The Most Insane "Kick Serves" in Tennis

[@cutie.patootie21211]

isners kick serve is underrated. Many people praise him for his power on a flat first serve, rightfuully so but his second serve kick is so high and wide

[@chamman9001]

helps being 6'10

[@dominiccalzetti]

Yeah and the same for opelka, the kick they would get was insane. It would be even better for them when they hit the kick serve short in the box, the ball would be up above head even when the returner was inside the court taking it early 😂😅

[@oldfrend]

he really shoulda used it more, esp. against deep returners like medvedev. the super bounce from that far back would make it really difficult to return. from his height he might've even been able to just bounce it into the stands.

[@Jason-tf4qw]

Yes, and ivo,Edverg....heard of him??

[@joemarshall4226]

@@oldfrend I think the answer to the deep returners should be to serve fro the double position or even wider….to get that wide angle, but still be able to curl it down the middle fro the ad court.

[@bernieatkins5182]

Of all the players, Federer had the best kick serve. Helped probably because his serve was very difficult to read. A serve to either side or one down the middle was almost identical in the action.

[@chillboi2923]

Glaze

Yeah and he was able to disguise the toss he could hit a kick serve of a first serve toss and a first serve of a second serve toss

@@chillboi2923 bro what he's one of the greatest

[@cks2020693]

kick serves are so underated, I wish ATP tours show both serve speed and spin RPM, fast serves are good tough with good placement, but a good kick serve is tough no matter where it lands

[@projectx5154]

They are not underated, they're just extremely hard to pull off. More so than a regular 200+ km/h ace

[@cks2020693]

@@projectx5154 crazy kicks like that yes, I'm more so talking about regular kick serves, like how Nadal serves slices on all of his serves

[@joemarshall4226]

@@cks2020693 A slice is not a kick serve. A kick serve takes of. in the opposite direction from a slice serve. I wish that when they showed serving stats, they would show service winners, rather than aces. It’ the more important stat. If you get a point by jamming th returner, it counts just as much as if you ace him.

[@rustem1404]

I wonder if the rest of us mortals should just practice them (rather than trying to emulate the pros with the flat first and topspin second - I mean, life is too short to be practicing both, especially to a high power and consistency that the flat actually gives a statistical advantage). Thoughts?

[@cks2020693]

@@rustem1404 if you only have time to practice 1 serve, practice your 2nd serve, because that's what's gonna keep you in the fight. a good second serve can be unreturnable too, something like a heavy kick or slice and easily set you up for a winner, you dont need to ace every serve to win a serve game

[@Magus.2d]

It's really impressive that djokovic returned that serve

[@nicolaswhitehouse3894]

Ridiculous tennis from both indeed

[@DepthCharge01]

The thing that stands out about Djokovic is that he's one of few players to really, almost fully maximize the usage of their length. His reach seems better than even someone like Isner.

[@Vajra1021]

@@DepthCharge01he said he does stretching & yoga to be flexible

[@DepthCharge01]

@@Vajra1021 I'm aware. I'm perhaps partially bewildered as to how some players don't follow in his footsteps to maximize their reach. It's clearly something that should be emulated.

[@ManuelPorcell-el9cx]

Because Novak had to go thru Rafa, Roger, Murray and other players do not have that experience…

[@nCode1]

I played tennis in college and went against an ex-national player in a tournament. I got beat soundly because of his cursed kick serve. Once he knew I had trouble with it, especially when it bounce high and wide to my back hand side, he started to serve kick serve all the way and toyed with me. Very demoralising and embarrassing loss. To this day, I think a good kick serve is the hardest shot in tennis to learn.

[@joemarshall4226]

There are two ways to return it….move in and block it on the rise, or move back and drive it when it comes back down…..you can’t stay in your normal position. David Ferrer handled Isner’s serve better than anyone, moving in and hitting winners off it.

[@garrusv]

Domi’s kick was a work of art. Match made in heaven for this ball striker.

[@jasonraff7232]

Missing some of Ben Shelton's absolutely nasty lefty kick serves.

[@Srbenda126]

Shelton, Fils and FAA are my least favorite players

[@user-wh7xs6jn3c]

⁠@@Srbenda126wtf did fils and FAA do. I get that Shelton isn’t the most likeable person but what did they do?

[@siolbieras1980]

Trueeee

[@colbyscott8545]

​@@user-wh7xs6jn3c he must not be a fan of dark skin

[@gaboro9925]

@@user-wh7xs6jn3ci think he just doesnt like ninjas

[@keithhayes844]

That Reilly Opelka serve at 0:22 is just filthy

[@srikanthprabhu3201]

Him without beard is even more impressive! Can’t believe he looked like that😅

[@Rory626]

Couldn't even recognise him without the hat ​@@srikanthprabhu3201

[@Bowl849]

How did he get side spin on it

[@bigrobsydney]

I dont think its been mentioned yet, so... What really interests ME, is that most players on tour are righty's, AND, most players have 2hbh's. So, the kick serve, especially to the ad court, when hit short, really carves up, and wide, making life VERY difficult for a righty with a 2hbh. Its a brilliant serve, and one that I encourage ALL of my students to try to maximise.

[@ksagstertohi6156]

It’s just really hard to understands how to strike the ball. After a few years and finally figuring it out, one realizes how utterly difficult the motion is to perform. It’s actually 2 problems that need to be overcome.

[@bigrobsydney]

@@ksagstertohi6156 I think it comes down to the coach. If you have a good coach,.they can explain the motion well. Now that you know it, can you see how you would explain it to someone else?

[@andrewqi7404]

alcaraz learned this and even against djokovic it works insanely well

[@user-shumaru0628]

0:47 most insane kick

[@cosplaytimecapsule]

That Opelka serve was unreal

[@jonofromtheblock]

Roger's kick-serve ace v Djokovic at 2019 Tour Finals was something special

[@gddfhjiufcv]

Why does Pablo Cuevas just hit different in everything he tries to do? His career highlight reel rivals anyone

[@cincotennisacademy]

Federer was most effective because he did not need to adjust his position on the court to make it effective

[@thebigmonstaandy6644]

Juan Balcels had even better kick

[@natthegreat9356]

Even though Federer was one of the best servers of all time,he should've use the kicker more often... Like at 40-15 in Wimbledon 😢

[@MEZOMEZO2011]

​@@natthegreat9356eh, it happens

[@MarthaHerz]

Indeed, Federer's sense of movement and position is excellent, and he always hits the ball in the most effective position. This natural adaptability really makes him perform at ease on the court.

[@abosaleh3318]

Alcaraz is the new king of kick serves

[@VARMOT123]

Not really. Shelton and hurkacz have nasty kick serves

[@coquillage8211]

I like these compilations of specific shots, before the wave of copyright strikes they were a lot of specific compilations, like Djokovic short cross court forehands for example

[@insoniacv1329]

the wide kick in the ad court is easily one of the most fun serves to go for

[@webtennis24]

Use an eastern backhand grip for more topspin/kick on the serve. Raonic shows it in this video.

[@dominiccalzetti]

Yeah amazing shots. The raonic one I always loved much, he'd get so many easy volleys just strolling into the net when he hit that one right 😂.. i think the big servers should use it more, like shelton's kick is amazing too, he should use it more, especially when clay comes around.

[@MatthewBluefox]

Roger Federer nearly never grunted, but when he did grunt, it was only to get that kick on his second surf. :)

[@MikeAG333]

(serve)

[@turdferguson2]

It gets overshadowed by his 1st serve but Roddick had a pretty brutal kick serve

[@Tennismania359]

Bro really kicked that ball 20 meters in the air💀

[@Atombender]

Opelka's serve looks like something straight out of Top Spin 4.

[@christiantosumbung5791]

Where is Greg Rusedski in all of this? And Patrick Rafter? The kick those 2 had consistently was quite amazing to watch.

[@zetristan4525]

👍👍 Yes, once saw tall-ish Srichaphan having to hit a "backhand overhead" to return the Rusedski kicker.

[@marcgrondin65]

I would like to add Edberg to that last .. with his unusual wind-up .. he had quite a bit of speed on top of it all.

[@Jason-tf4qw]

Edberg, Becker 2nd serve,

[@Jason-tf4qw]

​@@marcgrondin65😊

[@4zafinc]

These are videos from 00s

[@nothosaur]

3:10 Novak Djokovic is 6'2" tall. That serve bounced about one foot over his head.

[@_.Madness._]

This is why I play table tennis.

[@markmauk8231]

Dude's toss motion at 3:05 looks exactly like Fernando Gonzalez'.

[@bryantsherman7263]

I like to add the short serve trailing off the court on the deuce side to this. The shot doesn't have to be hit hard but is a major pain to return. I have hit this shot where my opponent was running into the fence. Even if it is returned, the whole court is opened up.

[@pudimdecana51]

Nice video. Time to update it to include João Fonseca’s massive top spin/kick serve in Estoril 2024 against Sonego.

[@lancesteveson3363]

I think opelkas kick is the most ferocious of all of them

[@ScorpionVonScotts600]

I haven’t played in 40 years. God I miss the game. That being said I once hit a service that shot left almost 90 degrees yet there was no rock or obstruction on the court. We stood there for 10 minutes trying to figure out what the hell just happened lol.

[@denizguler2942]

If kick serve is very effective, why is it not used that often by players?

[@Enigmaprince]

I just have one question. Im no expert or anything but I was wondering how come they dont jump like diagonal to get more reach with the ball when they know its gonna be bouncing quite high?

[@ER1CwC]

I find Thiem-Fognini hilarious.

[@rickc661]

I wish they'd standardize on equipment, to some extent. not gonna go back to woodies, obviously. but string composition, weave patterns etc could be set > like wooden bats - I think wood bats are a very good thing for MLB

[@margenov]

Those are some Prince of tennis ( anime ) level serves

[@brodiestephens419]

Can anyone who's knowledgeable tell me the technique to hit a kick serve? I haven't been playing tennis for long, but I've played just about every other sport and I'm a biomechanics nerd. I love learning new techniques and skills, so I'm really keen to master a killer kick serve. If it's too clunky to explain in written text, can anyone recommend a KZbinr who is good at explaining technique details?

[@quentincrisp6933]

However we rarely see these serves on a consistent basis. Many of these incredible serves are by chance‼

[@johanjonasson4188]

I think Fognini's return was more impressive than the serve actually.

[@ItzakShylock]

What about joao fonseca last day against sonego?

[@haljam8828]

Is this tour full time career? Do tou make enough from video to do it full time?

[@DaddyBDP]

it looks like a lot of them are out.

[@vincenzovalvano]

00:48, Fognini does the kick, Thiem does the serve ;)

[@zetristan4525]

Should have ended this video with "Spin!"🌀 instead of "Pace!"✌️

[@rastaman2722]

If this serve is so effective, why don't players use it all the time???

[@soundar4270]

Pat Rafter was (is) the only specialist in Kick-serve. What a player, Pat Rafter, a tenacious Australian. You missed Wimbledon 2000 final against Pete Sampras by hair's breath. You (Pat Rafter) demotivated yourself after loosing to Sampras in Wimbledon 2000 final & spoiled your carrier. You (Pat Rafter) could have dominated & won 5 more GS during the transition period between 2000 - 2004 if you kept your composure within you

[@Creees]

3:37 this shows its harder for a two hander backhand to hit high balls

[@johnandersson8258]

I'm a big fan of the one-handed backhand, but no. No.

[@vincenttran5920]

lol no if djokovic commited to a slice instead he would have no trouble. i think he misjudege the spin and try to drive it back since its a 2nd serve

[@andrewqi7404]

one handed backed would be even worse, slice is by far the best here

[@pitbullhab]

If it is so effective, why do not serve eberybody this way and always?

[@kchuk1965]

To be really effective they have to be hit close to the line. Plus in the ad court the ball should land near the sideline but not near the service line to get the extreme angles. It’s a tight window which their not going to hit that often especially on second serves.

[@ER1CwC]

@camilofajardo6132 A kick serve is actually a safer, which is why it is typically used as a second serve. The risky part is aiming at the outside of the line though.

[@ilips6588]

It's one of the hardest shots in tennis..paul, alcaraz and shelton use it on a regular basis though.

[@zeddeka]

Interesting how so few women over the years have developed the kick serve.

[@martinandersson3827]

Stefan Edberg

[@Rory626]

2.16m bounce on the serve is fucking ridiculous

[@jeffrey3498]

Why can't these players hit kick serves like that every time? Seems like luck to me.

[@SSJBen]

Not a single one from the god of kickers Sampras?

[@RoniariPrayudi]

OpelkA sefuul mlintiRrr

[@shabzone]

The ones where they are standing way left from center are not that impressive. That's just angles.

[@galapalafala]

I wouldn't call a lot of these kick serves as much as I would call them an American twist. The american twist puts more spin in the opposite direction as a slice.

[@Seanwickenden]

those don't bounce nearly as high

[@teka5509]

Pfft, nothing compares to Edberg.

[@toptenguy1]

Kick serves should be banned/outlawed from tennis. (Note: I am just bitter and jealous because I do not have one, and I can never return the ones I receive) :)

[@raytrace2014]

Some these are hitting the line or maybe a clod of clay and kicking up extra high. We've all played matches where our own serve or our opponents kicks up freakishly because it's contacted the line or something on the court.

[@mightbefire]

Nothing impressive about a 6'10" guy hitting a "kick" serve. It's just them hitting down on the serve.

[@Simon_Jakle__almost_real_name]

This video isn't tenious at all.

[@RoniariPrayudi]

OpelkA

[@SamW-jp3bc]

Poor selection of videos

[@KubiCash-pi5sy]

❤

[@everettgilniere7611]

hello first

[@Ronald_Langa]

sincerilly, i give u dislike only couse u talk on the beggining of the video.... the title its enougth man, why u talk?