Tennis ball throw distance

How far is your throw

  • Can't throw over the net.

    Votes: 3 1.7%

  • Can only throw into the service box.

    Votes: 4 2.3%

  • Can throw from one baseline to the opposite baseline.

    Votes: 12 6.8%

  • Can throw the ball to the fence.

    Votes: 16 9.0%

  • Can throw the ball over the fence.

    Votes: 142 80.2%
  • Total voters
    177
Throwing the ball over the fence from the opposite baseline is mandatory for a coach when playing the 'how far can you throw game' with a coaching class ;)
 
I played the same game with my coach and he tried to throw the ball over the fence into the next court over but he just couldn't do it. Nevertheless I clocked his serve at 113 mph.
 
Don't overdo the throw, as a tennis ball is too light for your arms and shoulder tendons.
A baseball is the right weight.
Against a stiff 55 mph headwind, hard to throw over the fence.
But really, if you can't throw a tennis ball a measly 130', you should not brag about your serves. Talking calm wind days.
 
Yeah I'm pretty scrawny but gotta think anybody with any athletic abillity should be able to throw it over the fence(unless your old). Our courts are raised 7 or 8 feet above the street next to it and all the guys can throw balls over the fence from across the street.
 
I think a valuable question might be how far can you hit your serve? I was told by one coach to work on serving in a huge field as far as I can ....
 
Bad idea to judge serve speed with serve distance...
Like all other ball sports, underspin leads to farther distances, but you don't hit underspin on serves.
Something like a loss of 50' distance when you toss a baseball underhand/side compared to straight overhand, which is why all outfielders, when they try to throw a baserunner out, use straight overhand, but when they toss to an infielder after an "out", they toss slightly side/underhand.
I did all sorts of tossing exercises a few years ago, mostly with a field 280', and the 50 reflects the loss of distance in my case with side/underspin compared to directly over the top tosses.
 
I can put it over the fence no problem...I know because I did a few days ago when someone shanked a shot near me from that distance.
 
The mechanics of throwing a ball are NOT the same as a serve. Throwing a tennis ball far will NOT translate into a powerful serve. Since the mechanics are somewhat similar, I suppose it would mean you have a decent amount of arm strength but it doesn't take into account your abs (stability and balance), tossing arm (consistency), legs (leg drive for increasing high and trajectory), elasticity (for unloading your body coil, this is definitely not measured by strength), and most importantly, TECHNIQUE.

I've never actually tried but I bet I can only throw a ball to the service box (yeah, I'm pretty weak) but I clocked at 110 MPH
 
[d]ragon;3623261 said:
The mechanics of throwing a ball are NOT the same as a serve. Throwing a tennis ball far will NOT translate into a powerful serve. Since the mechanics are somewhat similar, I suppose it would mean you have a decent amount of arm strength but it doesn't take into account your abs (stability and balance), tossing arm (consistency), legs (leg drive for increasing high and trajectory), elasticity (for unloading your body coil, this is definitely not measured by strength), and most importantly, TECHNIQUE.

I've never actually tried but I bet I can only throw a ball to the service box (yeah, I'm pretty weak) but I clocked at 110 MPH
Click to expand...

Bulllllll. One of those two thngs is completely false, which one do you think it is guys?

Anyway it is completely ridiculous to say throwing a baseball has no correlation. Arm speed is armspeed. If you can't even through a ball a court length there is no way in hell you could possibly have the kind of ability to hit a fast serve. No decent athlete couldn't throw a ball that far.
 
I wouldn't try this with adults. I'd be afraid of someone throwing their arm out. Nonetheless, I would have no trouble clearing the fence. The problem is trying to max out the distance with such a light object as LeeD said in his post.
 
Roddick155mph said:
How far can you throw a tennis ball from the baseline? I can only throw the ball from one baseline to the opposite baseline.
Click to expand...

wow that isn't very far

I remember this well, when I was at college, I had a friend who from his baseline could throw a tennis ball over the fence (so about 100 feet there), and then over the next fence of another entire tennis court (so another 120 feet plus clearance). So he was probably throwing the tennis ball about 250 feet.

he could throw a baseball over 90mph so that helps I guess
 
[d]ragon;3623261 said:
The mechanics of throwing a ball are NOT the same as a serve. Throwing a tennis ball far will NOT translate into a powerful serve.
Click to expand...

Incorrect.

Since the mechanics are somewhat similar, I suppose it would mean you have a decent amount of arm strength but it doesn't take into account your abs (stability and balance), tossing arm (consistency), legs (leg drive for increasing high and trajectory), elasticity (for unloading your body coil, this is definitely not measured by strength), and most importantly, TECHNIQUE.
Click to expand...
Go on, throw a ball without your core, without your legs, without uncoiling and without technique... and see how far it goes.

I'm scared to think how you look when you throw...

I've never actually tried but I bet I can only throw a ball to the service box (yeah, I'm pretty weak) but I clocked at 110 MPH
Click to expand...
Yeah. Sure.
 
I think everyone who said that they can't throw into the fence are either 6 years old or they are being fresh
 
Noveson said:
Bulllllll. One of those two thngs is completely false, which one do you think it is guys?

Anyway it is completely ridiculous to say throwing a baseball has no correlation. Arm speed is armspeed. If you can't even through a ball a court length there is no way in hell you could possibly have the kind of ability to hit a fast serve. No decent athlete couldn't throw a ball that far.
Click to expand...

No, I believe that [d]ragon is on the right track in what he is saying. I don't believe that he is saying that there is no correlation. He says that they are similar but not (exactly) the same.

The throwing motion for a football differs from a baseball throwing which, in turn, differs from a service "throwing" motion. I throw considerably better with might right arm than my left (the latter is awkward and noticeably less effective).

On the other hand (pun shamelessly intended), I can serve much more accurately and much faster with my left arm than with my right. I have come across several students for whom this is true as well. This would certainly suggest that the throwing motions differ. On a further note, I can throw a tennis racquet with either arm (nearly equally).
 
Wes_Loves_Dunlop said:
You must not be very smart if you think a fast serve is from strength only.
You can have a very fast serve with the right techinique. MY friend is a scrawny twig and he could serve 100
Click to expand...

you are pretty dumb if you think i think throwing a tennis ball more than the length of a tennis court requires only strength. throwing a tennis ball requires very little strength, it's not a shotput, and i'm sure your 100mph scrawny server can throw farther than the other end of the service line if he really serves 100mph. throwing the tennis ball very much like serving a tennis ball is more about arm speed and the throwing motion. if anyone is claiming they know someone who can serve 100-110+mph and can't throw the length of the court then they are ********.
 
I never throw tennis balls seeing as how I have a tennis racquet. I can hit a tennis ball 200 feet with accuracy... you can't do that with just your arm.
 
Nanshiki said:
I never throw tennis balls seeing as how I have a tennis racquet. I can hit a tennis ball 200 feet with accuracy... you can't do that with just your arm.
Click to expand...

Ridiculous logic, it's like saying "I never walk seeing as how I have a car" :confused:

Ever tried driving a car upstairs or through a mall?
 
Your logic is even more ridiculous. There's no need to throw a tennis ball, ever, if you're only using a tennis ball to play tennis. We're not talking about walking, driving, or transportation at all.

Of course, the PRIMARY reason I don't throw tennis balls is because it's easier and far more effective to just hit it unless the target is extremely close.
 
Nanshiki said:
Your logic is even more ridiculous. There's no need to throw a tennis ball, ever, if you're only using a tennis ball to play tennis. We're not talking about walking, driving, or transportation at all.

Of course, the PRIMARY reason I don't throw tennis balls is because it's easier and far more effective to just hit it unless the target is extremely close.
Click to expand...

Discussing two ridiculous things with the same person who can't use logic in two threads is double the waste of time.

Seriously... this thread is about throwing a tennis ball. It's about the correlation between throwing and playing, etc. Why post:

I never throw tennis balls seeing as how I have a tennis racquet. I can hit a tennis ball 200 feet with accuracy... you can't do that with just your arm.
Click to expand...

When the topic is about throwing tennis balls? Why even bother posting - there's hundreds of threads about tennis (thousands even), and yet this is a thread about throwing for crying out loud.

As for the car comments, it was a comparison, it wasn't to be taken literally, but I'm sick of spoon-feeding. Goodbye.
 
interesting, i've never really tried it but when we hit balls over the fence i throw it from a court away sometimes, i'm definitely going to try it from the baseline, i voted can throw over the fence because i can throw them pretty far, its only about 80 feet anyway, also wind is a factor
 
I am aged 16 and I can serve 75+ mph with ease, but why the hell can't I throw the ball behind the opposite baseline with ease. Maybe I am physically weak.
 
I acutally haven't done this in a while... I played some house league baseball back in the day and never learned how to properly throw, so sometimes I"d hurt the elbow (which is why I have to be careful in tennis).

Back in the day I could definitely throw a tennis ball much farther than a tennis court but if asked today even as I am twice as big and twice as strong... I wouldn't be as sure, LOL. But this is ONLY because of fear of my improper throwing motion hurting me.

I think that anyone in their teens and considered to be athletic would be able to throw over the fence without an issue.
 
I will go try this tomorrow.

I will probably hurt myself doing it.

You people will be to blame.

I could throw well when I was a kid, but that ability went away as I grew older and stopped throwing things.

Cindy -- who was the back-up quarterback for "powderpuff football" back in high school because her pitiful excuse for a throw was better than everyone else except the starter
 
Roddick155mph said:
I am aged 16 and I can serve 75+ mph with ease, but why the hell can't I throw the ball behind the opposite baseline with ease. Maybe I am physically weak.
Click to expand...

75 is like my hard slice my flat is 90ish and placed well can proble hit it harder but i just place me sever and my point is that 75 is not hard at all
 
Roddick155mph said:
Everyone on the thread is saying that they can throw the ball over the fence but what is wrong with me, why can't I do it?
Click to expand...


I suspect that many of those "everyone" are exaggerating. Or, this is just a skewed sampling -- there is no way that more than 80% of all players can throw a ball over the opposite fence from the baseline.
 
This throw would be very similiar to a serve motion wise. Not sure how it would translate since its such a light object though. Seems pretty easy though..

Then tennis serve is an upward throw...if you watch the "sonic serve" video they make a very convincing case for this..

I still think a football toss is a better test because a football weighs about the same as a racquet. A tennis ball weighs hardly anything..

Pete
 
Cindysphinx said:
This thread is meaningless unless people actually go out and do it. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Anyone care to give it a go?
Click to expand...

I thought my earlier post was a definite...

OrangeOne said:
Throwing the ball over the fence from the opposite baseline is mandatory for a coach when playing the 'how far can you throw game' with a coaching class ;)
Click to expand...

But I forgot to mention that I coach. So... I coach, and I play the 'how far can you throw game'.... logical conclusion :). (I do always pick the worst ball in the basket to jettison!).

Roddick155mph said:
Everyone on the thread is saying that they can throw the ball over the fence but what is wrong with me, why can't I do it?
Click to expand...

It's the tennis-warehouse-forums rule of poll-threads.... people overestimate here moreso than in any other area of life (including fisherman coming back from fishing trips). It happens routinely - serve speed, pushups, throwing distance is just another in a long line. Don't feel bad mate - there is no way the performances listed here are in any way accurate.
 
Football, today, first toss, NO warmup or stretching, over 55 yards, but I'm getting old and feeble lately. From goal line to well over the 50 yard mark, but not quite the 40. I'm old.
Long distance toss is with a 3 step approach. Like an outfielder's throw compared to a baseball pitcher's.
Tennis court, easy over a 20' high fence with a tennis ball, but not against any wind.
Service, easy over 115, but I was timed well over 125 when I was 27 years old, like 3 decades ago.
 
GuyClinch said:
This throw would be very similiar to a serve motion wise. Not sure how it would translate since its such a light object though. Seems pretty easy though..

Then tennis serve is an upward throw...if you watch the "sonic serve" video they make a very convincing case for this..

I still think a football toss is a better test because a football weighs about the same as a racquet. A tennis ball weighs hardly anything..

Pete
Click to expand...

To my mind, the service motion is something of a blend of two throwing motions. In order to achieve an adequate racquet head drop, the initial throwing motions is nearly straight upward (perhaps 75-90 degrees upward). Normally, when throwing a baseball or football, this part of the "service" throwing motion is not implemented at all.

The 2nd part of the blended throwing motion occurs just before and after contact. The racquet head is being "thrown" at that ball at a less steep angle (perhaps 45-60 degrees). This part of the service action is a bit more like throwing a baseball from the outfield to the infield.

A football throw is a bit different than either a tennis serve or a baseball throw. Again, nothing similar to the racquet drop or the initial throwing motion upward from the racquet drop is utilized for throwing a football. In the tennis serve and for throwing a baseball, the elbow is held back for a while in order to produce a pectoral stretch -- this is a stretch from the pectoral muscle to the shoulder of the serving arm. When throwing a football, the elbow comes thru a bit earlier -- little or no pectoral stretch is employed prior to releasing the football.
 
OK, tried some more throws...
Catcher's motion, closed feet, half step, barely clears 10' fencing.
Pitcher's motion, big step and lots of prep and thought, clears but lands around the baseline of the other court.
Outfielder's motion, 3 running steps, full followthru, clears 20' fence and lands almost but not quite at the service line.
I didn't try the full running javelin motion, as the guys on the other court were starting to get peeved and pissed, since they WERE playing a doubles set.. :twisted::twisted:
 
^ Love it, LeeD.

Roddick155mph said:
Everyone on the thread is saying that they can throw the ball over the fence but what is wrong with me, why can't I do it?
Click to expand...

OrangeOne said:
...

It's the tennis-warehouse-forums rule of poll-threads.... people overestimate here moreso than in any other area of life (including fisherman coming back from fishing trips). It happens routinely - serve speed, pushups, throwing distance is just another in a long line. Don't feel bad mate - there is no way the performances listed here are in any way accurate.
Click to expand...

Lot of truth in this observation.
 
Well, in that case I serve 135 :D

But I can't throw the tennis ball worth a damn... the only time it's really necessary is if you're walking home with your racquets in the bag and you need to toss one over the fence as a courtesy. But in that case it's not a problem. Otherwise, they're just too light to throw.
 
Remember to throw overhand, imparting backspin for the most distance. Arc should be maybe 35 degrees upwards.
Try the varying motions, from catcher's to pitcher's to outfielder's to javelin throwers. Makes a HUGE difference in distance depending which you employ.
BTW... JohnElway and JarmarcusRussel are quoted to throw a football 80 yards thru the air. I claim 70 when I was a little kid. But I used javelin thrower's 5 steps, while they used QB's motion, like a CATCHER's motion.
 
well i joined my school softball's team last year.

at the start i couldn't throw for nuts, and it was only at the end of last year that everything suddenly clicked and i could throw far.

and i dont think i've built up my muscles much in the past year.

so yes, its more about technique. i think the back and torso (hip rotation) is the most impt in a throw, and i guess in a serve too
 
Try some POLYMETRICS and work your core. Weightlifting doesn't help with increasing serve speed that much it just helps not getting injuried. Serve is alomst all technique but doing extra will add afew mph : ).
 
Throwing...
Weight lifting does nothing, providing you're not anemic, mono'd, or handicapped.
I did my farthest football throws when I was 5'1" and about 101 lbs, JV football, retrieving errant long passes. I was weakside DB at the time.
Around 8th grade, closer to 4'9" and maybe 85 lbs (90 exponent junior high sports), I threw a football easily 7 houses, each 25' in width. I would like to think I got better at throwing as I grew, but never really tested that notion till I was over 50.
You don't need more muscle, you don't need strength, you just need a good motion and explosive fast twitch type of muscle.
 
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