Tossing the Ball into the Service Swing

[@kathybolger4819]

Dear Jim, Thank you so much for your time and reply! I can't tell you how much this means to me. I have always loved tennis ,yet growing up it was always football, basketball .In 1971 I entered college and they offered free pants and socks if you would join their tennis program. From there I was hooked.I can remember watching Arthur Ashe and Guillermo on the clay courts in Louisville Ky early in their careers.I began my teaching in high school in Highlands , NJ. Once again they needed anyone to coach their Tennis team. None of my students even played. At best I was a beginner.Never having the money to take lessons I would watch tennis on t.v.. I even recorded Vic Braden on PBS for my students to watch and learn.I managed to get an instructors job for children at Sea Bright Lawn and Tennis Grass courts.Some of the greats actually played there at one time or another. I would look and admire at the photos on the wall. I have always tried to pick up tips in order to bring back to my students. To make a long story short I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your passion for the game of tennis. I do not know if you realize how many people you have touched with your great style for teaching tennis to others. Thank you again!

[@eddy147Tennis]

Nice thought! It makes so much sense. A lower placement of the ball for the serve increases the timing a lot. Thx.

[@jamesmurphy2304]

Coach... terrific tip concerning the toss and swing.

[@JPMcLennan]

Thanks

[@tensforme]

Absolutely agree Jim. Toss the ball into your serve. It's the way I was taught in the mid 70s and then a bunch of coaches came along and tried to change things. For example,"jumping" into the serve, landing on your RIGHT foot. Not the left. I had a coach who taught this because he saw a magazine picture of Borg doing it. Now everyone hops on their right foot but I'm wondering if it's necessary to hop at all on the serve. Just keep the feet still, like a golfer. You don't see pro golfers hopping into the shot or major league baseball players for goodness sake!

[@tensforme]

***** I'd like to upload my serve and have you take a look at it. Biggest room for improvement in my game is the serve.Thanks Jim.

[@swalterstennis]

No. Since the late 1980’s, EVERYONE jumps and lands on their left foot (if they’re right handed), not their right (back foot). You need a little leg push off and that means a small jump. There’s a couple speed and control benefits to getting airborn in the serve. More go in, and at a higher speed with more spin. It’s good to be taller. And jumping a little gets the server taller and closer to the target. Just land on the from front door, like ALL college players and pros.

[@drbonesshow1]

There are three basic groups of tennis people: (1) Those that simply don’t know any better, (2) Those that don’t know any better, but are willing to learn and (3) Those that strictly do not want to know any better.

[@swalterstennis]

Great tips but Jim, it was 1961 that the rule to stay on the ground while serving was changed. Borg learned after that as did Ashe for the most part. I spent a week with Michael Chang in 1989 just before he won the French and he landed on his back foot. He changed it soon after that. Early his pro career Agassi also landed on the back foot before changing it. Great tips though. I agree.

[@jimmclennan2234]

Thanks - and quite a dialogue about jumping and if so where to land and on which foot Jim

[@newmennium]

I was always taught to hit at the apex of the ball toss. Now I'm discovering with the way the game has progressed, that even Federer's ball toss drops a few inches before contact. I believe this is due to the more extreme loading phase players need to hit with more power. So like many tips back when... it's just not gospel anymore.

[@TheAmazeer]

Serve is a hole process where pronation is the goal to reach, master your pronation first, then you will feel how to balance the body , good piece of advice on the timing anyway thanks Jim..

[@kingarthurusatenniscoach1415]

Vic Braden got it right I coach his methods

[@drbonesshow1]

There are useful aspects of the higher toss that you have failed to realize. As a physics professor, I can shed light on these favorable features of the higher toss.

[@swalterstennis]

I’m a highly educated USPTA Elite, PTR, former ATP traveling coach, 35-year teaching pro and sectional champion player, and I believe I know the three benefits of a higher toss: 1. The ball has more speed on it at contact (it falls from a higher distance) 2. The server has more time to judge whether or not to “go after“ the toss and decide to hit it. On a low toss, phasers are “locked on target”, so to speak and it’s hard to abort the serve and just let a bad toss bounce. 3. The server has more time to load up the legs and hip/torso/shoulder coil. That being said, I believe players should toss as low as they can and still accomplish the second and third if those two reasons. I think the higher speed of the dropping ball is not worth the risk. The second reason, however, may not come into play very often, a low tosses are rarely off target. I vote for a lower toss. The #1 problem with peoples serves is that they pause in a waitress or backscratch position and a lower toss will immedi angel help that problem. So will staggering the arms, having the racket arm lag behind the tossing arm a little. Then there’s no time to stop the momentum and wait in something other than “salute” or “trophy” position. I’m still learning. What are your thoughts you guys?

[@drbonesshow1]

@@swalterstennis It's good to be highly educated or at least Haile Selassie (that's an old standby in humor). As a physics professor, most tennis folks tend to feel that I'm over-educated to be suggesting to them that physics is useful to their sport. There is something that you did not consider in your analysis, which I would be surprised if you did being associated with a tennis teaching group such as the USPTA. Can you guess what it might be? A hint: It involves rotational dynamics of the ball in a quite simple yet effective way. While you are mulling that over; here I'm "teasing" the USPTA President John Embree in the NY Times: www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/sports/tennis/don-mueller-rackets.html

[@kingarthurusatenniscoach1415]

As Vic Braden says the ball stays in the window of the hitting area longer Go to my channel and see the Braden Maths Jim speaks semnse.. I am not a college guy I work on empirical methods