Flat Serve ? is it the right Teaching Terme ??

[Guest]

Dear John

with your great article on Sampras and Rusedski first serve can we continue tu usa the term of "Flat Serve" ?? we see that there is s great spin on each first serve

then can we find another teaching term for this type of serve??

cheers
Yves

[johnyandell]

How about "flatter," or "relatively flat" or just "first serve" ?

[yves]

Dear John,

thanks for your reply

as you know the more precise the term is giving to the brain, the more we learn, and the more the brain can can visualise the action and trajectories of the ball

then the term Flat for me is not true ,because the balle have a big rotation ,
and I think the term Flat mean for player no spin and no rotation ( you said thet there is a mix of side and topspin in the first serve adn second serve )

what you think about the term for the first serve ???
_ semi spin ; demi spin; straigt spin ;

cheers
Yves

[johnyandell]

I don't think of that way. It's all relative. So I think of it in terms of speed/spin balance and also topspin/sidespin balance.

When a player hits the ball flatter that is his "flat" serve or flatest. I like to look at the ball position at toss and how that affects the sidespin topspin balance.

I think the terms coaches use should be personal and whatever works for you that refers to the facts is the way you should go yourself.