Is this really a kick serve?

[lauren2009]

Or maybe I should ask if it's an effective kick serve?

Look at the 6 minute mark to skip lots of talk and get to the kick serves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qgs0qP3O-o&feature=player_embedded

Later in the video, from a sideview, you can see he's serving in a way that almost creates a topspin lob angle. The ball trajectory climbs way up before it comes down and bounces high off the court.

When I tried recreating those types of kicks, I had no problem recreating the high bounces even if I didn't try imparting much topspin.

I just think those kick serves are so slow that you can almost runaround them and blast away with your forehand.

[uspta146749877]

What is a purpose of a serve?

Or maybe I should ask if it's an effective kick serve?

Look at the 6 minute mark to skip lots of talk and get to the kick serves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qgs0qP3O-o&feature=player_embedded

Later in the video, from a sideview, you can see he's serving in a way that almost creates a topspin lob angle. The ball trajectory climbs way up before it comes down and bounces high off the court.

When I tried recreating those types of kicks, I had no problem recreating the high bounces even if I didn't try imparting much topspin.

I just think those kick serves are so slow that you can almost runaround them and blast away with your forehand.

Hi,
you are dealing with a question:
is a purpose of a serve is JUST to get a ball in or
does it have to be a weapon?

julian mielniczuk
uspta certified pro 27873 juliantennis@comcast.net

https://www.julianmielniczuk.usptapro.com

Courtside Tennis Club,Bedford,MA

PS I do NOT recommend a serve motion showed at 7:50 of a video

[rosheem]

Wow.

That is quite possibly the worst piece of instructional video I have ever seen.

Everything he is teaching is wrong. Unless you plan on playing tennis while sitting in a chair, I don't see anything valuable in that video at all.

You are right...anyone can get the ball to bounce high when it's dropping from a 50-foot-high arc.

[uspta990770809]

What is a 2nd serve supposed to do

The primary goal of a second serve is to start the point safely without being at a disadvantage. If you have a great second serve, you can even have the edge in the point.

Why would you even look at video clips like this until you have totally read, studied and digested some of the stuff you have right here on this site. You may dicker on some details in Chris Lewitt's series on the kick serve, but his thorough analysis and development of a philosophy as well as the supporting video clips is the reason we use this site. It puts everything else to shame.

Check Chris's articles starting with

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/classiclessons/chris_lewit/keys_to_the_kick/keys_to_the_kick_page1.html

Don't waste your time on stuff like this.

don

[10splayer]

Couldn't get past the short shorts. No comment.

[bottle]

Another Take

This may not be the way to go, Lauren, but it's fabulously interesting, so I thank you for bringing it to our attention.

I too am a fan of Chris Lewit, but he has a long list of things that might have gone wrong in one's kicky attempts at kick which include not getting as much loose speed and direction out of one's wrist as Ron Waite does here. He's all wrist, nothing else!

Sure, it would be a dreadful mistake to toss where Mr. Waite does or to emulate his motion unless one had the exact same set of physical ailments.

But nobody said that Mr. Waite was under pressure to produce the perfect template for teaching kick serves once and for all. And the critic of his shorts
obviously wasn't listening when he told why he had five balls in each pocket.

I'm more a believer in stealing from wherever you can and think that Tom Waits is cool, too, and that tennistas should loosen up more than their wristas.

[uspta146749877]

Are you saying that ...

This may not be the way to go, Lauren, but it's fabulously interesting, so I thank you for bringing it to our attention.

I too am a fan of Chris Lewit, but he has a long list of things that might have gone wrong in one's kicky attempts at kick which include not getting as much loose speed and direction out of one's wrist as Ron Waite does here. He's all wrist, nothing else!

Sure, it would be a dreadful mistake to toss where Mr. Waite does or to emulate his motion unless one had the exact same set of physical ailments.

But nobody said that Mr. Waite was under pressure to produce the perfect template for teaching kick serves once and for all. And the critic of his shorts
obviously wasn't listening when he told why he had five balls in each pocket.

I'm more a believer in stealing from wherever you can and think that Tom Waits is cool, too, and that tennistas should loosen up more than their wristas.

Your quote "I'm more a believer in stealing whenever you can"
Are you saying that Ron Waite has stolen FIVE balls?
I am going to report you to USPTR.