Serve Toss

[Norman Clemens]

I am currently having trouble with my serve/ball toss. I’m a 3.5 standard.

My hitting partner felt I was not throwing the ball out in front far enough.

We placed a racquet on the baseline facing the net the idea being I should be able to hit the strings if I let the ball drop following the toss. To test his theory I went into my usual serve ball toss routine but let the ball bounce from the toss instead of striking it. The ball dropped on the baseline. I was told I would get more power if my ball toss was out further.

I just don’t seem able to get the ball out in front although my service motion I’m told is ok. In trying to get the ball further in front I feel I’m going to lose my balance.
Has anyone out there had this problem and if so how did you rectify it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[papado]

I would start by trying to toss further in-front of you by small increments; maybe try for a ball that lands 6" inside the baseline and then try and move it to around 12" if you think you can do more. These small steps will help you get more comfortable extending your hitting position more forward so you can find what is right for you. You'll need someone to help confirm if the path of your tossing arm is correct, because to get it more in front there are two possible options: 1) you need to move your arm more in front of your body, or 2) you need to release the ball at a lower point

I think there is sometimes a desire/belief that you must toss the ball way out in-front of you (like a small number of pros) and that's not completely true. You shouldn't feel so stretched you're gonna fall over, but you should easily have the ball be in front of the service line.

 

[WildVolley]

...

I just don’t seem able to get the ball out in front although my service motion I’m told is ok. In trying to get the ball further in front I feel I’m going to lose my balance.
Has anyone out there had this problem and if so how did you rectify it.

Thanks in advance.

To clarify, do you feel that tossing the ball in front of you makes you lose balance, or is it after you've tossed the ball in front of you, moving forward to hit it causes you to lose balance?

 

[Friedman Whip]

Has anyone out there had this problem and if so how did you rectify it.

If by 'this problem' you mean receiving some unsolicited advice about your tennis game from someone who likely doesn't know any more about how to play the game than you do, then yes I have had this problem. I can't say that I ever rectified the problem but I can tell you I generally ignored this sort of advice.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Your toss will depend on your unknown serving technique.

What high level ATP servers are doing - regarding how far into the court they impact the ball - shows well from a video taken from the side of the ball's trajectory. Search for clear high speed videos of some pro players serving.

The distance the foot lands, the head moves or impact occurs varies for high level servers so look at several. Raonic is farther in, maybe foot landing up to 3 feet inside the court. Federer's foot lands maybe 1 foot inside.

 

[Norman Clemens]

Thanks to the posters who took the time to reply.

Papado - I think releasing the ball at a lower point seems to work.

WildVolley - After I have tossed the ball

 

[AndreDaGamer]

Practice a ton of time at home, you may not realize it but considering that I'm 5 something, if my toss is over 3 feet tall, then something is wrong and I need to correct it right away. Also you need to do a ton of reps to help fix your toss.

 

[Norman Clemens]

Practice a ton of time at home, you may not realize it but considering that I'm 5 something, if my toss is over 3 feet tall, then something is wrong and I need to correct it right away. Also you need to do a ton of reps to help fix your toss.

 

[Norman Clemens]

AndreDaGarner - thanks, I think you are right there is no substitution for practice/repetition - I have started!

 

[zaph]

My first piece of advice is be very careful modifying your service toss. I had the same problem as you and completely ruined my service. So many service toss techniques led to the yips and the toss going all over the place. I have only just fixed it.

Your problem is not uncommon, I would say the majority of players at my club toss the ball too far backwards.

What has helped me in the end is making the toss very compact and with as slow an arm movement as possible. I have gone from tossing the ball to almost placing it where I want. You will know when you get it right because if you have been serving with the ball too far back, the ball in the correct place is going to feel weird and uncomfortable at first. You will be tempted to catch the ball because you will think you won't be able to hit it.

Anyway others will have better advice, they have better serves than I do. Good luck.

 

[Norman Clemens]

Hi Zaph - good comments I'm going through what you have done but slowly improving even though a frustrating process.

 

[Nostradamus]

I am currently having trouble with my serve/ball toss. I’m a 3.5 standard.

My hitting partner felt I was not throwing the ball out in front far enough.

We placed a racquet on the baseline facing the net the idea being I should be able to hit the strings if I let the ball drop following the toss. To test his theory I went into my usual serve ball toss routine but let the ball bounce from the toss instead of striking it. The ball dropped on the baseline. I was told I would get more power if my ball toss was out further.

I just don’t seem able to get the ball out in front although my service motion I’m told is ok. In trying to get the ball further in front I feel I’m going to lose my balance.
Has anyone out there had this problem and if so how did you rectify it.

Thanks in advance.

There is NO serve toss level. I seen ATP tour level players have big time trouble with toss just like 3.5 level guy would. This happens time to time, even to Zeverev. and he has a brother with great toss. I am yet to find a video or Pro that can help with this problem, seem like you have to find your own way.

 

[myke232]

Weird, because I think it's a bit easier to hit the ball if it's tossed into the court more, if it's too far back it's harder to make good contact. How far in to toss also depends on how tall you are. Further in though can give you more power and a better angle over the net.

 

[Return_Ace]

I'm actually trying to do the opposite of you at the moment, and move my toss closer to the baseline (probably from around 12-18in, to being 6-12in). It sounds counter-intuitive, but I was actually having the same issue as you with the new toss, in that I was finding myself off balance when trying to hit it, despite it being closer to me.

That's when it sort of clicked that I was too focused on trying to go forward to meet the ball (by leaning in), instead of accepting that the ball is in front of me and swinging upwards and letting the contact point just naturally be ahead of me.

Basically, the reason why you could be off balance is that you're used to seeing the ball in perspective X, and now that you're throwing it more forward, you may be subconsciously trying to orient yourself so that the ball is in the same perspective; however what you need to do is re-train yourself that the new perspective Y of the ball being in front of you is where it should be and just focus on swinging upwards and letting your contact point come naturally.

 

[Norman Clemens]

Good point Return Ace. I guess it is practice practice - I seem to be improving. Thanks for your imput.

 

[Dragy]

Trying to hit the stringbed of a racquet put so that the tip points to the net may be too much. It’s what, 20+ in? Definitely not a go for platform stance, and quite aggressive for step-up pinpoint.