Low bouncing serve

toth

Hall of Fame
I have look after, is it worth to strive to hit low bouncing serve or not?
My conclusion is: even on low bouncing surface even with the slice serve strive to hit a low bouncing serve means to hit weaker serve or (and) to hit serve without any topspin and this causes a very unconsistent serve.

Do you have any opinion about this subject?

Thank you for your answer
Toth
 

blablavla

G.O.A.T.
I have look after, is it worth to strive to hit low bouncing serve or not?
My conclusion is: even on low bouncing surface even with the slice serve strive to hit a low bouncing serve means to hit weaker serve or (and) to hit serve without any topspin and this causes a very unconsistent serve.

Do you have any opinion about this subject?

Thank you for your answer
Toth

if you're opponent stands far away behind the baseline, it is certainly worth it.
a proper slice, played wide, with low bounce will boost your chances to win the point.

also, if let's say you are playing against a left hander, and the returned move to the right, looking to attack your service with the forehand (so that there is less to run around in case of a wide service), serving a slice or a low bouncing serve down the T will again boost your chances to win the point.

On the other side, if your opponent stays at the base line, or perhaps inside the court and you try to serve a low bouncing serve, perhaps without much pace attached to it -> you are probably serving a training ball to your opponent.

so, depends on quite some variables.
 

Bender

G.O.A.T.
Better off focusing on just 2-3 types of serve.

Usually that'll be the flat / slice / kick. Adding a fourth would just make things tougher.
 

mnttlrg

Professional
I have look after, is it worth to strive to hit low bouncing serve or not?
My conclusion is: even on low bouncing surface even with the slice serve strive to hit a low bouncing serve means to hit weaker serve or (and) to hit serve without any topspin and this causes a very unconsistent serve.
I think tall players should try to hit high bouncing serves, and players who are not tall are better off hitting LOW serves. When short people try to kick the ball over my head, I usually crush it back. When short people plow something heavy and low at me, it is much harder to deal with.

In terms of consistency, I think that is a function of spin, body balance, and a few other factors not related to the trajectory of the shot. I think people make way to big of a deal about margins. Look up Dudi Sela and tell me that he is not consistent / effective with his low serves.
 

toth

Hall of Fame
I think tall players should try to hit high bouncing serves, and players who are not tall are better off hitting LOW serves. When short people try to kick the ball over my head, I usually crush it back. When short people plow something heavy and low at me, it is much harder to deal with.

In terms of consistency, I think that is a function of spin, body balance, and a few other factors not related to the trajectory of the shot. I think people make way to big of a deal about margins. Look up Dudi Sela and tell me that he is not consistent / effective with his low serves.
The serves of Sela do bounce low?
Under waist? Or even more lower?
I do not remember of his serves, i see him too rarely.
But if he is the only pro who can hit consistency low bouncing serves i am not convinced.
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
The low slice server was quite common back in the 1970s. It was a slower serve and you didn't have the partial coming over the ball. It was more of coming under the ball or just to the side. A nice serve to have when you're playing indoors and the court separator is pretty close to the alley.
 

RyanRF

Professional
I would not recommend learning a low slice as your one and only serve. If you had to pick just one I'd go with topspin/kick.

A slice serve is most effective when unexpected. If you mix it in with flat and kick, your opponent will never find rhythm on the return.
 

HuusHould

Hall of Fame
EVERY serve, you gotta practice a LOT!
Nobody has the time or shoulders to justify practicing flats, tops, kicks, and low slices..or reverse slices, while trying to maintain both a net game and a baseline game.
Pick your battles.

I agree theres so many things in tennis you can work on that would improve your game a bit, that you need to really nail down what your bread and butter is going to be.

By reverse slice, do you mean inside out? I can never figure out why this serve is non existant on the pro tour, because at lower levels a good one of those is lethal! My guess is the risk it poses to the players shoulder?
 

Dragy

Legend
I think people make way to big of a deal about margins.
That’s an interesting a approach worth consideration. I think margins are a thing for serving, but up to a point. Minor inconsistency in execution claims for some margin, but bigger faults cause progressively bigger misses: thus kick serves dipping into middle of the net. Therefore there could be some sufficient margin for error and no sense in trying to widen it further.
 

Goof

Professional
The effectiveness of the low-bouncing serve depends largely on the opponent. I am very short and generally serve very low. There are a fair number of big hitting big guys who dump half their returns into the net against me. There are others who aren't as good of overall players as those guys who crush my low serves. There are others who only return crosscourt off low serves, so I purposely go low, weak, and wide to them knowing I'll have a predictable return to attack. Work on developing a wide array of shots, learn to learn your opponents' games quickly, and deploy your arsenal in a way to take advantage.
 

ubercat

Hall of Fame
I mentioned in the other thread it's also a good one to have if you are carrying a leg injury and can't get up for high toss. You can vary a low slice serve quite a lot by hitting it faster or slower.

slower ones curve more so you can serve them wide or curve them back in towards the T

I suppose I have the advantage if you can call it that of being 110 kilos. So if I have to serve just by stepping through it plenty of power.
 

Goof

Professional
I mentioned in the other thread it's also a good one to have if you are carrying a leg injury and can't get up for high toss. You can vary a low slice serve quite a lot by hitting it faster or slower.

slower ones curve more so you can serve them wide or curve them back in towards the T

I suppose I have the advantage if you can call it that of being 110 kilos. So if I have to serve just by stepping through it plenty of power.

I am primarily a singles player, so my absolute favorite play when I'm serving in doubles is to hit a sweeping slice serve right on the T when I (a righty) am serving from the ad side. The returner would hit out or right at my partner if they go there, they would hit their partner in the back if they tried to hit it to my backhand, so they almost always hit it right down the middle of the court to my forehand. If it's short, I rush in and take a swinging half volley inside-out that's usually a winner. If it's deep, I hit high and hard inside-out to their backhand (assuming it's a righty) and my partner at the net usually gets a sitter. It's also a morale buster for my opponents because it's such a pathetic seeming serve but it sets me up in a no-lose situation. The returner's only real play is to try to hit my partner (who at the 4.5 level can handle that just fine).
 

HuusHould

Hall of Fame
See it twice, it's useless.
Hard on shoulder, weak compared to normal serve.

If Kyrgios could do the serve equivalent of this with rafa 3m behind the baseline I'm sure it would be effective. (He could no doubt find a way to disguise it) The stress on the shoulder is a different matter.
 

Dragy

Legend
I am primarily a singles player, so my absolute favorite play when I'm serving in doubles is to hit a sweeping slice serve right on the T when I (a righty) am serving from the ad side. The returner would hit out or right at my partner if they go there, they would hit their partner in the back if they tried to hit it to my backhand, so they almost always hit it right down the middle of the court to my forehand. If it's short, I rush in and take a swinging half volley inside-out that's usually a winner. If it's deep, I hit high and hard inside-out to their backhand (assuming it's a righty) and my partner at the net usually gets a sitter. It's also a morale buster for my opponents because it's such a pathetic seeming serve but it sets me up in a no-lose situation. The returner's only real play is to try to hit my partner (who at the 4.5 level can handle that just fine).
Net person is expected to move or crouch to not hinder line of shot for their partner, no? Whom do you play against so that they lack that understanding?
 
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