Serve tips (video)
- Thread starter bank5
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tennis347
Professional
I have been working on my serve as well and looking at your video, your toss is a bit too high as you need to wait for the ball to drop. In addition, with a toss that is too the ball speeds up coming making it more difficult to time the serve. Realistically, the toss should be as high as your hitting zone. That is your hitting arm up extending upwards.
Daniel Waters
Rookie
I'm personally not a fan of really high balls tosses, but that doesn't mean it is wrong to use. It just means your toss is going to be more susceptible to wind, sun, and a bit harder to time because the ball is dropping farther. Ideally, I like to see about a 6 to 12 inch ball drop if someone is hitting a kick serve. Your toss looks to be at least 24 inches above your contact point. You could certainly lower your toss, but this will change your current service rhythm so it might feel a little off at first. I think you would benefit from introducing a bit of lag versus the up together motion you are using as well. I think it would make your service motion flow even better.
megamind
Legend
For consistency: yea, the toss is probably it. Rest of your technique seems pretty decent!
For more power:
- Tuck your left arm in a little more
- Try to be a little more diagonal, in your trophy position (you're too net-facing imo) -- let's say 3 o clock is parallel to the baseline, try to be more at like a 4 or 5 o flock. I think that'll cause you to rotate a bit at the right time
im not a professional coach or anything, but these are my thoughts, so take em with a grain of pepper
For more power:
- Tuck your left arm in a little more
- Try to be a little more diagonal, in your trophy position (you're too net-facing imo) -- let's say 3 o clock is parallel to the baseline, try to be more at like a 4 or 5 o flock. I think that'll cause you to rotate a bit at the right time
im not a professional coach or anything, but these are my thoughts, so take em with a grain of pepper
Perfect, that's a great video. Sometimes my serve feels a bit rush / out of rhythm. I'm going to work on adding a lag and see how it feelsYou have a typical up together serve motion, I would work on having a serve lag to get a more fluid motion.
Have a look at this video
But lots of other things to comment on, but I am sure the good people here will give you some good tips.
Cheers H
golden chicken
Hall of Fame
I think you start dropping your left arm and uncoiling your shoulders before you've completed your leg loading.
Rewatching, I think you use your legs to aid your toss, then you have to bend your knees again to load later. Don't do that. It's a tennis ball, not a kettlebell, and you only need to toss it 2-5 feet over your head.
Just lift your arm to toss, and then keep it up until you are ready to explode up to the ball. Then pull it down as you drive your body up with your legs.
Rewatching, I think you use your legs to aid your toss, then you have to bend your knees again to load later. Don't do that. It's a tennis ball, not a kettlebell, and you only need to toss it 2-5 feet over your head.
Just lift your arm to toss, and then keep it up until you are ready to explode up to the ball. Then pull it down as you drive your body up with your legs.
Thanks for the feedback, that makes a lot of sense too.
Chas Tennis
G.O.A.T.
On Streamable, if you go full screen you can single frame by using the slider bar.
It looks as if the line of your body and arm at impact look good.
But you left foot lands with hardly and forward motion. Toss to impact farther inside the court and change your motion. Your right leg should fly up, I believe to maintain balance. View serves from the side.
It is hard to see your internal shoulder rotation (ISR). Looks minimal. ? A close up in bright sunlight might show the elbow shadows that indicate ISR.
To compare single frames in this post, one above the other on Streamable use the slider bar. You may need to open the forum in a separate window. ? On Youtube use the period & comma keys. Always select the Youtube with the Alt + Left Mouse Click, otherwise the video starts playing. Go to impacts with the same camera view and list all differences in the frame before impact.
link serve compilation
Next do this close up
It looks as if the line of your body and arm at impact look good.
But you left foot lands with hardly and forward motion. Toss to impact farther inside the court and change your motion. Your right leg should fly up, I believe to maintain balance. View serves from the side.
It is hard to see your internal shoulder rotation (ISR). Looks minimal. ? A close up in bright sunlight might show the elbow shadows that indicate ISR.
To compare single frames in this post, one above the other on Streamable use the slider bar. You may need to open the forum in a separate window. ? On Youtube use the period & comma keys. Always select the Youtube with the Alt + Left Mouse Click, otherwise the video starts playing. Go to impacts with the same camera view and list all differences in the frame before impact.
Next do this close up
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Hit 'em clean
Rookie
Toss is a bit high like others have said causing you to pause to long and lose your fluidity in the serve. The big thing I think might help you is to start with your weight on your back foot. You're pretty much on your front foot the entire serve which means your serve is mostly arm. By starting motion on your back foot you get the added benefit of the forward weight transfer as you shift forward which in turn then will help drive up and forward into the ball. When you land your feet are basically behind the baseline after hitting the serve which further shows that your just pushing straight up and not really forward into the ball.
Just a little bit of weight transfer can pay huge dividends in how big you serve and will mean you don't have to use your arm so much to create speed. Yes you have to hit up... but up and forward into the court. If you do that... you will naturally land a foot or two inside the court. Almost any server you see on tour lands inside the service line after hitting the serve. It's just where you should end up if you're really making use of your whole body and momentum to go up and forward into the ball. Just a 1mph or 2mph fwd is added velocity regardless of how fast your racquet is traveling. And if you want to serve and volley you have the added benefit of already being inside the court and heading in that direction.
Just a little bit of weight transfer can pay huge dividends in how big you serve and will mean you don't have to use your arm so much to create speed. Yes you have to hit up... but up and forward into the court. If you do that... you will naturally land a foot or two inside the court. Almost any server you see on tour lands inside the service line after hitting the serve. It's just where you should end up if you're really making use of your whole body and momentum to go up and forward into the ball. Just a 1mph or 2mph fwd is added velocity regardless of how fast your racquet is traveling. And if you want to serve and volley you have the added benefit of already being inside the court and heading in that direction.
Mountain Ghost
Professional
Your overall serving motion components are good ... but the high toss interrupts the flow too much ... forcing you to wait at trophy position a very long time.
You have basically "decided" (whether consciously or not) ... to make the toss determine the flow of the swing ... instead of focusing on a more mindful swing flow ... and then making IT determine the toss.
I would advise doing hundreds of smooth and continuous shadow swings ... (in front of a big mirror or reflective window) ... WITHOUT the long trophy position "pause" ... and THEN going onto the court and finding a lower toss to match THAT swing.
~ MG
You have basically "decided" (whether consciously or not) ... to make the toss determine the flow of the swing ... instead of focusing on a more mindful swing flow ... and then making IT determine the toss.
I would advise doing hundreds of smooth and continuous shadow swings ... (in front of a big mirror or reflective window) ... WITHOUT the long trophy position "pause" ... and THEN going onto the court and finding a lower toss to match THAT swing.
~ MG
travlerajm
G.O.A.T.
Your front foot should land about 2 feet inside the baseline considering the height of your jump. The fact that your foot currently lands behind the baseline means that there is virtually zero forward momentum of your center of gravity.I'd like to get more consistent with my serve. Should my toss be a lot lower? If so, I'll need to adjust my timing quite a bit and work on consistently tossing at the same height.
Anything that looks especially off or any tips?
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