Serve: Tossing arm angle/direction ?

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Robin Soderling's tossing arm is pointed at net/opponent.
Most articles/videos suggest pointing at net, or 45 degrees to baseline.
When i observe Federer and many others in matches, it seems the tossing arm is parallel to baseline.

What are the pros and cons to these 3 angles?

My observations as a newbie (6-7 months of play):

Pointing and raising the toss arm pointing ahead or to net does not allow the shoulder to rotate away from court properly.
If you still toss first and then rotate shoulder away, the toss arm which is now pointing skyward also rotates ....

Today I tried tossing parallel to baseline (I do toss the ball into the court), I found this to be much better for me -- better rotation and also (at my newbie level) the tossing arm automatically went into vertical position. It just felt better and I served better, and was able to spring into court landing on my front foot.
Also, I think it allowed me to get a better knee bend, and push the hips into the court.

(I use a platform stance). Earlier I have had problems landing on front foot, but this toss seems to have facilitated that.


I'd like to have feedback from others about the toss arm : am i giving the angle too much credit/ (overanalysing?) , does it matter at all ??
Thanks in advance.
 

toughshot

Rookie
You're completely right, when your arm is more parallel to the baseline, you can potentially get more shoulder rotation

Otherwise, its totally up to you
 

NamRanger

G.O.A.T.
Robin Soderling's tossing arm is pointed at net/opponent.
Most articles/videos suggest pointing at net, or 45 degrees to baseline.
When i observe Federer and many others in matches, it seems the tossing arm is parallel to baseline.

What are the pros and cons to these 3 angles?

My observations as a newbie (6-7 months of play):

Pointing and raising the toss arm pointing ahead or to net does not allow the shoulder to rotate away from court properly.
If you still toss first and then rotate shoulder away, the toss arm which is now pointing skyward also rotates ....

Today I tried tossing parallel to baseline (I do toss the ball into the court), I found this to be much better for me -- better rotation and also (at my newbie level) the tossing arm automatically went into vertical position. It just felt better and I served better, and was able to spring into court landing on my front foot.
Also, I think it allowed me to get a better knee bend, and push the hips into the court.

(I use a platform stance). Earlier I have had problems landing on front foot, but this toss seems to have facilitated that.


I'd like to have feedback from others about the toss arm : am i giving the angle too much credit/ (overanalysing?) , does it matter at all ??
Thanks in advance.


The way your arm is positioned does determine how the serve is hit, and different things like shoulder turn.



I'm not a very big serving buff, mine gets the job done. I tend to use a 45 degree arm for my first serve, and for my second, I have it parallel (especially on the ad side, as I am a righty). With the 45 degree angle, I can toss the ball forward and into the court, while with the parallel arm, I can toss it above my head easier, and closer to my body, thus enabling me to put topspin on it. Guys like Federer, Mac, and Sampras have parallel arms from what I remember seeing when they toss the ball.


Roddick also uses a more parallel arm when tossing, as he tosses closer to the top of his head, enabling him to create massive topspin, which allows him to put so much pace on the ball.
 
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