Hi,
I’ve not posted in the Tips/Instruction section before, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for some time.
So firstly, below is a link to the video. It is a side view and was taken using the slow motion feature of my iPhone 6 and uploaded to YouTube. It’s 30 seconds long and is just one flat first serve down the T from the deuce court.
Also, I live in Australia so we don’t have the NTRP rating system here, but I’ve watched a lot of videos and compared them to myself and local players who I compete at a similar level to. I can say with some confidence that I’m a 3.0 level player who’s at most 3.5.
So a few facts about my serve:
- The only strong evidence I have to back up my 120 mph claim is data from the Sony Tennis Sensor. I used a stock Steam 99S and my fastest serve reading was 195 km/h (121 mph) and on average was probably just under 180 km/h (112 mph). I’ve also used the Zepp 2 Tennis Sensor with the Insert Mount on a Blade 98 CV 18x20 and recorded a fastest serve of 189 km/h (actually 208 km/h (129 mph) including when the sensor detached!) and an average of around 175 - 180 km/h. I only used the Zepp sensor for a couple of serving sessions but used the Sony Sensor for much longer.
- My serve (overall, both first and second) is probably neither a weapon or a weakness at my level on average but can be vary a lot depending on how I’m playing.
- Both my 1st and 2nd serves severely lack consistency, accuracy and variety.
- I attempt a kick second serve virtually every time, but the amount of kick, spin and even pace vary quite a bit. My best 2nd serves can be quite effective at my level though and though slow can have a lot of spin and kick (not at all sure of the accuracy, but up to 4800 RPM according to the Zepp Sensor).
- I frequently make huge technical changes to my serve in the middle of matches when I’m not serving well - eg. pinpoint to narrow platform, dramatic changes to ball toss height etc.). I’m trying to break this habit, but it can actually help my timing sometimes.
- I regularly mishit my serve and send the ball well over the back fence!
I could write more, but I don’t think much else would be relevant. I practise my serve more than anyone I know and over the years have made many changes and have had a lot of ideas without making an improvement. It’s frustrating because I don’t think my serve has reached its potential and yet I haven’t been able to improve it. I’m lucky to be tall (6’2.5”) with long arms for my height (6’7” wingspan) and although I’m the furthest thing from a natural athlete I am lucky to have quite a ‘live arm’ and a pretty long, albeit very inaccurate and inconsistent, throw - I can toss a tennis ball, on a standard court with 21 ft (6 m) behind each baseline, standing as close to one fence as possible comfortably over the opposite fence. So I think my serve should be better than it is and I’d really appreciate any technical advice that you guys can give me because nothing I’ve tried seems to work.
Sorry about the long post by the way, I feel a bit narcissistic writing so much about myself, but I hope some of it helps those who choose to give advice. Also, I apologise if any of I wrote comes across as boastful, since that wasn’t my intention at all. I’ve trued my best to be as accurate and realistic as possible with all my claims and all of the information is included solely for the purpose of helping anyone who gives advice.
Thank you very much in advance, I’m very excited to read your responses!
I’ve not posted in the Tips/Instruction section before, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for some time.
So firstly, below is a link to the video. It is a side view and was taken using the slow motion feature of my iPhone 6 and uploaded to YouTube. It’s 30 seconds long and is just one flat first serve down the T from the deuce court.
Also, I live in Australia so we don’t have the NTRP rating system here, but I’ve watched a lot of videos and compared them to myself and local players who I compete at a similar level to. I can say with some confidence that I’m a 3.0 level player who’s at most 3.5.
So a few facts about my serve:
- The only strong evidence I have to back up my 120 mph claim is data from the Sony Tennis Sensor. I used a stock Steam 99S and my fastest serve reading was 195 km/h (121 mph) and on average was probably just under 180 km/h (112 mph). I’ve also used the Zepp 2 Tennis Sensor with the Insert Mount on a Blade 98 CV 18x20 and recorded a fastest serve of 189 km/h (actually 208 km/h (129 mph) including when the sensor detached!) and an average of around 175 - 180 km/h. I only used the Zepp sensor for a couple of serving sessions but used the Sony Sensor for much longer.
- My serve (overall, both first and second) is probably neither a weapon or a weakness at my level on average but can be vary a lot depending on how I’m playing.
- Both my 1st and 2nd serves severely lack consistency, accuracy and variety.
- I attempt a kick second serve virtually every time, but the amount of kick, spin and even pace vary quite a bit. My best 2nd serves can be quite effective at my level though and though slow can have a lot of spin and kick (not at all sure of the accuracy, but up to 4800 RPM according to the Zepp Sensor).
- I frequently make huge technical changes to my serve in the middle of matches when I’m not serving well - eg. pinpoint to narrow platform, dramatic changes to ball toss height etc.). I’m trying to break this habit, but it can actually help my timing sometimes.
- I regularly mishit my serve and send the ball well over the back fence!
I could write more, but I don’t think much else would be relevant. I practise my serve more than anyone I know and over the years have made many changes and have had a lot of ideas without making an improvement. It’s frustrating because I don’t think my serve has reached its potential and yet I haven’t been able to improve it. I’m lucky to be tall (6’2.5”) with long arms for my height (6’7” wingspan) and although I’m the furthest thing from a natural athlete I am lucky to have quite a ‘live arm’ and a pretty long, albeit very inaccurate and inconsistent, throw - I can toss a tennis ball, on a standard court with 21 ft (6 m) behind each baseline, standing as close to one fence as possible comfortably over the opposite fence. So I think my serve should be better than it is and I’d really appreciate any technical advice that you guys can give me because nothing I’ve tried seems to work.
Sorry about the long post by the way, I feel a bit narcissistic writing so much about myself, but I hope some of it helps those who choose to give advice. Also, I apologise if any of I wrote comes across as boastful, since that wasn’t my intention at all. I’ve trued my best to be as accurate and realistic as possible with all my claims and all of the information is included solely for the purpose of helping anyone who gives advice.
Thank you very much in advance, I’m very excited to read your responses!