Serving: Throwing the racket and females???

[StringingIrvine]

THIS POST IS IN NO WAY TO DEGRADE FEMALES, I JUST WANT TO SEE IF THERE IS ANY CORRELATION BETWEEN THROWING MOTION, SERVING IN TENNIS.

I've played my fair share of 4.0 and 4.5 usta and WTT matches and always have found the female serves to be technically weaker. I'm not talking about speed, accuracy, or spin. I'm talking about the service motion.

If you take 10 average 4.0 guys, their serves will have somewhat technically sound serve movements with bending in the knee, racket head straight down, elbow extended upwards then finishing with the "throwing" of the racket into the court.

If you take 10 average 4.0 girls most likely you have 10 completely different serves...with less then par form. Their ground stroke form will usually be on par with the guys (just lacking in power), but its just the sering form that is lacking.

I got to thinking while reading that Fed post where he says just "mirror throwing something". It just clicked... what the girl serve is usually lacking in form because a majority of girls, THROW LIKE A GIRL. So when you say keep that elbow up and throw the racket, they don't really know how to throw that racket up.

Obviously girls are usually shorter which makes serves harder, and all that other good jazz but i'm only talking about form.

So.... I ask all of you to try something and I will do the same.

When you see a female with proper serve technique ask her to play catch with a tennis ball for 30 seconds. Does she throw the tennis ball with correct form (like a baseball throw)? Is her tennis ball throw nice and fluid?

Now find a female with horrible serving technique? Is it awkward and forced when she is throwing a tennis ball?

NOTE: I'm not asking if they can throw a 90 mph fast ball but just seeing if their baseball throw motion is fluid like someone would throw a baseball.

What are your results??? or thoughts?

 

[boramiNYC]

throw the racquet into the court not up.

 

[StringingIrvine]

throw the racquet into the court not up.

Fixed =p, I was always taught to try and throw the racket over the far fence.

 

[LeeD]

Think I"ve been watching a steady improvement in service form, resulting in more and more power and spin, as the year's go by.
Last sojurn to Hellman Courts in Berkeley to watch UCBerk play some obscure school ?), the singles players all had real GUY serves, while playing girl groundies (more straight takebacks both sides), real overheads and volleys.
Just more training in the newer generation. ElenaDemitiava is not considered new school serving technique.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

There is some correlation between throwing & serving ability but it is not absolute. I throw balls much better with right arm that with my left. Have always been a bit awkward with lefty ball throwing. I can throw a racket left-handed a bit better than I can throw a ball on that side. OTOH, my left-handed tennis serve are considerably better than my righty serves. I've taught myself to serve decently with my right arm yet have never been able to develop a natural throwing motion with my left arm.

In teaching & playing tennis I have come across others who serve (best) with one arm yet throw a ball with the opposite arm.
.

 

[LeeD]

Is it actually the arm you use, or is it YOU knowing how to replicate the correct service motion? Then add practice time.
In my case, lefty has 30+ years of serving, and another 18 or so years of throwing before tennis.
But, with that knowledge, my rightie serve works well up to 3.5 levels, and I serve with my rightie side maybe 30 times TOTAL in the 30 years of playing tennis. Actual rightie serve is what I consider a 2.9, if you start at 2.5. But groundies, lobs, short angles, all make up for a less than forcing serve off the rightie side.
When I actually get a first serve rightie IN, it bounces about thigh high on the backwall, just like my lefty flat first serves.

 

[TennisCJC]

Vic Braden was teaching how the serve is like throwing in the 70s.

Nick Bolliterri has a Sonic Serve video comparing serving to pitching a baseball.

The Serve Doctor coach has a video stating to use a throwing motion.

Ryan Harrison throws a football for warming up.

Vic Braden thought PE coaches were doing girls a disservice in not teaching them to throw with an overhand motion.

I believe serving is very much like throwing and to learn how to throw a baseball and/or football helps a lot with serving. My old tennis partner pitched in a D1 collegiate baseball program and he developed a very good lefty serve when he took up tennis.

There may be exceptions but in general, I believe throwing/pitching is very much like serving.

 

[robby c]

A local teaching pro takes a dedicated throwing racquet out to the court anytime he's showing students how to serve.
It's fun to watch, and it works!