How to Hit a Topspin Serve - A Simple Kick Serve Progression
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Avoid hitting double faults by hitting an effective topspin tennis serve. If you want to develop a kick serve you must be able to execute a topspin serve first!
Master the Kick Serve in 20 Mins. Get your free video tutorial by Tom Allsopp at tpatennis.com/...
I (Tom Allsopp) demonstrate the steps to execute a topspin serve. The older I get the more I use this serve, rather than hitting a kick serve. I can get more pace and ball movement with topspin. First you need to be able to get a slice serve with a throwing motion. Second step is to slice upwards to arch the ball over the net.
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When I hit a Kick I try to get straight up the ball and eliminate all slice. I will get across the ball to some degree as you cannot go 6 to 12 o'clock. This makes it Kick to the side. The serve in this video has both slice and topspin. It's safe, moves around, has more pace, and is easier to hit now i am 40 years old.
You had a video showing how to hit a kicker and at the end of the video have your kid even doing it but in this video you stay let the ball drop than hit it now i don't see this with the pros I dont see them letting he ball drop.
@@LubaLuba1 Federer’s racket will be more tilted for a kick. He’ll have to hit up the back of the ball. You can’t do either of these things without the ball being lower at contact.
must be reliable otherwise I will double fault so shoulder over shoulder or turn into court which is it ??
@@LubaLuba1 both
I wish you taught golf..nothing has improved my tennis more than your lessons.
Looks like UAH got some new tennis courts.
I love this! Almost no one distinguishes between the topspin and kick serve. And it's great to see how you can just slightly alter the angle to make the ball do different things...
Great comment!
I love your explanation and demonstrations of the 3 types of serves for beginners to understand.
I LOVE how you kept it real and didn't sanitise the video and hide the shank. You're a genuine bloke who's not a pretender.
I've watched many serve videos but this had one different tip that I've never seen before, and that is to ensure the racket finished down by your left hip facing inward. After 3 buckets of balls, this is a killer tip. I'm now getting more spin and consistency, holy cow !!!!!! I asked a local pro why this tip was helping me so much and he said because it keeps the strings one to ball longer which results in more spin. Bravo !!!!
Slow motion part in this video is very helpful to me. Thank you so much.
The video helped my serve as à whole during my competition today. I don't know why but the simple way you explain and the look of your finish simplified my serve too. Not forcing pronation or wrist.
That’s great!
Saw this video several times and finally GOT IT! Was confused with the difference between a "kick" and "topspin" serve. Realize now, thanks to TA, that I've been hitting a topspin serve all along as my go-to, bread and butter., 2nd, sometimes 1st serve. Hit down the T on the deuce court, out on the ad court, curves into the body. Hit it 8 to 2 o'clock, has pace, curves, and spin for safety. THANKS!
I was going for something practical that might help some of my slightly less advanced viewers. Let me know what you think. Thanks for the support!
Still the best video for me. Your motion is very fluid and made the things seems easy.
Still a useful video 3 years later. I like thr topspin serve demonstrated here. It looks like this topspin/slice serve allows for more rotation as well.
such incredible instructions
@@temisanpopo8036 thanks
You made it so easy to understand
Your instruction is so simple, and yet so effective !!!
Awesome demo dude! No fluff high quality content
Great use of repetitive slo-mo demonstration from behind to distinguish between slice,topspin and kick serve techniques. Thanks.
Thanks as others have said you are the first coach to distinguish between kick and topspin serve. I had been thinking along the same lines especially after watching courtside camera on practice between Alcaraz and Djokovic both seem to serve a topspin serve which is what I am aiming for to reduce risk of double faults and I find players find it harder to return than a faster flat serve. Thanks good video. I just need to practice putting it all together ie kinetic chain power build up and pronating hitting up and perhaps letting the toss of the ball drop just enough to hit up on it.
Super demonstration very clear
Your slowmo from behind looks like a pro!!!
Very clear will practice I like how you make it simple to hit three different serves by altering the toss and angle of racquet. I want a topspin serve with not too much strain on my back and energy. Thanks for your help like the simplicity.
An upward slice. Thx. Will try it out this morning.
Yes good tips. Basics always work✅✅
I wasn’t aware about the difference between kick and topspin serve. Thanks for the video!
Nicely explained, I will try it tomorrow morning at the court.
I can slice my serves pretty easily, but getting top spin on my second serve proves to be a challenge.
Super excellent instructions 🎾🏆
Great video happy labor day!
Thanks. You too!
Great video
Thats incredible super coach!
Thanks for the video! I hit a great kick serve on the ad side, goes high over the net and bounces half up the fence, but struggle on the deuce side to get under the ball and its very hard on my back, I'll just move my toss to the right a bit more on the deuce side to hit the topspin serve now👍
Yeah, don’t fight it from the deuce!
Thank you so much for these worthy tips couch. God bless you🌞🌎 🌙🙏
Good stuff. Yes agree 👍 💯
Now I know what to practice - top spin serve. Didn't feel comfortable with kick because of the slower pace. I like hitting faster balls! And cool you got out of the shadow eventually LoL
great stuff coach...minus the benjamin shanklin. diamdem gear lookin snazzy!
Greate video, thanks!
Awesome video. Help‘s me a lot. Two questions: where exactly do you hit the ball (slice and slice-topspin-combo)? Bottom half or upper half? Thanks
I still have students hit spin serves from their knees to get used to toss and net clearance idea. Or, if a taller fence sits between two courts, measure distance and place cones, have them spin ball over taller dividing fence.
Loved it
Excellent video. The SlowMo sequences at the end were very effective. One question regarding pronation - how does what happens AFTER the ball has been struck (ie your pronation) have any effect on the behaviour of the ball?
Brilliant insights as usual. What I appreciate most is your ability to teach how easy the serve is!
Btw what model of Yonex are you using?
Thanks so much. Im using Diadem these days
Which model please?
@@laurencecorray Elevate FS 98. Feels great. But just ordered the lite version because I’m starting to like lighter rackets.
So topspin service is between slice and kick, right?
Thanks
On all your serve (slice, topspin, and kick), you opened up your shoulder toward the net !! Is it because you serve on the deuce side? (it is hard to stay side wide to hit that angle)
The universal suggestion to hit an effective topspin/kick serve is to "stay sideways longer." I have not figured out how long "longer" is. Is momentum obtained with leaning forward? Or, at what point do I rotate into the serve?
Go to tpatennis . Com there’s a free video that should come up as a pop-up. I address that in there.
On a kick or topspin serve, the racket finish always on the right side of your body(assuming you’re right hand) , it goes to the left side only later on, in consequence of your natural flow.
Later on? What’s your objection with what I said?
@@TomAllsopp you don’t turn your
body when serving. You serve sideways.
You only turn the body when the ball already gone of your racket.
Does this top spin serve work on ad-side too
Yes
@@TomAllsopp thanks
I always enjoy your videos but I been hearing out there is the pronation with I hit a flat serve, can you clear this up please?
Sorry I don’t understand…?
@@TomAllsopp sorry falling asleep, I’m watching videos that talk about flat serves with pronation but you mention kicker with pronation is that correct?
@@marcodeluca4068 you should pronate on every serve
I totally get your video but what happen to the shoulder or shoulder?? 7:20
It’s caused more problems than it’s helped people
You mean over?
@@TomAllsopp ok but in the pro arena I see both
@@LubaLuba1 Yes. Doesn’t mean it’s helpful for people to imitate it
The tennis serve is a crucial shot that can greatly impact your performance on the court. Learn it
You wrote this same comment on my last video…
I have looked at your motion in slow motion. Your hip rotates nearly the same in every serve. The topspin and kick serve should be performed with your body parallel to the baseline while the slice is rotated like a 1st serve. You manage to rotate your hips too much and therefore you get an unintentional slice with every serve. I will say that your toss placement is correct. For the topspin, it should at 12 noon and for the kicker it should be at 11 or 11:30. Also, the racket path should be loop around in a tighter circle and finish around your gut. Some players, like Thiem, keep there elbow high while looping down. You also must pronate hard to get a good kick and put some pace on it. Thanks for video.
I am sideways enough. But watch this guy's beautiful serve. He stays sideways more. ua-cam.com/video/ds0ePoZTXIM/v-deo.html
@@TomAllsopp Your ad side form is much better than your deuce side. You stay sideways. Just slow down this video down to 0.1 speed and you will see.
@@twinwankel My topspin intentionally has slice. I'm doing exactly what I am trying to do.
Topspin = topspin + some sidespin
Kick = topspin only (very little sidespin)
This seems like a bizarre naming convention. I would have thought it was the opposite.
But kick is the one that a really good returner can wreck the most - it sits right up for them..?
If you’re not good at it or don’t hit it well
@@TomAllsopp I must admit I can't understand why the kick doesn't leave you open to a smash return - I'm thinking about the Agassi and Mac and Nadal and Brown Wimbledon matches. I'm guessing those are not good examples though as Agassi and Brown are supernatural returners..?
I’m very confused, Tom. I thought topspin serve is when you swing 6 to 12 o’clock on the ball and kick is like 8 to 2.
You won’t be able to swing 6 to 12 so you’re always moving the racket across the ball to some degree. I’m just pointing out that making the ball rotate forwards isn’t that complicated.
Of course, you’re right. A true topspin 6 to 12 is possible on groundstrokes but not on the serve. I guess the closest you can get is maybe 7 to 1. Then can we say topspin is 7 to 1 and kick serve 8 to 2? Or is it the the other way around?
He means topspin as something between a kick and a slice, so it has enough topspin for safety but doesn’t kick. Around 8 to 2. I’d say a true kick would be something like 7 to 1. Nobody really hits a pure topspin serve. It’s too hard to hit an effective one.
As Tom said the swing will always be somewhat across the ball. Kick is the confusing term here. Both 7 to 1 and 8 to 2 will have kick, the former with more forward kick the latter with a sideways kick.
@@watcher687 kick means the ball kicks out to the right. I believe once you get as much or more slice than 8 to 2, the ball will cease to kick to the right and instead start slicing to the left. Therefore we don’t call it a kick serve anymore.
AKA: American twist serve
You don't explain how in topspin/kick serve, you swing out to the right before your arm comes back in, whereas in a flat serve you swing straight through. You get brush on the ball by swinging up and *out* . You seem to skip this point entirely, and I think your emphasis on finishing on the left side is quite misleading.
Check out one of my kick serve videos if you want me to talk about how to kick it. This is not that video.
Pronation is not necessary for generating top-spin.
This is a true statement
I guess you never heard of Sam Stosur, Serena Williams, Ons Jabeur- just to name a few.
Yes I have. They’re not most women. Thanks for such a brilliant comment
@@TomAllsopp No problem, you are welcome
Very weak. No leg drive. Try the Step-back Platform Stance I mentioned. And power off the back foot as you convert Newton's 3rd Law (Action-Reaction) into rotational angular momentum and serve power forward. Simple physics saves the day. Go from weak to peak with one-step.
Not what I was demonstrating. Not relevant to this video. But I’ve seen your serve…
Your channel can not have the bell notification rung because it's "children content", what gives?
sorry but I found this video totally useless and confusing compared to others. Not a clear line and contradicting information. Nothing about staying sideways... nope.
What did I say that was contradictory? From the comments it seems like a lot of people understood it. But what can I clear up for you?
Useless instruction, you are not showing where the ball land. How can we know if it is a kick serve?
It’s not a kick serve you clown. And how’s the ball landing change anything?