Serve: Classic vs. Abbreviated

thefan

Professional
Hi, can someone explain to me the difference between a classic and abbreviated service motion. WHat characteristics makes a motion classic? abbreviated?

Thanks
 

thefan

Professional
how would you classify federer, blake and agassi's service motion?
And are they any advantage/disadvanatages to both or is it all about perference?
 

LarougeNY

Professional
how would you classify federer, blake and agassi's service motion?
And are they any advantage/disadvanatages to both or is it all about perference?

Federer is definitely classic, Blake is classic but he goes very VERY fast so it may look somewhat abbreviated, and Agassi is classic kinda similar to blakes in that its done quickly.

Advantages: Looks cooler, less danger (ex-abbreviated if you go to fast and are uncoordinated, you can smack your jaw out with your racket)

Disadvantages: I'd like to think there aren't any;)
 

z-money

Semi-Pro
classic is the best in my opinion there are a myriad of players who use it and not quite as many with abbreviated motions. usually players with a more classic motion are more successful with there serve. sampras, federer, karlovic, philippousis, ljubicic just to name a few (ljubicic was statisicly the most successful server in 06 being if i recall correctly #1 in every aspect except second serve)
 

Noveson

Hall of Fame
classic is the best in my opinion there are a myriad of players who use it and not quite as many with abbreviated motions. usually players with a more classic motion are more successful with there serve. sampras, federer, karlovic, philippousis, ljubicic just to name a few (ljubicic was statisicly the most successful server in 06 being if i recall correctly #1 in every aspect except second serve)

THe only difference between the two serves are how they look. The backswing and timing is just different. From the power position on the serves are exactly the same.
 

kimizz

Rookie
I think its all about finding the serve that works for you. When I switched to abbrev. my consistency got better. Then in few weeks I started to serve really hard too. My theory is that im serving better because I can toss lower. Lower toss means less errors for me.

Disadvantage for abbrev. in my exp: Its easy to lose the right rhythm if you cant serve on a regular basis.

Advantage: I find it easier to hit kick and slice with abbreviated serve.

But there are times when I think I should go back to classic style. Mainly its because I cant play as often as I would like. And as I sayd if I cant serve on a regular basis I lose the right rhythm
 

snvplayer

Hall of Fame
Basically whatever works for you.
Although I myself use abbreviated motion, I like how classic motion look.
Some people can naturally serve with a little more things incorporated into their motion. They don't have trouble tossing and taking backswing at the same time.

Some, like me, have trouble with tossing. I tried many different combinations, and decided that if I go abbreviated motion, and having my hitting arm ready before tossing, I can toss more accurately. It just makes things more simple.

I had pinpoint stance, and platform, and pinpoint. Platform motion did not work at all for me. But I stupidly stuck with it for a year.

You have to stick with whatever works for you, and do stick with it. Keep changing your motion around, and your serve will begin to stink.
There should be a curb on the changes you make to your strokes.
 

joe sch

Legend
Classic serves and strokes are the best way to learn since you can develop consistency and power using more complete, longer strokes. Abbreviated serves and strokes are a byproduct of the modern game and rackets. Once you have the power and control to use an abbreviated swinging motion (elminating much of the windup/backswing) you can successfully use abbreviated strokes with modern equipment. I dont recommend roddick serves and agassi groundstrokes until you can use classic strokes at an advanced level. Ofcourse this is my opinion and many of the modern teachers teach Abbreviated and Western.
 

dave333

Hall of Fame
It seems like abbreviated is more popular now as the best servers in my club and team use abbreviated.
 

Tennis79

New User
abbreviated serve motion can also relieve stress on the shoulder. Many pros that have had shoulder surgery or shoulder injuries have switched to the abbreviated motion.
 

skiracer55

Hall of Fame
My coach last summer...

...noted that most of the Big Boys on the ATP are at least experimenting with some form of the abbreviated serve. Note that it's not an either/or...there is a whole continuum of serves from Radically Abbreviated to Lots of Flowers and Curlicues. I'm going with a More Abbreviated serve, and it's working for me, because I subscribe to the Less is More, Simpler is Better School of tennis...and ski racing, and bike racing, etc. A good example of the success of this method, to take another stroke, would be Agassi's ground strokes...either side. Incredibly compact backswing, beautiful follow through, lots of depth, pace, and control.

One other thing my coach, who is a really smart guy, noted, is that the best servers seem to get a lot of stuff done with the hitting arm prep before much of the toss/release part of the stroke happens. Is this at all like the value of early prep on a ground stroke so that when the ball arrives in the hitting zone it isn't a Complete and Very Nasty Surprise? I think so. The way beginners are taught, classically, is to start the toss and backswing at the same time. Using this technique, depending on how abbreviated..or not...and quick...or not the backswing is, the toss might have to be really high to be anywhere near the hitting zone by the time the racket arrives there...and that way leads to madness, IMHO.

I've gotten to a toss where my toss arm is directly in line with where my serve wants to go, palm up, about chest level, and my hand doesn't even move (and definitely doesn't go down) until I've got the racket pointing to the sky. Then I just lift the ball a short, accurate distance, and presto...a consistent toss, what a miracle. So this is another form of "abbreviation"...try it, your mileage may vary, but it's worth a spin...
 

AngeloDS

Hall of Fame
Indeed, the classic serve is difficult for most. As most do not not have the timing down, it feels very awkward to do --> so it can be taxing on their shoulder (due to mishitting and poor timing). I have seen way too many kids trying to learn it throw their shoulder out because of it.

However, I use the classic serve and prefer it much more. I've injured my shoulder because of it. For me, once you get it down and the timing down. Little tweaks to it can add a lot of variety and the potential is out there.

The abbreviated really depends on you having good torque, the classic depends on you having good timing.
 
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