All serves can, and should be, hit with identical technique and a fast swing speed.
Sound crazy? It’s not. First and second serves are often taught and thought of as 2 different strokes. This approach makes the already difficult stroke more physically complicated and mentally stressful, especially for women.
Swing speed on first and second serve should be the same, if not faster, on the second. How can women accomplish this? The key lies with technique and overcoming fear.
All statistics show that a high first serve percentage results in winning more points. A good day yields more easy points and a bad day can be devastating, especially if the second serve is weak. Unnecessary pressure is placed on the first serve. Fear of a weaker second serve looms in the background and directly takes confidence from the first.
The simple solution is to develop one technique with varying grips, a consistent tempo and informed ball toss location. This will in turn create consistent timing for a service motion that is used for all serve types. You will need several basic grips to be a fast swing speed server.
Grips will change dependent upon what type of serve is being hit. The grip needs to be paired with ball toss location for specific serves. Grips and toss locations change…technique does not.
Pairing the correct grip with the correct ball toss location (contact point location) is a simple and essential concept for developing a variety of fast swing serves. This simplification takes away the physical and mental threat of having to learn a different “first” serve and “second” serve. Concentration on one technique and one swing speed leads to more consistency, builds confidence and removes fear.
Simply, all you have to do is choose what type of serve you want to hit, pair the grip and ball toss location. This is how you develop different spins and ball actions. The more spin you create, the faster you have to swing. You’ll learn to depend upon a fast swing speed for success instead of fearing a miss. You’ll also quickly develop a variety of serve types naturally.
This concept is the key to:
- Reducing double faults
- A high first serve percentage
- Developing variety of serve speeds
- Controlling placement
- Creating ball action
The first and second serve feed on each other physically and mentally. The cycle of fearing the second serve can be broken when you learn to depend upon a fast second serve swing speed.
In turn, a consistent swing speed will increase your first serve percentage, help create a neutralizing second serve and boost the overall confidence of your entire game.
Written by Lisa Dodson –
Born in Chappaqua, New York, Lisa Dodson is a 40-year teaching professional and formerly world ranked player. Having spent 20 years in Northern California, Lisa returned home to Mt Kisco, New York in 2013.
Now the seasonal Director of Tennis at Shenorock Shore Club in Rye, NY, and professional at The Saw Mill Club in Mt Kisco, NY, Lisa is a former WTA player with a world ranking of #270 in singles. She played basketball and tennis for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1979 with a BA in Political Science. She graduated from Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. Lisa also competed on the Eastern United States Volleyball travel team and went to Olympic basketball trials while at Horace Greeley.