Hello All,
What a wet start to February! Hopefully the rain will leave and we will get back to good tennis weather!
I would like to take a minute and discuss the most important stroke in tennis - the serve. A lot of debate goes on regarding which serve is more important, first or second serve. If you can make your first serve, then who needs a second? But I don't know of too many people who make more than 60% of their first serves. Therefore you end up serving a ton of second serves per match. I have seen many people serve their first serve at 100 miles an hour, miss it, of course, and then serve their second at about 20 miles an hour. So what is the point of even going after the first serve?
For the club player a good serve generally means pace. To a pro (playing or teaching) a good serve generally means a variety of pace, placement, and spins. If you continue to serve at the same speed with no variation, eventually your opponent will pick up on how to return the ball. If, on the other hand, your opponent is constantly unsure of what to expect, they will get no rhythm. I have heard the excuse many times, "If I spin the ball in, the opponent will kill it because it's slow". Well let me tell you, the ball is only slow compared to your hard flat serve that rarely goes in anyway. I would be happy to make a slow spin serve that goes in, then a flat hard serve that doesn't.
The aggressiveness to the spin serve is precisely that, the spin. The ball is never traveling in a straight line; the ball is spinning off the court at different angles and also spinning off your opponent's racquet if they cannot negate the spin. Your ability to hit spin serves comes down to this:
Move to a continental grip (ask your pro where this is). This grip will automatically give you the ability to spin the ball. I am giving no guarantees on immediate success as it takes practice. But too many club players serve with what we call a 'fry pan' grip. It only gives you the ability to hit flat. So if you decide to use the continental grip, or already have it, remember this.
Swing at the same speed that you would for a flat hard serve; the ball will not come off the racquet as quickly, but the faster you swing through the ball the spin you will impart on the ball, thus making it more difficult for the returner. The biggest mistake I see is players trying to spin the ball but slowing down their racquet head speed through contact. Keep the racquet head speed up.
If you can mix in flat serves, spin serves and place your serve, this variety can now be used as a legitimate weapon. Also with the use of spin you will feel more confident about second serves. Knowing you have an effective second serve should give you confidence to go after your first serve. So the first step is to get that grip switched, then put some time into practice.
Accolades to Mark Kleckner and Kirby Faciane who I have spotted regularly serving baskets of balls at a time! So practice up and start to provide great service!
Good Luck,
Zac Markham
zac@meridiantennis.com
Greetings from Matt
