Question on keeping your tossing arm parallel to the baseline

acer

Rookie
Federer, Samprass and other pros seem to raise thier toss while keeping thier tossing arm parallel to the baseline. This helps them to get better rotation, etc. My question is if you keep your tossing arm parallel to the baseline, then how can you get the toss to go forward into the court?

My problem is that when I keep my tossing arm parallel to the baseline, I end up tossing the ball back over my left shoulder and above my head (I am lefty). It may help for a kicker but for me it really irritates my tennis elbow as I end up hitting with a bent hitting arm as the ball goes over my head.

I realize I could go back to keeping my tossing arm go up at a 45% angle to the baseline but keeping it parallel to the baseline helps with disquise.

Any suggestions

Thanks

Acer
 

Wes_Loves_Dunlop

Professional
I dont get what you mean by keeping the throwing arm parallel to the abseline. you mean while serving or groundies?
for serves, i just watched a vid of fed serving and his arm is perpendicular to the ground, not parallel
 

acer

Rookie
I dont get what you mean by keeping the throwing arm parallel to the abseline. you mean while serving or groundies?
for serves, i just watched a vid of fed serving and his arm is perpendicular to the ground, not parallel

Hi Wes Loves Dunlop

Sorry, to clarify, I was talking about the serve. Federer raises his tossing arm while keeping it parallel with the baseline. In other words, he raises his tossing arm keeping it along the same line as the baseline. His tossing arm is bascially pointing at the side fence as he raises it.



Acer
 
Last edited:

tricky

Hall of Fame
My question is if you keep your tossing arm parallel to the baseline, then how can you get the toss to go forward into the court?
As you begin your toss, your body's momentum should already be moving into the court. Among other things, this helps the ball land in front of you.

To reinforce that, work on tossing while your front foot is off the ground.
 

LeeD

Bionic Poster
I don't know..... of course.
When I bounce the ball before motion, my bounce is about 12" inside the baseline, me standing right on the baseline. So maybe my arm is NOT parallel to the baseline.
Then during the motion, I rock forwards into the court, not moving front foot, more than I would during the ball bounce, which leads the ball farther into the court, maybe 12-18" inside the baseline if I let it drop.
Since my implosion :))) is more into the court than upwards, I end up well 24" inside the court after I land from the serve.
Dat would be for first flat hard serves. For second serves when I stay back, I only end up inside the court about half that.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
This is not an absolute. Yes, some/many elite servers will toss parallel to the baseline. However, there are also many good servers who toss at an angle that is more like 30 to 45 degrees off the parallel. Many of these players will rotate (coil) a bit more after the ball release.
 
Top