Improve Your Slice Serve Right Away With These 5 Tips

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

For more on the serve, check out our serve playlist here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmTTgqapjtuWjLs&ab_channel=PerformancePlusTennis

[@MsPrettyg00d]

Great tips👍

[@jorgesimon5636]

from argentina ,very good teacher!!!!

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Thank you, Jorge! Kindly, John

[@jinmeixu6173]

Great coaching. The transcript section under the video is very helpful. I copy it and put it in a document so that I can review the instructions when I practice the serve.

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Thank you so much, Jinmei! I am pleased to know my coaching is helping you! Kindly, John

[@preframing2499]

Fantastic explanation, as usual! Thank you so much!

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Thank you, Mauro! Kindly, John

[@Vivutrenduong]

Thank coach

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

💪

[@talesara74]

Hi john, This slice is without ptonation. In one other video from you I saw one with pronation. I feel that slice with pronation can generate the speed whuch without pronation can not. What is your view please.

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi Pramod, Great question! There has to be some pronation into contact on the slice, as the string bed must face the target at contact as the strings slide through the ball. The end result of pronation into contact is momentum that continues pronation after contact, although to a lesser degree than a flat serve. Best regards, John

[@네제가요왜요]

Great!!! Thank you so much John.

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

You are so welcome! Best, John

[@johnbenevoli2066]

Great tips, once again thanks John!

[@eduardodorumian829]

excelente leccion!! muchas gracias!!!!

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Thank you, Eduardo! Kindly, John

[@marceloschroederpereiraesi9551]

Verd Good class Ir You play You must stay here!! Thanks

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Thank you, Marcelo! Best, John

[@thedawei20]

Really enjoy your coaching

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Thank you! John

[@thedawei20]

Good techniques

[@stpetetennispro2012]

Very simple and easy to follow instructions! I noticed that you didn’t emphasize pronation during the swing path. Can you elaborate more on this please 🙏🏽? Thank you in advance.

[@deephilbrick9344]

Thank you...will try it !

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Great! Let me know how it works for you! Thanks, John

[@jeffreylara3835]

Thank you for this lesson!

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

You are welcome, Jeffrey! Kindly, John

[@crsantin]

Good lesson. I’m going to hit the court and work on this.

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Thanks Carlo. Please let me know how your practice goes. Best, John

[@FairwayJack]

good stuff

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Thank you, Jack! Best, John

[@mowghlee]

Please help understand Why slice serve and slow serve is not popular

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Powerful serves and topspin serves are what everyone associates with Pros, even though many pros hit slice serves. The topspin / kick is considered a higher performance shot. Slow serves are associated with weaker players...

[@mowghlee]

@@PerformancePlusTennis Thanks for prompt reply , but slow serve like underarm serve can be used tactically , but we do not see them

[@Better_Call_Raul]

"Finish with palm facing the right hip". How does this slice finish differ from the flat serve finish? I have heard some coaches say to finish the slice serve with palm facing more upwards towards the sky rather than facing straight to the right hip. Is that okay too?

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi Raul, Thanks for your great question. Of course the reality is the ball has no idea where we finish our stroke, but the intention to finish in a particular way before contact does indeed affect the ball. In this case, the intention to finish with the palm up before contact creates the feel of skimming the ball, thus creating more slice or side spin in this case. I hope this makes sense and is helpful to you! Best, John

[@luke31ish]

Is the first serve more flat and faster and the 2nd serve sliced? I'm struggling psychologically with the 2nd serve, so I don't do double fault.

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi Luke, Thanks for your question. The first serve can be anything you want it to be: Flat, slice, topspin, etc. In general however, the first serve will be more offensive with greater risk of missing. The second serve should feature more slice or topspin, and be very reliable. Best, John

[@Better_Call_Raul]

Thanks for the great lesson. I am still working on the righty slice from the Deuce court. I am using the Continental grip and My toss is above me, as described in the video. I do pretty well with a flat serve out wide from the Deuce. My visual image is, "Hit the right side of the ball." I find that this simple cue helps me to hit flat out wide to the deuce. But I am struggling to get sidespin and have the ball really bounce wide. I do understand that pronation is delayed on a slice serve wide as compared to a flat serve wide. I was wondering if there is any good visual cue for getting more sidespin on a serve wide to the deuce corner? Flat serve to Deuce corner: "Hit the right side of the ball and follow thru towards the net" Slice to Deuce corner: "Hit the ride side of the ball but follow thru more towards the right net post" 🤔

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi Raul, Thanks for your comments and questions. I believe you are dealing with the challenge of learning the to get more slice (and action) on the ball while trying to keep the ball in the service box. Try exaggerating the slice and place the ball out of the court...even outside the doubles alley. Go for extreme slice without concern with where the ball lands. Then work to gradually bring the ball back into the service box without losing the spin. You may need to make subtle adjustments (stance, alignment, ball toss placement) to maintain the spin and gain the accuracy. Please try this and keep me updated on your progress. Thanks, John

[@Better_Call_Raul]

@@PerformancePlusTennis Thanks. These tips are helping. As described in the video, I am tossing to the right (as a temporary drill) and also exaggerating and placing the ball wide of the alley... I am using the Continental grip and at the very beginning of the service motion (when both hands are on the racquet), with my forearm is in a roughly neutral position (neither supinated nor pronated), the Continental grip will cause the strings to be be *slightly open* . This is good and to be expected. I am also experimenting with strongly supinating the forearm at the very start of the service motion. This will cause the strings to be far more open at the start of the service motion ((when both hands are on the racquet), Is there some benefit to supinating the forearm and opening the strings at the very start of the service motion? Likewise, is it okay to pronate the forearm at the very start and make the strings more closed? Is this just personal style? I seem to be getting more/less sidespin when experimenting with both open and closed styles. Or it could just be random variation. Not sure. 🤔

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

@@Better_Call_Raul Hi Raul, Thanks for the update. I like the strings / racquet face to be slightly open in the set-up. You can experiment with supination (like Milos Raonic for example)...it really depends on what feels natural and produces the correct result. The benefit is that it sets the position to eliminate the open face/ waiter's tray position later in the swing. I do not encourage deliberate supination in the racquet drop, because it tends to weaken the shoulder rotation / pronation when you over-supinate. I definitely do not like the strings closed at the start, as this position often results in an open face later in the swing. Finally, if you want me to take a look at your serve, send me an email through this link and we can take it from there: performanceplustennis.com/contact-us/. Best, John

[@rds4629]

How is the slice serve different going to the ad court? Are you still going 45 degrees to the ball to the net post? or do you go closer to 90 parralel to the baseline? This is for a ball aiming down the T.

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi and thanks for your great question. This is really all about "feel". For me, my stance is more closed in the ad court, and everything else (torso, tossing angle, ball, placement, swing path) is related to the stance. I hope this makes sense. I will prepare a video on this topic to further clarify. Let me know if you have further questions. Thanks, John

[@mrjohnsonfong]

Thx u

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

You are welcome! Stay tuned for more coming new lessons every week! Best, John

[@markbrown3259]

John, where your pronation occurred during the slice serve?

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi Mark, The pronation begins just before contact and finishes naturally after contact. The intent on the slice is to strike the side of the ball, sending the racquet head on a 45 degree angle. Kindly, John

[@tenniswilliam]

I have seen other videos recommending the eastern grip on the first bevel - why would that not work well too. I would think you lose power with less wrist action using a continental?

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi William, Thanks for your comment, question and contribution to the video. A strong Continental grip (Eastern Backhand Grip) can also work, but requires more shoulder mobility. The wrist action on the serve is a widely misunderstood concept. Using the strongest grip does not create more wrist action or power. The power doesn not come from the wrist. Check out my playlist on the serve to learn more. Thanks, John

[@bournejason66]

Hi John, it seems to me as a righty, we can only slice out wide from the deuce court. On the ad court, we can only slice down the T (which is not easy) , but can’t slice out wide or it becomes a flat serve. Am I correct? If that’s correct, then for 2nd serve at ad court, we have to use kick serve.

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Actually, you can slice out wide in the ad, and down the T in the deuce court, and in fact, these can be very effective, as they move into the body, often jamming the opponent. It takes practice, and very few players work on these targets and spins combinations, but they are very effective. Another video topic coming on this.

[@bournejason66]

@@PerformancePlusTennis thanks. I’ll be looking forward to it. Btw, will you go to Indian Wells this week?

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

@@bournejason66 Unfortunately I will not make it to Indian Wells this week…just too much going on. But I do plan to be there in March!

[@bournejason66]

@@PerformancePlusTennis I am still a little skeptical on righty can slice out wide from ad court. I thought that’s one key advantage of lefties. Do explain it when you make the video. I’m intrigued 😄

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi Bourne, TO be clear, you can hit a slice to outside corner of the ad court box, and ball will turn into your opponent, jamming them and making the return more difficult. The slice won't pull them off the court, but rather complicate the return. I hope this is clear and makes sense. Thanks, John

[@watcher687]

Hi John, Does Federer really have the same ball toss and same contact point for all different types of serves? Does it mean that he only changes his racket swing path to achieve different serves? Would you agree that on the kick serve his toss changes a bit?

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Hi Yucel, Great questions! The toss is the same, but the contact is in a different place. Fed has the ability to arc his toss from left to right from the same tossing motion, so you can't tell where he is aiming or which spin he creates until he is just about to contact the ball. On the kick serve, he just lets the ball float slightly left and drop lower to swing up into the ball more. He disguises his serve as well as anyone ever has. Pete Sampras did the same. Thanks, John

[@watcher687]

Thanks John. That leads me to another question though. What you’re saying sort of implies that Roger hits the ball sometimes while the ball is on the way up, sometimes at the peak of toss, sometimes on the way down ( in order to change the position of contact on an imaginary horizontal line in space). But we know that he always hits the ball when it’s falling from its apex. Am I over complicating things? 😃

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

@@watcher687 HI Yucel, Fed always makes contact below the apex. The contact on the flat slice and slice serve are in the same spot. The kick or topspin are slightly left and lower...Thanks, John

[@watcher687]

Sure, John, that makes sense. He always hits the ball while it’s descending but for kick serve a touch later than flat and slice. That way the contact point is lower and more to the left in the kick serve. Great explanation as usual. Thanks again.

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

@@watcher687 Thank you, Yucel! Kindly, John

[@leewe2015]

as for the finish move, many say otherwise

[@PerformancePlusTennis]

Who are many? I would like to see/ hear what they have to say...

[@dzabirmaglajlic9244]

Am Ur zeigen Rotation richtung ,das fehlt ,

[@cavalera6426]

La

[@olivierabel8928]

Q

[@myviews469]

OK first you dont want to hit it at 3 and when you demonstrate you actually hitting 1.