I just picked up playing tennis at the age of 40.....last April. Never even really swung a racquet before but having a blast! I've had a couple of lessons but otherwise just play a lot (3-4x/week) and get a lot of suggestions/help from some of the guys I play with.
When I started out, I was just "gripping and ripping" on my serve and was having some decent success (about 50% 1st serves in)...they were fast but real "flat". Several of the guys I play with told me that if I gripped the racquet properly (continental) on my serve, it would be awesome. So.....I've committed myself to doing it right. It has definitely been a "work in progress" and I just really started it a few weeks ago. I had my wife video my serve from back and front yesterday after we had played a couple of sets.
My biggest problem is that I tend to hit my serves long......maybe a foot or 2 behind the service line. Because of this, I'm really struggling to get my first serve in.
I'm a tall guy (about 6'6") and just got a new racquet for Xmas (Babolat APD). I got a brand new one with a 4 5/8" grip and bought a used one with a 4 1/4" grip and put a big overgrip on it. The new racquet has Blast RPM 18 strings on it for both mains and crosses at about 55 pounds.
Below is a link to the vids we shot. Any help is greatly appreciated! I'm COMMITTED to doing this right!
Thanks!
Chris
Serve from back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p26-qfT5Xho
Serve from front:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOogtqxru9M
When I started out, I was just "gripping and ripping" on my serve and was having some decent success (about 50% 1st serves in)...they were fast but real "flat". Several of the guys I play with told me that if I gripped the racquet properly (continental) on my serve, it would be awesome. So.....I've committed myself to doing it right. It has definitely been a "work in progress" and I just really started it a few weeks ago. I had my wife video my serve from back and front yesterday after we had played a couple of sets.
My biggest problem is that I tend to hit my serves long......maybe a foot or 2 behind the service line. Because of this, I'm really struggling to get my first serve in.
I'm a tall guy (about 6'6") and just got a new racquet for Xmas (Babolat APD). I got a brand new one with a 4 5/8" grip and bought a used one with a 4 1/4" grip and put a big overgrip on it. The new racquet has Blast RPM 18 strings on it for both mains and crosses at about 55 pounds.
Below is a link to the vids we shot. Any help is greatly appreciated! I'm COMMITTED to doing this right!
Thanks!
Chris
Serve from back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p26-qfT5Xho
Serve from front:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOogtqxru9M