kick serve - racquets ends up on which side of the body???

BillH

Rookie
kick serve - racquet ends up on which side of the body???

I have been trying to incorporate a kick serve into my game for over a year now with varying levels of success. Three different tennis coaches have given me the usual brush up the back of ball/racquet trajectory along base-line approach. I understand that, but when I mention to them that it seems that pros finish the kicker on the opposite side of the body of the hitting arm, they all say that that's correct and I should work on doing that. Yesterday, I saw a video on the kicker and it plainly showed and explained that the racquet should finish on the same side of the body as the hitting arm with plenty of pronation. Which is it? I had much more luck in the past with the later approach and trying to finsih on the opposite side of my body has really screwed up my kick serve. Thanks for any help.
 

Geezer Guy

Hall of Fame
I was taught to hit the topspin (kick) serve with the racquet ending on the same side of the body as my hitting arm.
I was taught to hit the slice and flat serves with the racquet ending up on the opposite side of my body.
 

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
BillH said:
I have been trying to incorporate a kick serve into my game for over a year now with varying levels of success. Three different tennis coaches have given me the usual brush up the back of ball/racquet trajectory along base-line approach. I understand that, but when I mention to them that it seems that pros finish the kicker on the opposite side of the body of the hitting arm, they all say that that's correct and I should work on doing that. Yesterday, I saw a video on the kicker and it plainly showed and explained that the racquet should finish on the same side of the body as the hitting arm with plenty of pronation.

There's a subtlety here:)

Yes, for kick you must have an racket trajectory arc as long as possible and oriented towards the right (if a righty), and with a lot of pronation work as well.

However, when that arc is finished, the racket completes its path towards the front side of the body. For some players it's more on its right, for others it's more on its left.

Compare Edberg (racket finishes more on the right when coming down), with Agassi (racket finishes more to the left when coming down), in my posting on the Kick Serve in the Sticky.

Also, read the postings by SonicDeviant there.
 

elee3

Rookie
I'm right handed and at the end of my kick serves my racquet ends up being on my left or just in front of me. I use to hit my kick serves with my racquet ending up on the same side of the hitting arm until some pretty bad shoulder injuries. I tend to injury my shoulder if I don't have enough forward arm motion after hitting the ball on my kick serves so I have my arm end up on my left just to make sure I have enough forward arm motion so I don't injury myself.
 

Marius_Hancu

Talk Tennis Guru
the people here confirm the variability:

rod99

i brush the string against the side of the ball when i hit both a kick
serve and a slice serve. the difference is that on a slice serve i
follow through underneath my right arm (as i'm left handed) but on a
kick serve i follow through straight down instead of across my body.

Top spin (kick) serve follow through
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?p=587236&highlight=kick+serve+follow#post587236

JeffH1

Right hand. I've seen this done both ways. Some follow through to
their left side (like a normal 1st serve) and some to their right. I
find it easier to follow through to my right side, where after impact,
my racquet ends up pointing down on my right side. Not really sure if
there is a right or a wrong way. Your thoughts?
 

Mahboob Khan

Hall of Fame
If you take into consideration the 7 to 1 o'clock brush up and your personal success with the serve, it is better for you if you finish to your right side. As Marius said both approaches are correct. Let the personal preference and past success, if any, be the determining factors here.
 

Bungalo Bill

G.O.A.T.
BillH said:
I have been trying to incorporate a kick serve into my game for over a year now with varying levels of success. Three different tennis coaches have given me the usual brush up the back of ball/racquet trajectory along base-line approach. I understand that, but when I mention to them that it seems that pros finish the kicker on the opposite side of the body of the hitting arm, they all say that that's correct and I should work on doing that. Yesterday, I saw a video on the kicker and it plainly showed and explained that the racquet should finish on the same side of the body as the hitting arm with plenty of pronation. Which is it? I had much more luck in the past with the later approach and trying to finsih on the opposite side of my body has really screwed up my kick serve. Thanks for any help.

The Kick Serve term nowadays means several different serves. The traditional twist serve finishes on the same side of the body. Search through Tennis Magazine in around March 2005. There is an article in their called "THE SERVE, KICK IT".
 

Kaptain Karl

Hall Of Fame
I was about 17 when I'd finally made the Kick Serve a dependable weapon. (Racket finishing on racket-side of body.) And some Teaching Pro told me it would not be effective beyond the Juniors until I could finish my follow through with my racket on the opposite side of my body.

For months I worked on that ... and my shins still bear the scars(!). I beat these shins to shreds ... until I realized the Instructor had no room in his pedagogy for students not to be "cookie cutter" replicas of himself.

<edit> Kudos to Mahboob Khan, for his post above: "Let the personal preference and past success, if any, be the determining factors here." </edit>


I have a Kick Serve which is known to be a *weapon*. I finish on the racket-side of my body.

Do what works.

- KK
 

Mahboob Khan

Hall of Fame
Kaptain Karl said:
I was about 17 when I'd finally made the Kick Serve a dependable weapon. (Racket finishing on racket-side of body.) And some Teaching Pro told me it would not be effective beyond the Juniors until I could finish my follow through with my racket on the opposite side of my body.

For months I worked on that ... and my shins still bear the scars(!). I beat these shins to shreds ... until I realized the Instructor had no room in his pedagogy for students not to be "cookie cutter" replicas of himself.

<edit> Kudos to Mahboob Khan, for his post above: "Let the personal preference and past success, if any, be the determining factors here." </edit>


I have a Kick Serve which is known to be a *weapon*. I finish on the racket-side of my body.

Do what works.

- KK

Good reply.
 
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