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More Serve Speed

by Scott
(Virginia, USA)

I've watched videos, read tips, tried different things but can't seem to get a "hot" serve. I'm a 3.5 6' 195 lb male and athletic so I feel like I should be able to generate more power.

I'm 45 now and recently returned to tennis, but never had much of a power serve even in my 20's. I do have a pretty good spin serve that can actually give returners problems.

I'd just like to really blow by a serve once in a while!...even if its just a change of pace.

Without seeing my stroke, generally where do you think most rec player neglect as far as reaching for power? Legs, rotation, toss location, grip, shoulders, hips, snap, etc, etc.?

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More Serve Speed

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Jun 04, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstar 		Relax and let go
by: Tomaz

Hi Scott,

The key to a fast serve is relaxed movement. One of the reasons why we are tense is because we AIM into the service box.

Don't do it. Just imagine and whack the ball.

It also helps if you serve in the distance - so try to hit the other fence.

I've also shared top 10 tips to increase the tennis serve speed on my blog!
Jun 07, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		More speed to your serve
by: Fergus

Oh how I love serving and changing from fast to spin , from long to short hop anything to keep the opposition thinking. The ladies call me Mr nasty when it spings away out from them on the forehand side.
When I was a young lad an ex Wimbledon lady player and then a coach said to me .. Fergus why don't you use your height ? I have never forgotten and I regularly tell players after all these years to strech up and hit over the ball and jump up if neccessary to strike the ball from the highest possible point.
The difference is fantastic and they are amazed!

Tiny 4 year olds often cannot reach the net when learning to serve and I then tell them to hit the back fence at the other side of the court . Their parents are astounding as they then hit the ball pover the net practically without exceptyion!

Incidentally I am now coaching all ages at 73 and enjoying representing my veteran province when selected !!
Jun 07, 2009
Rating
starstarstar 		Serve Speed
by: Russ

My observation of the French is that Fed, and others, toss the ball so that it would land on the head, or slightly behind it. Then, they throw their racket straight up on the back of the ball to provide spin. With spin, they can hit as hard as they possible and still have a valid serve. tks, Russ
Jun 07, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Improving serve speed
by: Mike Fewster

I am 66 years ols and stand 5.6. I regularly ace players in mens comp. Dont aim at court (or the back of the court), aim about 1 foot above the top of the net. Jump. Jump. Use pronation. Arch your back and use every muscle together, legs, stomache, back, shoulder' elbow and wrist all need to be giving drive at the same time. Start your serve with the back of your shoulder to the receiver so as you straighten your body twist so it is adding to the drive. Having a safe second serve allows you to go for the first with confidence. Get a large bag of balls and just serve hour after hour. Lots of situps. Search internet for slomo of Sampras serving. Get someone to film you and compare
Jun 07, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Play Wristy for me
by: Howard

A great help for me was when the pro Mike Pratt in Tampa made me understand that serve speed comes from racquet head speed.

Racquet head spead comes from "whipping" the racquet (not swinging your arm hard).

And, just about all that racquet head speed comes from flicking your wrist.

When I started, I could not, for the life of me, pronate my wrist/arm.

Watch the slow motion videos of Tomaz and other pros. And, do as Tomaz says - relax, don't think too much.
Jun 07, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Speed and snap
by: we

The best bits of advice I ever heard regarding serving fast were think fast not hard; be relaxed, positve and quick with your action; don't actually try to hit hard. The other was exagerate the wrist snap at the end. This really gives you extra pop even without added arm speed. Look at any pics of Sampras' serve follow through and note the position of his arm, wrist and racket and imagine the amount of snap you would have to exert to copy it. Also,don't be afraid to miss!
Jun 07, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		More thoughts
by: Mike Fewster

I thought about this some more after my first post. Watch a slomo of Sampras serve. Note how he gets drive from every muscle from his toes to his wrist. Look at slomo of your owm serve. What do you need to add? If you have lots to add, don't try to do too much at once, there is too much to coordinate. Break it down into steps and add one step at a time. Go to half court and just practice hitting balls with wrist snap. Really bend wrist backwards and snap it through. Don't worry about anything else. Then add elbow snap. Get the elbow high and forearm low behind it.Concentrate on straightening elbow to give power and don't worry about anything else. Then add the wrist snap (pronation) to the elbow straighten. When reasonably happy with that. add turning your back towards opponent and getting back/stomach muscles contributing as you swing shoulder to the wrist/elbow action. Add jumping last. A program like this might take months to get it all working together. Don't worry if they are not going in. At this stage, just get a fluent, easy action with everything contributing to the impact speed of the racket. Actually getting them in requires work on how to apply spin at the time of impact, but you need to get that fluent motion going first if a fast serve is the aim.
Jun 07, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Serve Speed.
by: GL

I agree with many comments on this page so I will not reiterate them.

My suggestions are quite simple. The serve should start from the ground up. Legs, hip and shoulder rotation. Build the serve from the ground up; the arm, wrist and racket will follow.

My son was a skinny little kid who could serve it a ton. It was not muscle but rather mechanics. Long before I started teaching him the serve, he was properly taught to first throw a baseball and then a football. He had good mechanics and built the leg, stomach, shoulder and arm muscles.

You want to learn to serve fast learn to throw a fastball or bullet pass.

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