curving of the ball in pendulum serve

M V Asked 13 years ago

Hi Coach,

After about 2000 attempts at pendulum serves in last one month, i think i am getting somewhere, thanks for all your help with the DVD and the website.

my questions are

1) every time i attempt a side spin or side spin with back spin pendulum serve, the ball curves/spins tremendously after the third bounce, therefore it does not create issues for the receiver since for him it turns out to be a normal serve. i have tried time and again but this happens all the time. pls. give your inputs.

2) which is the ideal spot on the bat where the ball should hit for a good spinning side spin pendulum serve.

3) what is the ideal rubber for the bat ...long or short pimples for a good serve with lots of spin

4) how should you hold the bat while serving? tight or loose for a good side spin or side spin with back spin pendulum serve? should the tightness of your grip change with different types of serves? 

Sorry for a long query, and thanks for all the great work you guys are doing.

Regards,

MV

Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago

Hi,

Even though the ball only curves after the third bounce it still has spin on the first bounce.  It only starts to curve when the forward momentum isn't as much but the spin is still there. 

The contact point for the sidespin should be near the end and on the front edge. 

There is no ideal rubber.  Just find something that feels good.  We recommend Mark V as a good rubber to start with.  We don't recommend pimples of any sort to start with.

For serving use a loose grip.  This will allow you to generate some speed with the racket and therefore some more spin.