Serve ’em Up!

The physics of the serve dictate that the ball must be hit up, not down, in order for it to go into the service box across the net — unless your are more than seven feet tall!

To demonstrate this to your players, have your tallest player tie one end of a long piece of string to the center of his racquet. Have the player stand at the baseline and hold his racquet as high as he can, simulating racquet/ball contact point on a serve.

Take the other end of the string and bring it toward the opposite service box. Your players will immediately see that the string cannot make it into the opposite service box without going through the net. If you lift the string over the net, it will not go into the service box, unless you bend the string down over the net.

That’s right — when you see pros hitting serves at more than 140 mph, they are actually hitting the ball up. This is possible because of the immense amount of spin that is put on a correctly hit ball which brings it back down into the court.

Players who do not have a powerful serve will begin to see that it may be because they are not using the throwing motion (used in passing a football, throwing a pitch or hitting a serve) or using a Continental or slightly Eastern grip which will allow them to get the necessary spin to hit a serve hard and bring it back down into the court.

To get your players to understand this better, have them serve several first serves. Next, have them kneel down on one or two knees and practice serving from the baseline, using their regular service motion. They will soon see that with the proper service motion and/or grip, they will be able to serve the ball quite hard and still get it in.

Vic Braden has had experienced players serving more than 100 mph from a kneeling position. (NOTE: This does not negate the importance of the legs and hips on a serve. As noted physiologist Dr. Jeff Chandler points out, serving this hard without using the lower body would cause repetitive stress injuries to the player’s shoulder or arm).

After your players have gotten the hang of serving from a kneeling position, have them try serving from a seated position. That’s correct — you should still be able to hit an effective first serve from a seated position on the court (although you won’t be able to get up and cover a drop shot from that position!).

As with any new skill, prior to asking your players to try this, try it yourself. With the correct motion, a good player should be able to quickly hit excellent serves from kneeling or seated positions.

This drill will demonstrate to your players a little-known aspect of physics concerning the serve, and may help those with improper mechanics realize what it will take for them to improve their serves.