Gahhh my first serve is messed up?

Question

I changed up my first to a kick serve instead of a hard flat serve just to get my percentage up but leagues are coming up and my coach said i should keep practicing on my first serve, i have the same style as Roddick but the serve is so close to being in it usually misses the line by inches. helps!

Answer 1

Well if its a kick serve then i would just go out to the court one day with about 100 balls (or hit that many serves) and just practice the area you toss the ball in, and how high its tossed. the toss behind your head is everything in a kick serve and it takes practice. you should be ready

Answer 2

the question is why so many players feel they need a hard flat first serve to show that they have a great serve? and most players feel a kick serve is for second serves only.

i've worked with lots of players over the years. i've never taught players to hit big flat serves. why? simple.

if roger rederer and boris becker has a first serve percentage of below 50% , what makes us think we can hit big flat first serves and get out percentages up?

take nadal for example. he doesn't have a big flat first serve.

he has good spin on it. but his percentages on first serve can be 70%.

so this tells us, you need to have spin to make your serve effective. a good kick serve clears the net well and is effective as you are able to direct the serve at any angle to give you an advantage.

unless you are able to serve a big flat serve at supersonic speed like roddick and have high percentages of making it........you should stick to spin and placement.

it is more effective.

besides a flat serve if you dun place it well, it is easy to just block it back.

so stick to the spin and kick serves.

have fun!!!!

Answer 3

Well, although I've become more of a lefty spinner, myself, I've  had pretty good experience working with players that hit hard and flat (although the kicker is a tougher serve to return, in my opinion).  There are usually a few things you should look at when you're working on an "over-the-top" serve.  First off, your toss placement is crucial, as you don't have spin to bring the serve back into the service area.  Your toss should be slightly more forward in your stance than in a kick serve (away from your body), where you're hitting the ball from almost behind you.  You want to get the toss a little outside your front shoulder, so that your momentum carries you forward through your serve. (As you know, you have to strike the flat serve more square, instead of across as with the kick serve).  You've got to give your toss a slight bit more height, as you ahve to hit down and out versus across and out.

As you make these changes, you may have to adjust the spot you serve from slightly, due to the fact that the flatter serve has less loop.  Gauge yourself from the top and center tapes to figure on what your adjustments might be.  If your serves are hitting below the tape and short of the service box side you're aiming for, you may want to reduce the angle you're serving at (move slightly more towards the T).  If your serve is coming up short and crossing the center tape , then you may want to move farther away from the center line in an attempt to hit your serve towards the lowest part of the net.  If you're hitting the ball long, with the same issues, you may have to adjust your toss, as you're flattening out your serve too much.  Just think of the flat serve as hitting downhill.  You've gotta get the toss to the right height to come over the top and keep it in play.  Personally, I'd probably try working on developing a little more pace on a kick serve that will give you a bit more room for error, but if you choose to go with the flat, hopefully those tips will help.