Service critique

[kpktennis]

Hi everyone, I'm new here! I was wondering if I could get some thoughtful critique of my service motion, what I'm doing right, what I could do better.

From watching the video a couple of things already scream out to me (more knee bend, could straighten out the tossing arm, elbow is maybe a little too low, etc. etc.) Any advice on how to get a cleaner motion and especially to generate greater racquet head speed would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Here is a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4azSTWvpe0U

 

[86golf]

I see a lot of the common mistakes that many make until they see themselves on film. You do seem to make the best of what you have though.
-Toss arm more straight and keep it up longer
-swing up more and extend more to the ball
-I think you open up your shoulders a touch early

 

[Ryoma]

Looks pretty good. Cyberblue on an x factor? One mistake I saw is that you are aiming for the T. You shouldn't be aiming for the T! You want your opponent to reach to the backhand side or possibly an ace. That means the ball should straight to the fence or kick to the right.

What your serve did is go into your opponent's body, you can do that by hitting in the middle of the service box. So you are risking service fault for a body shot. If you are standing too far to the deuce court, there is very little you can do to make the ball go straight to the fence or kick to the right. Try staying closer to the T.

 

[wings56]

looks like the meadowgreen down from my house...

 

[kpktennis]

@86golf: Thanks for the feedback! Couple of questions, when people say that one is opening their shoulders too early, what is that in relation to exactly, the racquet drop or..? Is that what's happening when I'm bringing my arm sort of forward from the trophy pose (where my arm/shoulder is much more stretched) before I initiate my swing, seems like I might be losing a lot of elastic energy there. This was the first time I watched myself on tape and it was an eye opener for sure, this video was several months old and I'll try to get out there and get a more recent clip of my service action and try to include my ball toss this time

@Ryoma: Nice nickname, watched that series back in high school　笑! The strings are actually some really obscure string made by a Taiwanese company called Rox, picked them up on a trip overseas, they didn't play as horrible as I thought they would But I don't think the build quality was probably so great as they weren't so durable in my opinion. Thanks for the feedback, I'm aware I can hit it with a better angle most definitely tho was

@wings56: Most likely is not the meadowgreen down from your house lol

 

[BirdWalkR]

I think leave your tossing arm comes down far too early. Everything else has been covered by the other posters for the most part. You seem to get some good pace on your serve though man!

 

[kpktennis]

Thanks, yeah I've been working on it, bad habits die hard though! Surprising how changing one seemingly inconsequential thing like a straight tossing arm can throw off your whole motion, I gotta recalibrate my serve now so I can get the same accuracy as before! Also, could any of the more serve-speed savvy users out there comment on how fast you think I'm serving? Keep in mind I was hitting w/ pretty dead balls which is why it doesn't kick up so much, wish I had a radar gun!

 

[WildVolley]

I second the advice that you are dropping your tossing arm far too early.

I'd estimate your serves are in the 70-80mph range on that video, but it is just a guess. Some look slower, a few look faster.

 

[kpktennis]

Thanks, yeah that sounds about right, I used to be able to crank it in the mid-90s approaching 100 until I got injured based on what some of the more experienced players I've played said but there's really no way to know, just gotta rededicate myself to getting back in exemplary shape or start pumping some iron There's still a lot to be desired from my kinetic chain so hopefully once I work some things out I'll be hitting those same numbers or greater

 

[sunof tennis]

I see a lot of the common mistakes that many make until they see themselves on film. You do seem to make the best of what you have though.
-Toss arm more straight and keep it up longer
-swing up more and extend more to the ball
-I think you open up your shoulders a touch early

That's what I saw too. Look at any of the good pro serves, Sampras, Roddck, Federer, they all explode up into the ball. Looked like you mostly hit around it. You have a nice easy motion, which is good. Better use of your body would add more mph without feeling like you are actually swinging harder.

 

[kpktennis]

sunof tennis, thanks for the feedback, just one question, in which way do i hit 'around' the ball', while i do certainly agree with the notion that i don't move up into the ball i would describe my movement as more horizontally forward (or even to the left on some of my serves when i catch my toss too much the left) instead of vertical. Not being defensive just trying to get a better understanding, the serve is all about small nuances so just trying to get the specifics

 

[toly]

... when people say that one is opening their shoulders too early, what is that in relation to exactly, the racquet drop or..?

I described this problem in thread http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?p=6190745#post6190745 posts 5, 7, 10.