Spinning serves

Zach Will Asked 15 years ago

How do you get a lot of spin on the pendulum serve and still get a downward motion to ensure that the ball gets over the net?

Jeff Plumb Answered 15 years ago

Hi Zach,

We cover the pendulum serve in detail in Serving Secrets Revealed. To generate a lot of spin requires that you hit the ball with a brushing contact and you have a fast swing. Notice that just because you have a fast swing doesn't mean the ball has to leave the bat at a fast rate, the brushing contact means you generate more spin rather than pace.

One excellent tip for getting more spin on the pendulum serve is to modify your grip. Rather than use the usual shakehand grip, you can put your forefinger further down the back of the rubber and loosen the grip with the remaining 3 fingers around the blade. This grip allows your wrist to move much more freely and hence helps to get the fast swing you need.

With regards to getting the ball to go over the net, it really is just a matter of getting the angle correct. This really depends on whether you are performing a backspin, sidespin or topspin serve.