Videos and tips that made your kick serve click

10isMaestro · Jul 11, 2016

Hi,

I have been working on my serve for a while now and I'm getting great results with my flat serve so far. Since I saw Thomaz' videos on youtube (feel tennis), my serve speed and consistency largely improved. It just got me to do the right things and showed me in a clear, simple way how to hit a flat serve.

Now, I am looking for topspin serves and kick serves tips. I can manage some sort of topspin serve, but I'd like a do over, just as I did with my flat serve, hence this request for tips and videos. What made yours click, what advice or video changed it all and paved the way for your kick serve improvement?

We're only as good as our second serve sometimes and I'd like to feel like it's dependable enough for me to really go after my first serve freely. So, thanks in advance for any and all help!

LeeD · Jul 11, 2016

Can you embrace the idea of learning by doing?
Just toss so the ball lands atop your head, swing up and out towards the net post, aim 4' higher than the net, and you got a twist serve.
To hit a topspin serve, just swing more towards your target, but aim for higher clearance, but your normal swing will bring it down to just barely clear the net.

marian10 · Jul 14, 2016

not a makeover post, but things that clicked for me.

Depending on your level you may not need a kick serve and spare your back for the future. A high velocity topspin serve can do damages already.

Toss slightly to the left (or above) and inside the court, this is very important for pace. Let the ball fall down a bit more than you're used to. The swing shouldn't feel different from other serves. If it does you're using wrong mechanics.

Body is staying closed for a longer time. This the most seen mistake at club level. Some players have their arm finnish on their right because of this. But pros end on their left/in front.

Best exercices i did:

left hand holding ball behind the head. Racquet against the ball and you brush/push the ball behind the net.

On your knees, toss above you, feel, racquet drop and lift the ball to the ball vertically, then towards a target.

Use the side fence (standing next to it) to learn how much leg and arm acceleration you need to explode above it. This one is premium. Basically if you can serve on the court next to yours, you have a huge kick serve.

Don't forget pace is one of the most underrated parameter in learning/teaching kick serves.

mhkeuns · Jul 14, 2016

I think, like anything in life, all it takes is diligence & practice to get better. (*with correct technique, of course)

I get many compliments on my service from motion to variety. What people forget is that while they practice hours and hours of hitting forehands, backhands and volleys, rarely do those players spend equal amount of time practicing their serves. While their ground strokes, volleys and overall game is great, I see many still dink the balls in for their second serves. Most don't even use the legs during serves. The best servers practice to make their serves as weapons, not just to start a point.

It took me about three years to develop an aggressive second serve. It just clicked for me one day after many, many repeated motions.

dct693 · Jul 14, 2016

Definitely watch videos, all of them, that you can find on youtube. However, the best instruction that you can get will be from a good pro. Whereas a video can tell you what to do, only a person watching you can tell you what you're doing wrong. As a backup, feel free to post your video here for critique.

Here are my best tips for hitting a top/kick serve:

Respect that it's a DIFFERENT SERVE. Some people, including a poster above will say that the swing action is very similar. I disagree, respectfully. See the Dave Smith video where he discusses how different it is.
Yes, toss the ball a bit more to the left (if you're right) and less far into the court than with a flat/slice serve.
Let the ball drop significantly more from it's maximum height than on a flat/slice serve.
Don't arch your back, but rather bend at the knees and look up at the ball.
Keep your body more sideways - including your head - until contact, compared to the flat/slice serve.
Watch the ball until contact. Rec players should follow this advice, I think. Though it's clear from high-speed video that pro's don't always do this.
Don't turn your head too soon after contact. If you do so, it will likely yank your body around as well. If you can see the ball on your side of the court, you've turned too soon. Unfortunately this means you can't really see the glorious beauty of your topspin serve clearing the net by 3 feet and diving down into the opposing court. You'll be able to see the "dive" part, but you'll need to infer by how much it cleared the net by the "dive".

Start learning without involving the legs or jumping. This helps isolate any problems and simplifies the serve.

Videos linked below:

FuzzyYellowBalls41 · Jul 14, 2016

Eastern backhand grip and jumping vertically through the serve. Obviously the 8 to 2 brush on the ball if you're a righty. Or the 7 to 1. Toss ball over your head. Not out in front. Then practice a schit ton!