Slice Serve 3 \9 Q8 B# }# B+ O) x
Introduction to the Slice Serve9 ^$ S- _1 f) [0 X a, [
2 f6 U8 c, T: Y* j$ Y" W" \The slice serve is a very important serve to master if you’re interested in advancing to higher-levels of play. It can be a very effective first serve. We’ve taught the slice serve by comparing it to the flat serve. c; Q+ {6 H6 z3 B' u* j% m# ~1 X2 c8 n/ ~
1. Toss Location* `1 c2 G# f3 T
! V, U8 [" Q- w- k; ^3 B% J& M2 lWhen hitting a slice serve you need to toss the ball further to your side so you can swing across the ball later in the motion. This will allow you to create the sidespin that defines the slice serve. # e3 e4 I7 b! X1 SThe first difference between the slice serve and the flat serve is the location of the toss. The mechanics of the toss are the same: hold the tennis ball in your fingers, etc. If you are a little hazy on those details I suggest you review the fundamentals section of the serve. What you’re trying to do is put the toss a little bit further to the side. Not much, just a little bit. That will allow you to swing across the ball later in the serve. This means that for right handers the toss needs to be a little bit further to the right and for left handers the toss needs to be a little bit further to the left. & w/ C5 ^( o7 J- b v2 v; bIn the video at 45 seconds we split screen my flat serve and my slice serve. When we play these two clips, you can see that I place the toss a little bit further to my left on the slice serve so that, when we freeze the two clips at contact, I make contact with the tennis ball further to my left than I do on my flat serve. The distance into the tennis court that I’ve tossed the ball is pretty much the same because you do go after your slice serve – you try and hit it hard (typically). 6 w+ J* L7 e/ q $ u/ A5 e2 r( C3 R0 v2. Swing Direction and Pronation& K4 T3 p2 m9 o4 q5 I8 Z6 l
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Because you’ve tossed the ball further to your side than you do on a flat serve, you’ll have to swing differently to get to contact. 7 p$ P7 T$ B n+ {9 ]The second key difference between the slice serve and the flat serve is the direction you swing and pronate when you hit the tennis ball. On a flat serve you come straight through the tennis ball and slap it – hit it clean – but on a slice serve you want to come across the ball and generate side spin that will cause the ball to hook and skid when it bounces. 3 b: k7 Q Y' j& t+ h$ r$ K8 X. e) U- k' c
In the video above, my flat serve is on the right and my slice serve is on the left (I’m serving to the ad court). When I get to the “L position” the video freezes and you can see that my racket is point in different directions. On the flat serve, my tennis racket is pretty much point at the ad court because, when I hit, I’m going to swing straight through the tennis ball. In other words, I’m swinging in the same direction the ball goes. However, on the slice serve it looks like my racket is facing more toward the deuce court because I’m going to swing across the tennis ball to generate side spin.: d- w- s+ Q* R1 f
When we play the videos forward from the “L position” and freeze them at contact, the other key thing to note is that despite the fact that I’m swinging in different directions, my tennis racket strings are still facing the same direction at contact. What generates side spin on the tennis ball is the direction my strings move across the ball at contact, NOT the direction my strings are facing at contact. 8 s' \% r- y; }Playing these clips forward one more time from the “L position,” what I’ve done to get my strings facing the same direction at contact on both serves is time my pronation a little bit differently on my slice serve.! G; n' t( f! F$ @. M
The final thing I want to do is clarify the relationship between your toss location and your swing direction. Why do I want to put the tennis ball further to my side when I’m hitting a slice serve than when I hit a flat serve or kick serve? If you toss the tennis ball like you were trying to hit a flat serve, you could swing across the ball (a little bit) if you wanted to but, based on the way your arm, shoulder and body are built, you can’t swing across the ball as aggressively as if you had tossed the tennis ball further to your side. This toss location allows you to attack the tennis ball more aggressively and generate more side spin than you otherwise would be able to if you were tossing for a flat or kick serve.& `- r) W+ K+ d/ N# K: C3 |# o
3 h) J7 S5 T" J7 u, q9 n3. Follow Through* p- l$ p* ~. E
The follow through on the slice serve is more to your side than on a flat serve. Not a ton but still a noticeable amount.) @6 j) t: h0 y4 b4 S9 X2 W2 E5 C
The final difference between the slice serve and the flat serve is the follow through. Because you were swinging in a different direction prior to and at contact, your arm is going to move in a different direction when you follow through. 4 ~0 k0 g8 o8 e: v' r+ S' R2 ^, XWe’ve split screened by flat serve (to the right) and my slice serve (to my left). I’m hitting to the ad court. Starting at contact, if we play this clip a few frames forward and then freeze it into my follow through, you’ll notice my arm and the tennis racket are pointing in different directions. On the flat serve my arm and racket are essentially pointing toward the ad court. On the slice serve, however, my arm looks like it is facing more toward the deuce court – again, because I had swung in a direct direction leading up to contact. 0 r% l3 G; [) h8 [1 HFrom a different perspective – this from behind – from contact it is clear that I follow through differently on my slice serve. My arm and the tennis racket are more to my left (because I’m left handed) on my slice serve than they are on my flat serve. : z4 H$ d9 l0 ?' A: I, }8 l: EIf I were serving at the camera, if I hit a flat serve my arm and tennis racket would follow through toward the camera. However, if I hit a slice serve my arm would follow through more to the side, creating some space in between my arm and the side of my body. ( S# _* E% u* M
發表於 2011-6-23 15:52:18
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