by far the best video on the serve, been scouring youtube for a good tutorial but none explain it as well as this one, especially the part about letting the racket drop towards your back as you unwind, that made a huge difference for me.
best serving video to date. broke it down well, and explained in an easy to understand manner. Many folks teach well and even more play tennis well. But very few have both characteristics. Nice Job, Andy!
Very clear instructions. I enjoyed watching the video a lot! As soon as the snow clears up enough, I'll be sure to come back to this video, and then try to put some, if not all, of this to use!
This is the best video yet for how to serve. Still, the old addaggio is true: "those who can't do teach" and this young gentleman most certainly CAN. :) So his teaching is more or less flat. He explains ok the toss, the get into position but that crucial part where you're supposed to explode into the ball - that's well - exploded. He can't tell you how he serves since he does so unconsciously. This is a common trait with all natural gifted athletes. Like "Carl Lewis, how do you ran so fast?" "Well...I just hit the road and bam! Fastest!" Well...we, the normal ones want someone of you gifted guys to actually care enough to write a book about the "bam!" moment. We get the rest of the stuff. :)
@RazorSharpTM, Thanks for the feedback. I realize everyone can "explode" up into the ball only as much as their body allows them to, but here's a few tips that I think everyone can do. First, be sure to use your legs. Load them in the loading phase of the serve and push up as best you can to get as much energy up into the ball as possible. Secondly, be sure to reach up high and make contact at full extension. Lastly, stay loose and relaxed, and don't try to muscle your serve. By keeping a relaxed arm and wrist you'll maximize swing speed while also reducing the risk of injury. Hopefully that helps explain the "exploding" phase up into the ball. Andy, TW
:o i wish I saw this video earlier. No wounder why I couldn't get a consistent serve, the way I gripped my racquet was wrong.... this video helped so much!
I’ll leave this note for beginners. He mentioned the phrase “wrist snap” in connection with making contact during the serve. Pretend he did not say that. If you think about snapping your wrist though the ball on your serve, you will be in big trouble. You will lose accuracy and drive the ball into the net. Watch what he actually does, and notice how little wrist movement there is through the contact area.
Well, that's a lot to think about. Of course, there's plenty of time to reflect on all of it while your opponent is waiting for you to bounce the damn ball 7 TIMES! OCD?
This is awesome, I'm wondering, is it possible to activate the subtitles or close caption option in your videos' there is a lot of words I couldn't understand, with this feature I think it can be really usefull for your international suscribers to have an idea of the words your coaches are using in the clips
Great video, Andy. Your serve is so fluid and without any hitch- kinda like the pretty and simple motion Brian Baker uses. Question: why do you step forward with your left foot when tossing? I notice some guys like Safin and Haas doing that. Does it help with tossing consistently? It's really windy here in chicago, so my high toss isn't conducive to comfortable serving especially since most of the courts I hit on are near the lake- I've been trying for the past 2 months to lower it.
Allan M Back in high school without proper training or correct technique, I used to hit the ball just above my head with my racquet to the side! I also angled my racquet like an eastern grip and could hit the ball extremely hard with a ton of top spin. I used this on my 2nd serve & everyone couldn't believe how ridiculous it was. Of course, I was a lot younger & not prone to injury like I am today, so be careful.
Funny, He says the ball toss should be around 12:00 but in the opening segment he toss is nowhere near 12:00. The first thing I thought to myself is he tosses very far to the right. Haha. It's all good though. He has a nice serve and teaches it well.
Thanks for the awesome explanation, but I have one question. For the jumping part of the serve, how far am I legally able to jump onto the court? Because I find myself jumping onto the court a lot further than you did when you served. Thanks ;]
kernelzown , You can jump as far into the court as you want as long as your foot doesn't land before you make contact with the ball. Your feet have to stay behind the baseline or else it's a foot fault, but you can certainly jump in the air as your swinging and making contact to give yourself some extra leverage and power. Andy, TW
Hi Andy, THANK YOU so very much for this wonderful tutorial! I've always wanted to practice your motion & serve as you have the most awesome form and powerful serve I've ever seen..just incredible! Question, please. At 4:26, you mentioned to have racquet by your ear... However, the entire time you're drawing a circle as soon as you toss the ball? For example, at 5:55 your racquet immediately goes down to complete a circle and never do you have your racquet by your ear. Could you please explain? Thank you and please keep up the great work! Please put up more serve videos!!!
@ John Chin, Thank you for the kind words! As you described, the racquet kind of makes a circle behind me as I start my service motion. The "ending point" of this circle/loading phase is to get into your "trophy position", which is where your racquet should be by your ear. I don't ever really stop in that spot as part of my motion, but many people will pause at this position to load up and then explode into the ball. Often times people think they want to have their racquet scratching their back in the trophy position, but this is a common mistake. Andy, TW
Thank you andy! Every time i load up i have the rackethead between my shoulders... Maybe you can explain what the difference is between the flat and the topspin serve? Thanks! And greetings from the Netherlands.
Andy, you've got a really nice blend of spin and power on your kick serve in the playtest videos. How do u do it? Every time I try hitting my kick serve harder, it turns into a slice serve. Lol
@Harry Wang, Make sure your service toss for your kick serve would land on your head if you don't catch it or hit it. Normally, we want to toss the ball into the court a bit more, but for a kick serve you want to toss it a little further back so that you can brush up the back of the ball. Give that a try and see if it works! Andy, TW
I use an eastern grip; don't know how people can use a continental. I always end up slicing the ball with the continental grip. Any tips on how not to do that?
Syvmana , It just takes practice. Really make sure you're pronating your wrist at contact to get a little less slice. A good drill to do is to stand right next to the fence, toss the ball up right along side it and trap the ball against the fence at your contact point with your racquet using the continental grip. This will help you learn the proper pronation at contact. Andy, TW
great video but you miss half of the process. you should demonstrate how to hit the ball. like i learn just yestersday how to hit it right after all you explained. i mean the angle and motion you have to do when you enter the contact zone
Never played tennis in my life but it looks cool and I'm doing this tennis job in the summer so what should I learn first. I'm very athletic and a quick learn so how long would it take me to be a least alright at it
***** i'm only play tennis for 6 months but the first thing you should do are: Holding the racket correctly => control your power => forehand and backhand => topspin so you can go full force => and a general serve. after that, you can play a simple match
Damn that court is nice
+Anthony N except there's a basketball rim on it
Yea..THIS ISNT A BASKETBALL COURT JOHN..DONT PUT THAT THERE!!
Anthony Win I
Basketball rim doesn’t matter. It sucks that there are no hard courts in my area, but clay courts are pretty good.
Andy: "You don't want the ball to spin when you throw it"
*throws ball
*ball spins
5 minute how-to on the most time consuming practice-worthy form in Tennis
That wasn’t nearly enough spin to have a negative effect on the serve. Good luck tossing without spinning the ball at all. Doubt you can do it.
Drinking game: every time andy says explode, everyone takes a tequila shot
@luis castro,
That's a recipe for disaster.
Andy, TW
Hahahaha
Alcohol poisoning
i remember himym in this haha
Lol
damn that is a nice court
+Ad Addv except or the basketball rim
+Rick Martin damn that is a nice court
by far the best video on the serve, been scouring youtube for a good tutorial but none explain it as well as this one, especially the part about letting the racket drop towards your back as you unwind, that made a huge difference for me.
best serving video to date. broke it down well, and explained in an easy to understand manner. Many folks teach well and even more play tennis well. But very few have both characteristics. Nice Job, Andy!
Andy your the man, I took your advice and my service is a weapon 😎
EXPLODE. INTO. THE. BALL.
lol how many times did he say explode into the ball XD
he said it cuz its important thats why so much
+Jake Vick 28
+Jake Vick 7
Very clear instructions. I enjoyed watching the video a lot! As soon as the snow clears up enough, I'll be sure to come back to this video, and then try to put some, if not all, of this to use!
This is the best video yet for how to serve. Still, the old addaggio is true: "those who can't do teach" and this young gentleman most certainly CAN. :) So his teaching is more or less flat. He explains ok the toss, the get into position but that crucial part where you're supposed to explode into the ball - that's well - exploded. He can't tell you how he serves since he does so unconsciously. This is a common trait with all natural gifted athletes. Like "Carl Lewis, how do you ran so fast?" "Well...I just hit the road and bam! Fastest!" Well...we, the normal ones want someone of you gifted guys to actually care enough to write a book about the "bam!" moment. We get the rest of the stuff. :)
@RazorSharpTM,
Thanks for the feedback. I realize everyone can "explode" up into the ball only as much as their body allows them to, but here's a few tips that I think everyone can do. First, be sure to use your legs. Load them in the loading phase of the serve and push up as best you can to get as much energy up into the ball as possible. Secondly, be sure to reach up high and make contact at full extension. Lastly, stay loose and relaxed, and don't try to muscle your serve. By keeping a relaxed arm and wrist you'll maximize swing speed while also reducing the risk of injury. Hopefully that helps explain the "exploding" phase up into the ball.
Andy, TW
A very nice and concise explanation of the basics of the serve. One of the best tennis videos I’ve seen on the stroke actually. How about a part 2?
Gives me the inspiration to keep working on my serve with all these great tips. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing with us, Andy!
Did ur serve get good over the 8 years
I never thought about the racquet being near the head part. I can't wait to try this tomorrow!
I used to use the step-up style, but I switched to the platform because it's less stress on my joints, feels more natural, and helps me balance more.
Really very helpful for beginners
Wow! This is word by word how I teach serve to young players. Great job! Every player should watch this video!
Thank you Tennis Warehouse, this video is very helpful!
I miss Andy. He was by far the best member of the TW staff
Very well explained. I'm going to send this link to a few of my friends who are always asking me how to serve better.
Very clear and comprehensive instructions, thank you!
Andrew Jackson
Very, very nice explanation!!
Congratulations!
Thanks for this lesson.... Because my serve is bad then i learned here and i do it better.... Thanks!
As always, another great video by Tennis Warehouse. #1 source for tennis information/product information and reviews!
Thanks for the info. I apply these tips in my serve and it go better. The continental grip makes a difference !
this series of teaching guide is very useful!!! plz do some more,like drop shot & slice …etc
This is the best on you tube so far. Sounds like a manly man from America. Deal with it.
that was a good instructional video, thanks for providing it.
This video helped me out so much! I'm just starting out and can already see the difference. Thanks a lot
:o i wish I saw this video earlier. No wounder why I couldn't get a consistent serve, the way I gripped my racquet was wrong.... this video helped so much!
Wish you guys had these videos earlier! Thanks for the tips.
I’ll leave this note for beginners.
He mentioned the phrase “wrist snap” in connection with making contact during the serve.
Pretend he did not say that. If you think about snapping your wrist though the ball on your serve, you will be in big trouble. You will lose accuracy and drive the ball into the net.
Watch what he actually does, and notice how little wrist movement there is through the contact area.
Very useful! Thanks tennis warehouse!!
What a beautiful court.
About time you guys putting on the coaching hat. =)
He makes it look so easy!
a lot of tips tht i missed out, thanks for the vid
Amazing serve motion , thanks tennis warehouse !
Perfect video for a noob like me. 11/10🎾
Cool. Useful stuff. Loads of good basic pointers.
Thanks ... Video is Really helpful 😁
Are you guys going to do more of these type of videos maybe learn how to slice serve, kick serve, or how to serve and volley etc.?
Okay guys lets explode up into the ball lol 💣☝🎾
great video - thank you for sharing!
Great video and explaination of the serve
This clip is very useful, thank for teaching, bro
Great, helpful tips. Thanks, Andy.
thanks
it's really helpful and easy to understand
great as always, Andy
Thank you for this excellent tutorial!
Dude, that was a great !!...well done and very thorough..thanks
this video really helps (:!
Overall pretty good explanation. 4:50-5:10 was nice.
best simple explanation on youtube
and yes explode is a very good action word when explaining advanced serve techniques
fantastic instruction, thank u very much!
Good teaching video, thank you
Good points and good tips, thanks ! It helps.
I did not know that. Thanks for posting the video!
Well, that's a lot to think about. Of course, there's plenty of time to reflect on all of it while your opponent is waiting for you to bounce the damn ball 7 TIMES! OCD?
Love the new series TW! Top notch how to on the serve Andy!
This is awesome, I'm wondering, is it possible to activate the subtitles or close caption option in your videos' there is a lot of words I couldn't understand, with this feature I think it can be really usefull for your international suscribers to have an idea of the words your coaches are using in the clips
nice court mate!
good lesson
very good demo!
Great video, Andy. Your serve is so fluid and without any hitch- kinda like the pretty and simple motion Brian Baker uses. Question: why do you step forward with your left foot when tossing? I notice some guys like Safin and Haas doing that. Does it help with tossing consistently?
It's really windy here in chicago, so my high toss isn't conducive to comfortable serving especially since most of the courts I hit on are near the lake- I've been trying for the past 2 months to lower it.
Allan M Back in high school without proper training or correct technique, I used to hit the ball just above my head with my racquet to the side! I also angled my racquet like an eastern grip and could hit the ball extremely hard with a ton of top spin. I used this on my 2nd serve & everyone couldn't believe how ridiculous it was. Of course, I was a lot younger & not prone to injury like I am today, so be careful.
VERY HELPFUL. THANKS
Great information many thanks
Great help! Thank you.
thanks for your help
Great vid Andy. Appreciated
Thanks a lot for the video!
Funny, He says the ball toss should be around 12:00 but in the opening segment he toss is nowhere near 12:00. The first thing I thought to myself is he tosses very far to the right. Haha. It's all good though. He has a nice serve and teaches it well.
thanks for the tips
Excellent, thanks!
Thanks for your reply and one more question that the grip used in it is a hammer grip so what will be the continental grip???
@Akshatraj Gupta,
Your continental grip should be the same grip that you would use to hold and use a hammer.
Andy, TW
thanks for this video.
Thanks for the awesome explanation, but I have one question. For the jumping part of the serve, how far am I legally able to jump onto the court? Because I find myself jumping onto the court a lot further than you did when you served. Thanks ;]
kernelzown ,
You can jump as far into the court as you want as long as your foot doesn't land before you make contact with the ball. Your feet have to stay behind the baseline or else it's a foot fault, but you can certainly jump in the air as your swinging and making contact to give yourself some extra leverage and power.
Andy, TW
Thanks for clearing it up!
Omg. That's the eastern grip you show us!
Hi Andy,
THANK YOU so very much for this wonderful tutorial! I've always wanted to practice your motion & serve as you have the most awesome form and powerful serve I've ever seen..just incredible!
Question, please. At 4:26, you mentioned to have racquet by your ear... However, the entire time you're drawing a circle as soon as you toss the ball? For example, at 5:55 your racquet immediately goes down to complete a circle and never do you have your racquet by your ear. Could you please explain? Thank you and please keep up the great work! Please put up more serve videos!!!
@ John Chin,
Thank you for the kind words! As you described, the racquet kind of makes a circle behind me as I start my service motion. The "ending point" of this circle/loading phase is to get into your "trophy position", which is where your racquet should be by your ear. I don't ever really stop in that spot as part of my motion, but many people will pause at this position to load up and then explode into the ball. Often times people think they want to have their racquet scratching their back in the trophy position, but this is a common mistake.
Andy, TW
Thank you andy! Every time i load up i have the rackethead between my shoulders... Maybe you can explain what the difference is between the flat and the topspin serve? Thanks! And greetings from the Netherlands.
Great video.
Thanks , nice video
thanks so much this really helped kep it up
Andyyyy you are my favourite!!!
Andy, you've got a really nice blend of spin and power on your kick serve in the playtest videos. How do u do it? Every time I try hitting my kick serve harder, it turns into a slice serve. Lol
@Harry Wang,
Make sure your service toss for your kick serve would land on your head if you don't catch it or hit it. Normally, we want to toss the ball into the court a bit more, but for a kick serve you want to toss it a little further back so that you can brush up the back of the ball. Give that a try and see if it works!
Andy, TW
Tennis Warehouse Thanks!
Thanks,nice video
Andy is a junior in this video. He was 12 at the time of filming.
I use an eastern grip; don't know how people can use a continental. I always end up slicing the ball with the continental grip. Any tips on how not to do that?
Syvmana ,
It just takes practice. Really make sure you're pronating your wrist at contact to get a little less slice. A good drill to do is to stand right next to the fence, toss the ball up right along side it and trap the ball against the fence at your contact point with your racquet using the continental grip. This will help you learn the proper pronation at contact.
Andy, TW
***** ,
Unfortunately, it takes a little more than knowing a couple quick tips to be ranked as one of the ten best players in the world ;-).
Andy, TW
Thanks for this
thanks
thanks for advice
thanks for advice
great video but you miss half of the process. you should demonstrate how to hit the ball. like i learn just yestersday how to hit it right after all you explained. i mean the angle and motion you have to do when you enter the contact zone
Wow really helpful!
Never played tennis in my life but it looks cool and I'm doing this tennis job in the summer so what should I learn first. I'm very athletic and a quick learn so how long would it take me to be a least alright at it
***** i'm only play tennis for 6 months but the first thing you should do are: Holding the racket correctly => control your power => forehand and backhand => topspin so you can go full force => and a general serve. after that, you can play a simple match
Excellent!
Thank you
can you make more im learning how to p.s im 8 and learning how too do it
what type of serve is this? a kick, slice, or flat?
great video!!