tossing the ball in serves

gian crispino Asked 14 years ago

Hi again sirs..

im having problems in throwing the ball in service, i cant throw it properly!!

the result is i cant serve properly, and make blunders...

any tips? thanks!

Gian

Jeff Plumb Answered 14 years ago

Hi Gian,

This can be a tricky part of the serve to learn especially if you are used to serving the ball straight out of the hand.

One tip is to start practicing throwing the ball up and then catching it. Don't bother serving at this stage, just throw the ball up. Make sure you follow the rules and have your hand flat and throw the ball nearly vertical straight up.

Once you get good at this then you can start by doing a basic serve. Don't try anything too fancy just hit the ball when it is on it's way down.

Once you can do this you will be on your way and then can start trying some more advanced serves.

Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

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gian crispino Posted 14 years ago

ok sir i'll practice hard!! thanks!

Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 14 years ago
Hi Gian,
It really is just a bad habit. The actual rules say that it must be thrown near vertical so you should practice doing it correctly as it will save you any problems in the future. At the moment most umpires simply let this go and do not fault players but occassionally you find one who will fault you. So start doing it correctly from day one and you will never have a problem.

Jackson Meyn Posted 14 years ago

I have trouble making consistent throws when serving, so I put a small 20x20cm box on the floor and stand over it in my service stance. Then I try to get as many throws in to the box as possible trying different height throws. Most of my serves I throw above head height in a match.