Don't Serve With The Wrong Grip In Tennis - How To Switch To The Right Grip

[@ThomasParmelee]

Meike, your instructions on the continental grip and pronation is the clearest I have ever seen. I never quite understood how pronation could be easily achieved during the serving path. You broke down the serve so clearly. I'm looking forward to putting your teaching into my serve. Thank you!

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Thank you so much for your kind words. And I'm happy my coaching style resonates with you!

[@andrewlilico2218]

Lots of nice stuff in there. My guess is that for many people a key reason they use a frying pan serve is that the frying pan serve is very forgiving of a bad toss. With a Continental grip the toss has to be at least roughly right for you to have any chance of the strings hitting the ball, because the action involves only a split send in which the strings face towards the service box. With a frying pan grip the toss can be almost anywhere and you can still get behind it and hit the ball with the strings. If you can't toss - and almost every recreational player I see has frequent problems with the toss - then it's hard even to practice doing a Continental grip serve. You showed the choked up grip drills with you standing at the service box and hitting it over the net with the edge then with pronation and a flat face. You said to do that 15 or 20 times. But when I was first trying that then from 20 tosses I'd be lucky if the toss were adequate for me to get any strings on the ball 5 times. Then of those 5 times I'd have swung and missed the ball 3 times. One more I'd have hit the edge of the racket and the ball would go three courts over. Then the final one I'd have got the strings on. Making 15-20 actual *contacts* would be a long practice - probably at least an hour's session for me by itself. Until you can toss reliably enough to practice the rest of the service action it's all going to take a long time and it's going to be very hard to establish enough rhythm to learn. Learning to toss is probably the most difficult and most foundational aspect of serving. It unlocks the possibility of drilling with rhythm and it makes it much less tempting to use service actions and grips adapted to the need to get the strings on a wild toss.

[@sevdaatay9299]

Thank you Meike. This is very very useful video that I have ever seen for the serve. I learned a lot from you. 👏👏👏❤

[@dwightlewis2026]

I have seen hundreds of tennis videos, but Meike's explanation of the multiple ways to "find" the continental grip is the cutest I've ever seen. If you can't find the grip after all that, then maybe tennis is not for you.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Haha, yes maybe :-)

[@hanseat7950]

Thanks for the great tips. I am helping someone trying to stop using the "Bratpfannegriff". I will try these tips out and let you know. For my kick serve, I actually cheat and put the heal pad of palm between 1 and 2 but put the pad of my index finger on no. 2.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Ha, ich hatte Bratpfannengriff ganz vergessen!

[@jackshi8387]

Meike, thanks so much for your video that help me playing tennis so much!❤

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

You're welcome!

[@spooky1304]

Hi Meike. I am 56. I played a lot of tennis self-taught 35 years(!) ago and have good ability. Didn't play for 35 years then started getting coaching 6 months ago. I have the frying pan serve - until 6 months ago I had no idea there was any other way of serving. Both my coaches rate my first serve as powerful and that it can't be attacked. I aced my coach a few weeks back and the ball went right through the chain link fence at the back of the court - the fence doesn't have a hole in it the ball just popped through the normal space in the wires. I regularly flat foot people and people have said 'I didn't even see it go past'. My service action is correct - trophy with some torso rotation - its just the grip thats frying pan. I don't bend my knees much so the power is pretty much coming from the shoulder I guess. All this is very jolly sounding but first serves in maybe 35% - second serve pretty reliable but super slow. Given all this + my age should I try to change to continental..? I tried it - with predictably hilarious consequences - and when I went back to my old grip I couldn't do that either for a short while. I'm worried about getting stuck in no-man's land where I can't do either grip. Frying pan feels so natural to me whereas continental feels like my wrist is going to break. Thanks in advance :)

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

I hear you, it's a pain in the behind to change the grip. If changing the grip kills the joy of playing tennis it's not worth doing. A compromise could be to take a bit of pace off to get a higher first serve % and work extensively on the second serve placement so it's not as attackable. I've also had clients who used an "in-between" grip for the second serve to get more spin. As much as I would love for everyone to use the right grip yours is a situation where you might not get the results you want and then your whole game suffers.

[@NickNeras]

Thank you Real power of simplicity 👌🎾👍

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Thank you

[@1ashishrai]

Thank you so much Mieke Babel. This is very useful video. In each of your video, you cover every minute detail. This shows your experience. Please make a video on Kick serve too whenever you can. Thank you again.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Thank you for your kind words! I will put it on my list of videos to film.

[@deepseadiver8191]

Great video! Somewhere down the line (no pun intended) in my short recreational tennis experience, out of a struggle against waiter’s tray serve, I’ve developed a habit that was pointed out to me. My serve does not have waiter’s tray problem anymore but the side effect is that I exaggerate the pronation moment and stop the motion right after the contact, the racquet does not follow through. Kinda like in your practice serve at 9:48 in the video but pointed more up. If I were full of it I could say that Sampras also kinda used to keep the elbow up for a moment after the contact… but my serve is no Sampras like 😂. It frustrates the heck out of me because I can’t seem to control it, even though I’m now very aware of it. Basically, I’m trying to hit the ball as if I were trying to create a “snap!” sound with a whip. It does feel satisfying and produces decent pace but I know it is far from optimal. What drills do you recommend to break this muscle memory frustration? Thank you!

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

The only thing that I can think of is do the entire motion very slow (don’t hit a ball yet) and complete it. And then increase pace and eventually hit serves and continue to deliberately finish the motion. Even if there is a little lag in there. Eventually your brain will go “oh, that’s what you want me to do?”.

[@deepseadiver8191]

@@MeikeBabelTennis Thank you!

[@bmanbusee3812]

Good video. A coach suggesting to start at a lower elbow position and emphasizing “scratch the back”. Should I run away or no?😂

[@rucas10]

As always, another very good video ! Personally, I highly value the technical/tactical opinions given by someone who has actually played at the highest level. There's always something more and better that comes from the experience they've gained over the years they've played on the WTA/ATP Tour, like Meike Babel. I would love to take classes with you, but unfortunately I'm living in Portugal. Who knows if one day you won't come here and I'll make my dream come true.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Thank you so much! That is very nice to say. Portugal would be a dream destination for sure to hold some tennis camps.

[@rucas10]

@@MeikeBabelTennis It is indeed a great country to visit: good weather, hospitality, excellent food, beautiful beaches. As for the tennis courts, there aren't that many, namely where I live in Ericeira/Ribeira d'Ilhas, the spot that everyone looks for to surf. Although the tennis courts are not as many as i would like, there is always somewhere to play. If you think about traveling to these parts, you are invited!

[@luciasattzs3484]

Brilliant!

[@bournejason66]

These serve series have been very helpful. I also like that you keep stressing slice serve is not a carve the ball serve and still a pronation just like flat serve. So many misinformation out there.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Yup. At very low pace you can carve but the more you accelerate you lose control. So better to learn it right from the get go.

[@bournejason66]

@@MeikeBabelTennis I agree. But funny just today PM post his slice serve with Halep. He showed her how to carve the ball 🤷‍♂️

[@adambird9949]

Hi Meike, Thanks for the great advice. It’s so rare to see a professional looking serve at club level, but it’s so elegant when done properly. I’m determined to master it! I have a question regarding the direction in which I’m to swing my racket… I know it’s to go upwards to the ball, but should it also go outwards at an angle, or directly towards the target?

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

As you're swinging up to the ball you lead with the edge of the racket. And then depending on what serve you're hitting you turn the racket face to meet the ball. Do you mean going outwards at an angle after contact? Wherever your strings point when making contact is where the ball will go.

[@adambird9949]

@@MeikeBabelTennis Many thanks Meike. I was wondering about the direction the racket should travel towards the ball, pre-contact. But I realise now that this depends upon the toss, and I know where the toss is supposed to be! Thanks again for your response!

[@82301ac]

What is the cause of the grip "changing " or slipping during the serve motion?

[@practiquemos]

👏👏👏👏👏🌺🌺😌😌✨✨✨🎾🎾🎾 muchas gracias

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

De nada :-) Sorry, that's all the Spanish I have

[@practiquemos]

@@MeikeBabelTennis 😂 Perfecto

[@crsantin]

I’m going to be drawing that sword as part of my serve prep from now on. At the very least I’ll confuse my opponent 😂.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

A confused enemy is a weakened enemy :-)

[@mirthepeeters65]

En garde!!! 🤣

[@bournejason66]

From now on I’ll use the sword method to find my serve grip😁. To intimidate my opponent 😁

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Yes, and you have to make a "swoosh" sound as you draw it :-)

[@yakzivz1104]

I wish that I was taught the continental grip when I first started playing tennis. Once you learn an incorrect way of serving- it is so hard to learn the proper way and it hurts your game.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

Yes, absolutely. And it takes a lot of dedication by the player to go out and practice on their own as well.

[@buckyphillips6732]

The tennis serve is a crucial shot that can greatly impact your performance on the court. Learn it

[@nathanmiller6051]

🥇🙏

[@camlendrim7609]

Never heard of no woman’s land.

[@MeikeBabelTennis]

You learn something new every day :-)

[@yakzivz1104]

I have and I use it all the time.