mental cues when the serve goes in net or long

[taurussable]

I tell myself following

goes in net:
toss higher, toss a little backward.

goes long:
toss a bit forward


What do you tell yourself when a serve goes long or in net and prepare for next serve?

 

[Chas Tennis]

I tell myself following

goes in net:
toss higher, toss a little backward.

goes long:
toss a bit forward


What do you tell yourself when a serve goes long or in net and prepare for next serve?

That seems reasonable but the toss is only one factor. How far forward you move before impacting the ball is an equal factor that may also vary. Both the toss and your position at impact are two factors that determine how closed the racket is at impact.

Take high speed video side views of the trajectory. Look at how closed the racket face is at impact. It also closes maybe at 1 degree per millisecond, so the exact angle in the frame caught will vary during the 4 milliseconds of string contact. (ISR probably does not close the racket face as much around impact as other arm motions do.)

To get an idea of how much the body moves forward between the toss and impact look at the head position in a side view of the trajectory. Type of serve unknown.

 

[crash1929]

i'm no longer serving too many in the net. Usually my first serve will go long if I'm not on.

My fixes

1. Lower toss
2. Go up after it
3. Hit the ball on the top right to bring it down
4. Remember to accelerate

5. Most importantly by far - I have figured out why practice = 80-90% first flat/slice serves in and match is much less lately-

My arm and shoulder get tighter! Sometimes by only a little bit. But when I correct this they start falling in and my serve in match play gets closer to practice / no pressure serve.

 

[Lukhas]

If it's in the net or long, it generally means that the serve is hit with low margin over the net. So it would be "aim higher over the net", "throw your racquet towards the ball more", "direct your swing upwards, not forward", to try to stop thinking about the service box so much that you're throwing your racquet towards the service box.

 

[SStrikerR]

Net - don't collapse on contact.
Long - you hit it late. Hit the ball earlier.

 

[Vitorio_Baretto]

Net: Keep head still and watch the ball until contact.
Long: Get the racket down enough on recoil.

 

[Nellie]

If my serves are going into the net, I have to watch the ball longer (keep my head and tossing arm up as long as possible) and resist the urge to watch the ball go toward the receiver

If my serve is long, I have to think about adding more spin and swinging faster.

 

[Topspin Shot]

Net: Aim higher.
Long: Aim lower or use more spin.

 

[dominikk1985]

It depends on why you miss.

if your downward plane of the serve is not enough because the contact Point is low you can miss both Long and in the net.

in that case you Need a higher contact Point and hit down more.

you can also hit the net if you hit down too steep in that case tossing a Little further back can help.

 

[JonC]

Head up, look at ball through contact, relax arm, and break elbow (circular swing) - works for all serve problems.

 

[dct693]

As others have noted: balls into the net usually means dropping the head and not watching the ball contact the strings. Rarely is it that something else has gone wrong.

For long balls on flat serves, you may have tossed too low. For long balls on topspin serves, focus on keeping that racket head speed FAST. It's hard to produce that speed when you're tight in a match but it's so important.

 

[sureshs]

Do pros look at ball through contact on the serve? It has been discussed here before but I don't remember what the conclusion was.

It is definitely not feasible on many days here when we play in 100+ degrees at noon.

 

[JonC]

Do pros look at ball through contact on the serve? It has been discussed here before but I don't remember what the conclusion was.

It is definitely not feasible on many days here when we play in 100+ degrees at noon.

That's why serving into the sun is difficult.

 

[sureshs]

It is not difficult just because you are supposed to watch to contact. The sun is not a tiny spot and you toss just in its line. Looking up in general is a pain, even on lobs under these conditions. So the two are different situations.

There was a poster here who said something like: "Try to understand why weightlifters don't watch the weight at the moment of lifting, and you will understand why pros cannot watch the ball at contact."

Whatever it is, do most pros watch the contact on the serve or not?

 

[JonC]

It is not difficult just because you are supposed to watch to contact. The sun is not a tiny spot and you toss just in its line. Looking up in general is a pain, even on lobs under these conditions. So the two are different situations.

There was a poster here who said something like: "Try to understand why weightlifters don't watch the weight at the moment of lifting, and you will understand why pros cannot watch the ball at contact."

Whatever it is, do most pros watch the contact on the serve or not?

So the sun is not the problem it's the looking up part? Never had a problem looking up myself nor have I ever heard anyone say that? Do you have neck problems?

 

[Pet]

I tell myself following

goes in net:
toss higher, toss a little backward.

goes long:
toss a bit forward


What do you tell yourself when a serve goes long or in net and prepare for next serve?

No, only training is gonna make you hit in a proper way.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Most of the side views of servers that I've seen are like Raonic in reply #2. Is he looking at the ball at impact?

Eye contact is not usually continued through impact. There are exceptions. I believe that two exceptions might be Karlovic and Tsonga. But most are looking at the ball up until just milliseconds before impact. Stosur has a horizontal neck and head on some serves, she does'nt have to look through her eyebrow but is she still viewing he ball at impact. Viewed from behind or in front you usually can't tell if their eyebrow blocks seeing the ball.

Try holding your racket as for the serve impact in the Raonic serve, with the head orientation that you see, all other arm and body angles, and see if you can point your eyes at the ball.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Most of the side views of servers that I've seen are like Raonic's in reply #2. Is he looking at the ball at impact?

Eye contact is not usually continued through impact. There are exceptions. I believe that two exceptions might be Karlovic and Tsonga. But most are looking at the ball up until just milliseconds before impact. Stosur has a horizontal neck and head on some serves, she does'nt have to look through her eyebrow but is she still viewing the ball at impact? Viewed from behind or in front you usually can't tell if their eyebrow blocks seeing the ball.

Try holding your racket as for the serve impact in the Raonic serve, with the head orientation that you see, all other arm and body angles, and see if you can point your eyes at the ball. See other side view videos at impact (most thumbnails). Look at Karlovic, Tsonga and Stosur.
https://vimeo.com/user6237669/videos

 

[tuesdays]

There was a poster here who said something like: "Try to understand why weightlifters don't watch the weight at the moment of lifting, and you will understand why pros cannot watch the ball at contact.

I am sorry to revive this thread, but can someone explain this quote to me?

 

[ballmachineguy]

I am sorry to revive this thread, but can someone explain this quote to me?

Well, the weightlifter could hurt himself having his head turned while exerting himself. Maybe that is it. I also think that your head and shoulders are pretty much directly connected, so it could make it hard to use the shoulder to bring the racquet on its path if your head isn’t complying with the motion. Everybody is different.

Can you imagine Coco trying to keep her eye on the contact with her body in this position?

https://imgur.com/a/MRidIB2

 

[Chas Tennis]

Consider the evidence presented when deciding what to consider.

False beliefs outnumber true.....