My Serve...

[gugafan05]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what they think I should do to speed up my serve. Here is a video of my serve. Please comment. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NcLlUTBri0

 

[EliteNinja]

Alrighty, first thing's first; make sure your toss is a good 2 feet or so higher and slightly more in front of you 0.5-1 feet, it will allow you to extend your arm further for maximum reach.

Tossing it higher will also give you more time in the trophy position after the toss. This is important to keep balance and to line up the shot with your eyes. Try to toss it high enough so that you can hold your trophy position for about one second.

Second issue is the grip. Looks like an eastern forehand from the video. You need to use the contintental grip to serve or you will bust up your shoulder like how I used to serve. Hold out your racquet in front of you in your usual serving grip and turn clockwise by one bevel. That should be a good grip for serve.

Serving with the continental grip will allow you to use your elbow as a hinge after your pronation allowing a more smooth followthrough an putting less stress on your shoulder.

Good luck.

 

[EliteNinja]

Oh, and one more thing.

When you're tossing the ball, release the ball from your hands at a height higher than your shoulders. This will allow you to have more control of your toss.

Then after you toss, keep your tossing arm straight pointing towards the ball in the trophy position. At the same time, keep your racquet-length parallel to your tossing arm. This will keep your left shoulder up so you can pivot your shoulders on swinging shoulder-over-shoulder.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[gugafan05]

thanks so much

 

[ramseszerg]

Totally agree with the shoulder-over-shoulder thing from EN. By the way, by thanks so much do you mean you really use the Eastern FH grip? I didnt think I could tell from the video..

 

[gugafan05]

Yeah, I use an eastern FH grip on my serve.

 

[wyutani]

Yeah, I use an eastern FH grip on my serve.

try using a semi-western grip when you serve, i use it generally for power...

 

[BeachTennis]

watch this 100 times per day

This will help your serve and overall game!

Slow motion of Pete Serving Big

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8TWXjrrnK4

 

[TennisAsAlways]

This will help your serve and overall game!

Slow motion of Pete Serving Big

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8TWXjrrnK4

Nice clips! 100 times per day everyday would be quite a commitment.

 

[Andres]

try using a semi-western grip when you serve, i use it generally for power...

That's stupid.

 

[TennisAsAlways]

Yeah, I use an eastern FH grip on my serve.

For serves, I don't recommend using any grips other than either the Eastern "Backhand" or the Continental — unless of course, you do not want to improve or give up on yourself, thinking that you can't improve (Which is something that I find older folks (+ 58 yrs.) tend to be doing. For example, they'll settle for a frying pan grip, since they do not feel that they have what it takes to "learn" and "adapt" to the Continental or EBH.).

 

[wyutani]

That's stupid.

:shock: what is?

 

[katastrof]

That's stupid.

Hey, Andres, before you get into that whole thing with wyutani again, let me ask you this:
How do you use the squash racquet for volley practice? Does it work? I have one that's been laying around for the last zillion years, I might put it to use after all.

 

[egitserp]

try using a semi-western grip when you serve, i use it generally for power...

Do not I repeat do not use a semi-western grip, i'd suggest you switch to a continental grip to enhance your serve speed and like elite ninja said toss the ball further in front of you so you'll be able to gain power from your forward momentum into the court. PS. bend your knees a little bit more.

 

[shindemac]

Your serve looks ok, except it isn't too fast at all. It looks like you're not transferring the energy generated through the kinetic chain. Make sure your arm is loose!

 

[Andres]

Hey, Andres, let me ask you this:
How do you use the squash racquet for volley practice? Does it work? I have one that's been laying around for the last zillion years, I might put it to use after all.

It works great, katastrof. You'll be framing and miss-hitting shots a lot, but once you get used to sweetspot with the minimal headsize, sweetspotting on a larger frame will be a piece of cake.

Give the little tiny racquet a try. It's worthy

 

[ramseszerg]

try using a semi-western grip when you serve, i use it generally for power...

i think wyutani is joking? and hopefully the OP doesnt take this advice.