Beefing Up Your Second Serve in Tennis Game
Is your second serve a friend or an enemy to your game? Having a weak second serve can be a big disadvantage. It not only puts the pressure on you to get your first serve in, but it allows your opponent the opportunity to take control of the point early when you hit a second serve. Avoid thinking of the second serve as the shot that you need to get in the box just to get the point started.
The second serve can be a weapon, or at minimum, a way to fight off your opponent from attacking and putting the pressure on early. There are 3 ways to beef up your second serve to make it more of a weapon. The 3 ways to improve a second serve are spin, placement and speed. If you can incorporate just 2 out of 3 of these you are well on your way to having a great second serve!
Spin: There are 3 types of spin you can use on your second serve. Slice, topspin or the kick serve. Being able to use these spins helps to keep your opponent guessing and always having to adjust.
Slice serves are effective, but unless you can really pull someone off of the court with a slice second serve, I recommend developing a topspin serve or a kick serve (AKA, American Twist Serve). The advantages of these two serves is the bounce. Both of these serves bounce very high making them hard serves to attack. The topspin serve acts just like it’s name, it bounces high because of topspin. The kick serve bounces high but also takes a slight change in direction when it hits the court, which makes the ball harder to judge. Many players stand further back when you hit the high bouncing serves as opposed to returning the slice serve. If you can get them to stand further back you will have more time to react to their return and it will also be harder for them to hit a clean winner.
Placement: Placement is where many players fall short on the second serve. Many players have the goal of just making sure their second serve goes in the box, and they don’t really care where as long as it lands in. Being able to place your second serve gives you an advantage. If you can put the ball where you want in the box than you can start to hit to your opponent’s weaker side. If you mix that with spin than you can start to pick on their weaker side. Being able to pull your opponent out wide on a second serve may be to your advantage if your opponent is a slower player.
Placement is key, and if you are not placing your second serve than start to. It takes practice and a certain level of comfort. Grab a bucket of balls and go out to the court alone and practice aiming your second serve. You will thank yourself when you are able to hit to your opponent’s weak backhand as opposed to their rocket forehand!
Speed: I am mentioning speed last because I think it is the least important. Speed can help, there is no doubt about it. But unless you are Pete Sampras or Andy Roddick, most people don’t have fast second serves. Speeding up your second serve will force your opponent to have to react quicker and may earn you some free points. However, of all the options, speed is the one that can get you in the most trouble. Going for too much on a second serve can cause errors. As you develop spins and placement speed naturally follows. As you become more confident with the serve you can trying swinging a little faster and see where that takes you.
My former tennis pro used to tell me this: “Swing as hard at the second serve as you do at the first, just use all spin”. I took his advise, or 90% of it. I swing about 90% as hard at the second serve as I do the first serve, but I use all spin. Spin is a safe bet, it gives you the biggest margin of error over the net and also brings the ball back down once it crosses the net. Once you have the spin down, try placing the ball. Once you can place the ball with spin, try speeding up the serve.
As one of your “internet” tennis pro’s let me tell you this. Developing a decent second serve will improve your tennis game immensely! You will be able to force your opponent to hit on their weaker side, you can move your opponent around, force them to stand further back, open up the court and force more errors. Try to practice your second serve outside of a match when there is no pressure. Set up targets if you have to or set goals for yourself. Working on your second serve can make your life on the tennis court will be better!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Serve - 9.Mixing Up Your Tennis Serves
Mixing Up Your Tennis Serves
Mixing up your serves during a tennis match can make the difference between you holding your serve and getting broken on your service game. There are tons of variations of ways to serve mixing up pace with spins and so on. Being able to keep your opponents guessing where and how you might serve next will keep them on their toes and will most likely keep them from getting a rhythm when returning your serve.
When most people think about mixing up their serves they think of using placement and spins. You can go beyond these two options and also mix speed and your stance location into the mix. Now all of the sudden you have so many variations of serves that it is not even funny. Below we will take a look at each option in detail.
Placement: Placement is always important, and maybe even the most important of all the options to have in your arsenal in my opinion. With placement you can pull your opponent off of the court with a wide serve. You can also hit the ball at their body and jamb them, or you can direct the serve to their weaker side and control more points. The placement of the serve will be the option that makes your opponent move the most. Moving your opponent out of position, or into the position you want will win you more points.
Spins: There are 4 different types of tennis serves in terms of spins. The flat serve, slice serve, topspin serve and kick serve. Each of these serves has it's own advantages and disadvantages. However, if you use all 4 types of serves effectively during a match your opponent will have to adjust to hit each one and again not letting them get into a rhythm while returning your serve. (To read in more detail about the 4 different types of serves click here.)
Speed: Speed is a tough one to think about because people always think that the faster you can hit a serve the better. Being able to hit a hard serve is certainly an advantage, but without placement it is not nearly as effective. When you mix up the speeds of your serves it makes it harder for your opponent to get a good read on the ball. If you have been hitting 110 mph serves and throw a 90 mph serve in they may swing early expecting a 110 mph serve and hit an error. The same idea goes for the opposite situation. If you have been hitting slower spin serves and all of the sudden you hit a flat serve at a much faster pace it will throw your opponent off.
Stance: This is probably the least important of the 4 ways to mix up your serves. However, if you like to adjust where you stand to hit your serve it can also keep your opponent guesses and wondering where you plan on hitting the ball. This may cause your opponent to stand in a different spot (or uncomfortabel spot) than usual to return serve. If you stand way out wide to hit the serve you will be able to hit a serve with a much greater angle to pull your opponent off of the court.
However, by doing this you also make yourself vulnerable by leaving too much of the court open for your opponent to hit a winner. I have seen players stand out wide to hit serves and it really throws off their opponent because they are not used to people standing so far out wide to hit serves.
However, if you are not used to hitting serves from out wide it might also play with your head as you to hit a serve you are not used to hitting.
In the end, mix up your tennis serves as much as you can. Keep your opponents guessing what serve might come next. If you mix up the 4 options listed above, the number of options you have to mix up your serve are almost limitless!
Mixing up your serves during a tennis match can make the difference between you holding your serve and getting broken on your service game. There are tons of variations of ways to serve mixing up pace with spins and so on. Being able to keep your opponents guessing where and how you might serve next will keep them on their toes and will most likely keep them from getting a rhythm when returning your serve.
When most people think about mixing up their serves they think of using placement and spins. You can go beyond these two options and also mix speed and your stance location into the mix. Now all of the sudden you have so many variations of serves that it is not even funny. Below we will take a look at each option in detail.
Placement: Placement is always important, and maybe even the most important of all the options to have in your arsenal in my opinion. With placement you can pull your opponent off of the court with a wide serve. You can also hit the ball at their body and jamb them, or you can direct the serve to their weaker side and control more points. The placement of the serve will be the option that makes your opponent move the most. Moving your opponent out of position, or into the position you want will win you more points.
Spins: There are 4 different types of tennis serves in terms of spins. The flat serve, slice serve, topspin serve and kick serve. Each of these serves has it's own advantages and disadvantages. However, if you use all 4 types of serves effectively during a match your opponent will have to adjust to hit each one and again not letting them get into a rhythm while returning your serve. (To read in more detail about the 4 different types of serves click here.)
Speed: Speed is a tough one to think about because people always think that the faster you can hit a serve the better. Being able to hit a hard serve is certainly an advantage, but without placement it is not nearly as effective. When you mix up the speeds of your serves it makes it harder for your opponent to get a good read on the ball. If you have been hitting 110 mph serves and throw a 90 mph serve in they may swing early expecting a 110 mph serve and hit an error. The same idea goes for the opposite situation. If you have been hitting slower spin serves and all of the sudden you hit a flat serve at a much faster pace it will throw your opponent off.
Stance: This is probably the least important of the 4 ways to mix up your serves. However, if you like to adjust where you stand to hit your serve it can also keep your opponent guesses and wondering where you plan on hitting the ball. This may cause your opponent to stand in a different spot (or uncomfortabel spot) than usual to return serve. If you stand way out wide to hit the serve you will be able to hit a serve with a much greater angle to pull your opponent off of the court.
However, by doing this you also make yourself vulnerable by leaving too much of the court open for your opponent to hit a winner. I have seen players stand out wide to hit serves and it really throws off their opponent because they are not used to people standing so far out wide to hit serves.
However, if you are not used to hitting serves from out wide it might also play with your head as you to hit a serve you are not used to hitting.
In the end, mix up your tennis serves as much as you can. Keep your opponents guessing what serve might come next. If you mix up the 4 options listed above, the number of options you have to mix up your serve are almost limitless!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Serve - 8.Speeding Up Your Serves
Speeding Up Your Tennis Serves
Who doesn't want to speed up their first serve. I know I do, and I bet you that if Pete Sampras could he would too! But you have to remember, consistency and placement are far more important than the speed of your serve. If you can not get the serve in and within a reasonable distance in where you aimed, then the speed of the serve is almost worthless. I say "almost" because the speed of the serve does account for something and can sometimes win you some easy points. However, I feel you need consistency with your first serve before you read this section. (A good percentage for first serves is anything above 70%) Here are some ways to speed up the serve!
Tossing out front: Tossing the tennis ball out in front of your body helps you to jump into the court when hitting the serve, thus bringing your body weight into the serve. If you are moving forward when hitting the serve this will increase the speed of your serve. Observe the Sampras video below and see how he is tossing the ball slightly in front of him and jumping into the serve.
Good rotation: Good rotation of the shoulders and the waist will give you added power to your serve. This allows your whole body to contribute to the power instead of just the brute force of your arm. The uncoiling is key, be sure to use your legs, shoulders, and waist.
Extension: Check out this Pete Sampras quick video... Look at the extension and his reach on his serve! With extension this good his torque is much greater allowing his to really hit the serve hard. Also notice how his wrist does not pronate, he keeps it firm through out the whole serve. Pronating, or snapping of the wrist does not always help to speed up your serve!
Racquet Adjustments: Get a longer tennis racquet. Look what it did for Michael Chang! The longer the racquet the more power you will get out of your shots. You can also string your racquet with less tension, that will give you more power. But be aware, both of those options will give you more power, but will also give you less control.
Add weight to the head of your tennis racquet: Adding weight to your tennis racquet head helps to produce more force when hitting. It's like driving a bike and hitting a wall, or driving a semi-truck and hitting a wall. The semi truck definitely has more momentum and more force to hit with because it is heavier. I am not saying the difference will be that great of a change, but it will increase the speed of your serve, and other strokes for that matter. You can add weight to your racquet by simply applying sticker like lead strips to the head of your racquet. Make sure you do this evenly on both side of the racquet. Not many of these strips are needed to notice a difference in weight of your racquet, so do not over do it. Just try a little at a time to see if it works for your tennis game. To get the most out of lead tape, check out Alan Vinh's section on lead tape at the following URL. http://www.monumental.com/avinh/leadtape.html
Quick tip: Hitting the serve down the "T" (the down the middle of the court) will create a faster serve for two reasons. One reason is that it has less distance to travel and therefore encounters less air resistance to slow the ball down. The other reason is that the net is low, so it gives you more room for error to hit the big flat serve.
If you have any questions about this article or tennis in general please do not hesitate to contact me @ tennis4you@hotmail.com. Thank you!
Who doesn't want to speed up their first serve. I know I do, and I bet you that if Pete Sampras could he would too! But you have to remember, consistency and placement are far more important than the speed of your serve. If you can not get the serve in and within a reasonable distance in where you aimed, then the speed of the serve is almost worthless. I say "almost" because the speed of the serve does account for something and can sometimes win you some easy points. However, I feel you need consistency with your first serve before you read this section. (A good percentage for first serves is anything above 70%) Here are some ways to speed up the serve!
Tossing out front: Tossing the tennis ball out in front of your body helps you to jump into the court when hitting the serve, thus bringing your body weight into the serve. If you are moving forward when hitting the serve this will increase the speed of your serve. Observe the Sampras video below and see how he is tossing the ball slightly in front of him and jumping into the serve.
Good rotation: Good rotation of the shoulders and the waist will give you added power to your serve. This allows your whole body to contribute to the power instead of just the brute force of your arm. The uncoiling is key, be sure to use your legs, shoulders, and waist.
Extension: Check out this Pete Sampras quick video... Look at the extension and his reach on his serve! With extension this good his torque is much greater allowing his to really hit the serve hard. Also notice how his wrist does not pronate, he keeps it firm through out the whole serve. Pronating, or snapping of the wrist does not always help to speed up your serve!
Hit less spin: Another way to juice up your serve would be to simply hit less spin. Hitting the ball flat creates a lot more pace because you hit the ball more solid. Hitting with spin puts more friction on the ball and does not allow you to swing straight through with all power.
Racquet Adjustments: Get a longer tennis racquet. Look what it did for Michael Chang! The longer the racquet the more power you will get out of your shots. You can also string your racquet with less tension, that will give you more power. But be aware, both of those options will give you more power, but will also give you less control.
Add weight to the head of your tennis racquet: Adding weight to your tennis racquet head helps to produce more force when hitting. It's like driving a bike and hitting a wall, or driving a semi-truck and hitting a wall. The semi truck definitely has more momentum and more force to hit with because it is heavier. I am not saying the difference will be that great of a change, but it will increase the speed of your serve, and other strokes for that matter. You can add weight to your racquet by simply applying sticker like lead strips to the head of your racquet. Make sure you do this evenly on both side of the racquet. Not many of these strips are needed to notice a difference in weight of your racquet, so do not over do it. Just try a little at a time to see if it works for your tennis game. To get the most out of lead tape, check out Alan Vinh's section on lead tape at the following URL. http://www.monumental.com/avinh/leadtape.html
Quick tip: Hitting the serve down the "T" (the down the middle of the court) will create a faster serve for two reasons. One reason is that it has less distance to travel and therefore encounters less air resistance to slow the ball down. The other reason is that the net is low, so it gives you more room for error to hit the big flat serve.
If you have any questions about this article or tennis in general please do not hesitate to contact me @ tennis4you@hotmail.com. Thank you!
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