon as it comes off the strings.
Click to expand...

If this is true, it means that portable guns actually underestimate the speed of your serves by up to 15 mph?
 
Silentgunz said:
i got my serve clocked for the first time and my fastest was 72 mph... is that slow for a 16 yr old ?
Click to expand...
That's slow for someone with over a year experience, but if you're still a rookie, it's ok.
 
Rafa's best friend said:
Portable radar guns tell you 2-3 mph just because they want to sell their product.
Click to expand...

Wrong! They are accurate -2/3 mph. here is a link to my serve video using a portable radar gun:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=120776

Here is a link to a formula Mike Cotrill and Maverick1 worked on which shows it's accuracy using frame by frame pictures of a video sequence and distance traveled:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=121904&page=2


Rafa's best friend said:
It really depends on where you place the gun as well, you are supposed to put by the net but the ball does not reach the beam right away, by the time it reaches the beam, it has already lost about 10-15mph.
Click to expand...

Wrong again.


http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=122622
 
Heycal, Yes that is roughly true, but it is so notoriously inacurate, when do you know it is underestimating the speed by 5mph or 15mph, do you know what i am gettin at? So if you really want a accurate speed check of your serve, go to one of those USTA sponsored fast serve tournament, it is a year long ongoing tournament in various different clubs across the country, We had at Midtown in June, a amateur 4.0 guy served one at 124 mph.
 
Rafa's best friend said:
Yes that is roughly true, but it is so notoriously inacurate, when do you know it is underestimating the speed by 5mph or 15mph,
Click to expand...

We tested it against a formula. What are yourefusing to understand?
 
72 mph really depends on the type of serve you are hitting. If you hit a serve that fast with spin and placed it well yes it would be a good serve, but if you hit that is the fastest you can hit (concentrating on only pace) then it is kind of slow. However, I should qualify this by saying it depends on experience as well.
 
Maybe this is new updated gun, i used something similar looking one like this one 3 years ago and the speed was all over the place, 83, 90, 101mph with myself and several others, and they were all struck with relatively same amount of force. So when i went to the RCA pro tournament and measured my serve as do the pros, it came out consistantly in 95-98mph range, so How do you explain that???
 
Rafa's best friend said:
Maybe this is new updated gun, i used something similar looking one like this one 3 years ago and the speed was all over the place, 83, 90, 101mph with myself and several others, and they were all struck with relatively same amount of force. So when i went to the RCA pro tournament and measured my serve as do the pros, it came out consistantly in 95-98mph range, so How do you explain that???
Click to expand...

How do I explain that? I explain it like this:

First off, your mathematical skills are not very accurate. Going by your first post where you stated they are off by 30-40 mph, then that would mean the above speeds you just posted (83, 90, 101) were in reality between 55-70 mph.

As for your serves between 95-98 mph range maybe they were measuirng KPH. LOL
 
To:Drakulie
About what level player are you? Are you USTA rated, if your gun is accurate, you have a pretty good serve for a amateur. Do you consistantly serve in the 100's MPH???
 
No need for insults, What i meant was The gun was underestimating the speed by about 15-30mph, NOT OVERESTIMATING it. I trust those guns that is same as they use at the US open and they say i am in 95-98mph so that is what i go by......
 
Rafa's best friend said:
No need for insults, What i meant was The gun was underestimating the speed by about 15-30mph, NOT OVERESTIMATING it. I trust those guns that is same as they use at the US open and they say i am in 95-98mph so that is what i go by......
Click to expand...

My apologies, did not mean it as an insult. I thought you meant overstating the speeds.
 
Rafa's best friend said:
To:Drakulie
About what level player are you? Are you USTA rated, if your gun is accurate, you have a pretty good serve for a amateur. Do you consistantly serve in the 100's MPH???
Click to expand...

I use to play in college. Just play for fun now. Mostly pick up games so I don't have a USTA rating.

I would say I am consitently in the 95-105 range. At the beginning of the match probably a little slower. Once I get about 3-4 service games my speed picks up and stays in that range until the end of the match.
 
About what level player are you?? and Have you thought about entering the Fast serve Competition ?? It seems like from what you say, you can even hit the serve harder than you did at 107mph?????
 
Also i am trying to break the 100mph barrier, is it really difficult to do?? I got a gun like yours so i can get some reliable speed, Is that really expensive and where did you buy it??
 
Right now I would say about 4.5 player. I just don't play enough to be as consistent as a 5.0. I actually haven't played since before I did that serve video. I had a bruised arch on my foot (ligament) when I did it, so it really threw my timing off. It is still bothering me, but I am hoping to play this weekend.

Fastest I have ever been clocked was around 118 mph (that was with a professional radar gun).

As for how difficult to get to the 100 mph barrier is????? Even hitting 90+ mph is fairly difficult. If you are already in the high 90's you have a little bit to go. Just make sure you don't try to "muscle" you serve. The more relaxed you are, the faster racquet head speed you could obtain.

I am a short guy (5'9") weight about 165-no muscle. Good technique will get you a lot further. What makes my serve difficult to retunr is not necessarily the speed, but the spin. It is hard to tell from the videos, but there is a lot of spin on those serves, and the ball jumps off the court, throwing the opponents timing off. Here is a better perspective of the ball coming off the court and the spin:

drakulie said:
Here are some serves from a different view. They are all to the deuce side. I placed the camera facing away from me directly on the opposite side of the net a few feet off the floor. The radar gun is also on the opposite side of the net, and half way up the T.

98 MPH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjBOV9zsrps

92 MPH up the T (How sweet it is to hit an ACE!) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvs1-q9ip5E

84 MPH Topspin (this one was a little long):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cH4w0H1V5c


Enjoy!
Click to expand...


Body serve to deuce side:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu4Hw6rp46Q


Good luck with your serve
 
On the video, it does not even look like you are swinging hard and you get all that power, i am impressed. But your topspin serve look relatively straight, isn't it supposed to kick out in opposite direction??
 
Rafa's best friend said:
On the video, it does not even look like you are swinging hard and you get all that power, i am impressed.
Click to expand...

Technique rules. Again, you don't have to muscle it. Just have a nice relaxed fluid swing and the pace will take care of itself.

Rafa's best friend said:
But your topspin serve look relatively straight, isn't it supposed to kick out in opposite direction??
Click to expand...

That's a kick serve you are talking about--where it bounces to the right. I hit mostly pure topsin. I could hit a kcik serve, but prefer to just hit a second serve with lots of topspin, which is similar to my first serve.
 
Silentgunz said:
i got my serve clocked for the first time and my fastest was 72 mph... is that slow for a 16 yr old ?
Click to expand...

Kind of. i'm 14 and I got 76 with my POG OS strung at 67lbs. I got 81 with my friends n6.1 and 86 with my other friends PD.
Now my form is much better and I think I can hit even harder.
 
Rafa's best friend said:
What tension do you have your racket at ?? I string my racket at 72lbs and maybe tight tension like this is taking away some of my power on the serve??
Click to expand...

70lbs. Ashaway Kevlar Crossifre II 16 gauge.

Here is another serve from the other thread:

Originally Posted by drakulie
The camera was placed 5'6" up on the fence. The fence is 21'3" from the baseline.

This serve, Down the T, hit the camera. It was a little wide of the T.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGWip2F_e7M
 
Heh, we have a recently turned 15-year old kid at our club who clocked one at 120 mph with that radar. If it truly understates the speeds by 10-20 mph or so, that means his serve is in the 130s, and I wouldn't doubt it. His serves are scary and he just won yet another tournament (this time in a difference province).
 
I know a lot of juniors that serve above 130mph. At the Junior tournament in 14 and under, there were kids serving 135-138mph range, what does that tell you ??
 
Rafa's best friend said:
I know a lot of juniors that serve above 130mph. At the Junior tournament in 14 and under, there were kids serving 135-138mph range, what does that tell you ??
Click to expand...

14 year olds serving at those speeds? I think that says a defective gun! ;)

*ducks for cover but really struggles to believe that*
 
72mph is slow.

My 16 year old partner managed to hit a max higher than mine. His is 109mph down the T which landed in. His serve average is identical to mine. Range from mid 80s and 90s.
 
I'm not surprised. The only question is, have they peaked? Or can they possibly serve faster as they get older and stronger? Case-in-point, Roddick's serve isn't getting any faster. If I recall correctly, Gilbert had wanted him to build enough strength to smoke 160 mph serves. Prolly not gonna happen anymore.
 
72mph is what you see those old senior club players hiting those slice serves as their first serve. At that speed the only ace you will get is by sliceing it.

That speed is only good for someone who sucks at returning serves like myself.
 
Rafa's best friend said:
I know a lot of juniors that serve above 130mph. At the Junior tournament in 14 and under, there were kids serving 135-138mph range, what does that tell you ??
Click to expand...

why do i find this hard to believe? it would be rare enough to have one kid under 14 serving in the 130's, much less a LOT of them, as you say. and some in the same tournament. wow, i guess some top pro's would get their buts whooped in that tournament.
 
Rafa's best friend said:
John Mcenroe himself saw the kid serving at 138mph and he was 14 at the US open Junior tournament, he made the comment on the air himself.......
Click to expand...


"the" kid i believe. LOTS of kids, like you pointed, i dont.
 
Rafa's best friend said:
If that kid went out and cloned himself, That would be lots of kids!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

lol. my hitting partner from Nigeria who is 19, 6'1 and 190 lbs puts em in the 30's , and knowing how big and strong he is, and how much effort it takes him, thats why i doubted there would be many under 14's doing it. im guessing the one that does do it is pretty big for his age.
 
Duzza said:
I'm 16 and got clocked at 98-100...
Click to expand...
Wow, that's getting up there with pro level speed....just awesome! :p

I read that you lost to that asian kid, Tran. This kid played on my mates caulfield rec team few seasons ago. I was very impressed with the way he blunted a powerplayers game in the finals series.

Btw were you down at kings over the weekend playing that open tourny?
 
equinox said:
Wow, that's getting up there with pro level speed....just awesome! :p

I read that you lost to that asian kid, Tran. This kid played on my mates caulfield rec team few seasons ago. I was very impressed with the way he blunted a powerplayers game in the finals series.

Btw were you down at kings over the weekend playing that open tourny?
Click to expand...
Pro level speed? As if...it doesn't feel too fast.. anyway I did lose to Aaron, but he is a great player, I was up :D it would be a bit closer now. I was down at Kings Park but didn't enter the Open, only A's. I lost one match and missed the final cause in the RR group someone had more games for. Leigh Holland beat Aaryn Nania in the final 6-0 6-0 :D It was hilarious.
 
I'm 14 and fastest I've served was probably 98mph (pure luck, I tell you).
 
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