I’m convinced that lefties DON’T have this problem, but many of us righties do …
We feel more comfortable serving to the ad court rather than the deuce court.
Total insanity, right?
Maybe not.
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Mornin Brent, Great subject. When I was just coming into my own as a player, sometime around my second year of Jr. College. I still felt my serve wasn’t the weapon it should be. I definitely wanted to hit it bigger, but the more pressing issue was ACCURACY. Being a California raised Hard court serve and volleyer, I always felt my serve should be a free shot.(Much like a penalty kick in soccer, accuracy outweighs pace.) So, Sherm Stever and I started putting in many, many, many hours of work on the serve.We wanted to open up the court so much off the serve that I wouldn’t have to hit a perfect volley to end the point. Through a lot of hard work, patience, and mind numbing frustration, we got there.
So, now to your point Brent, you are absolutely right ! The shoulders have to stay turned in order to hit the swing serve wide to the deuce court. The tendency is to want to pull the left shoulder to generate the swing. And as you said we tend to pull the ball wide. If I stayed turned a little longer, and make my move to the ball, NOT the court, I get much better pronation and action on the ball. It should feel like your right side is driving or pushing your left side out of the way. It should NOT feel like your left side is pulling your right side through the serve.
Hope this helps,
Jeff
Great stuff as always Jeff. Thanks.
And an even bigger thanks for your hospitality today at the Napa CC.
Mai and I really had a great time on the clay even though you kicked our butts.
You still got it son.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Baboat in Palm Springs in January.
Brent
Brent,
As always: awesome tip!
Hey Gerry. Glad you liked this one.
You out there in FL?
Brent
Brilliant tip Brent. Great clarification on the endless nuances of the game!
Hey Rob.
Endless nuances. Love it!
Brent
Brent – You just made me realize why i serve better to the ad court than the deuce court! tks.
Hey George.
Love your blog.
Brent
Brent, thanks again. We probably also position our feet in a way that makes it easier to stay more sideways when serving to the add court. I haven’t heard before that it’s easier to serve to the add court, but instead that it’s easier to serve to a right-handers backhand in the add court,compared to the deuce court.
Hi Dale.
You can still hit the T on the deuce side by staying sideways a hair longer.
Brent
This is a function of geometry to a great degree. The desire to keep the ball on a right hand opponent’s back hand when you are serving makes the angle to the deuce court much smaller than the angle to the ad court. If you are serving to a lefty, you will feel that the deuce court is easier to serve to.
When Jack Kramer talks people listen. Unfortunately most young ‘uns probably have no clue who Jack Kramer is and his influence. I guess that means I am old. ; )
‘The’ Jack Kramer died September 2009, age 88
Just saying ; )
Love it.
But his legend lives on.
I like this Jack Kramer’s description.
Brent
Good video with big implications. I liked Jeff Jacklin’s comment a lot also. I use to have this problem and it just disappeared one day. Had no idea what I did until today. I switched from thinking of my primary target as a spot on the court to thinking of my primary target as a spot on the ball. I still hit to spots on the court but it is a result of hitting the ball in the context of the point. I seldom even glance at the court or net. They are not going anywhere.
I like Jeff’s comment and yours too. What an interesting way to put it! I’m finding that as I work on my serve, I’m feeling more “connected” to the ball, almost as if at the moment of contact there’s no distance between it and my eyes. It’s hard to describe, but you’re close.
This is the only web site I’ve ever seen where the comments are nearly as good as the original posts. Very glad I’m here.
Hey Nona. What a great comment.
So glad this is helping you enjoy your tennis.
Brent
Hi Don. I just really love your comments about making the connection with the ball rather than the court.
I played doubles with Jeff today, then had lunch with him, and got him to commit to a video session with me.
Hopefully we can do that soon.
Brent
Thank you and I cannot wait to apply this.
Hey Jeff. Get back to us and let us know how it goes.
Brent
I agree. Plus the distance is longer which means that you have more space. It’s much like comparing playing down the line to playing cross-court.
Thanks for the good tips and I will give it a try tomorrow and will update my appreciation thereafter.
Looking forward to it Ian.
Brent
Actually, I find it easier to serve into the deuce court as a righty. It feels more natural bringing the racket across from that angle. Hitting to the opponent’s backhand is down the T, which I find easier than trying to go out wide, especially when playing doubles. (I hate having to explain to my partner why I drilled him in the back…)
Hey Tim.
I sort of feel the same way but I still feel its two different “looks”.
I’m forewarned if we ever play dubs together.
Brent
For me the deuce court feels a little easier because you’re pulling. For the ad court I try to adjust my position so I isss as much to the left as I do to the right. Some of my opponents seem to give away a triangle on the right side of the ad court (from the server’s perspective) and only serve towards the service line.
Isn’t it true, though, that lefties have same problem on ad side?
Brent, it’s not insanity at all.
On the video I drew an imaginary line from your right shoulder to your left. When you served to the ad court almost the whole service box was in front of that line. To the deuce court, the service box was behind that line.
Serving to the ad court is more comfortable because as you come up to the line and prepare to toss, the ad court is all in front of you. When you serve to the deuce court, you have to look back over your left shoulder to see the whole court.
So, my take on it is that the deuce court feels different because it *is* different, and it takes some discipline to apply your advice – and I’ve always found that to be worthwhile.
Dang Steve.
You’ve taken all the fun out of me not being the sharpest tool in the shed.
Just kidding.
Love the dose of reality. Thanks.
Brent
Some “quick wierdness”…..I think Not ! Very Helpful ! It’s the quick, simple, direct tips like that one that STICK in the head !!! Ever grateful…JB
Hi JB. Love to hear that you like the short video tips.
Kinda like the way I teach tennis.. Let’s dumb this down to the real fundamentals and rid ourselves of the artificial crap.
Brent
A lot of the problem goes away if you adopt Brent’s earlier recommendation: Serve right at your opponent’s body every time. I have been doing that for a couple of weeks now with good results. A really high percentage, around 75%, of first serves are going in. At the level I play (4.0) though I don’t get aces except on a mishit, a lot of serves are not coming back and when the ball is returned, the return is often weak. Best of all, serving is now fun! With so many first serves going in, and a high percentage of second serves as well, double faults are disappearing and the unpleasant pressure of having to constantly rely on the second serve because the first serve missed the corner — that’s over. Yep, serving is now fun. I think Brent was probably right when he said for club players serving at the opponent’s body is the best strategy. Leave hitting aces into the corner for the pros.
Hey David.
Seriously, the check’s in the mail for your testimonial
Hey, let’s be real. I am so pleased to read David that you took some simple advice, applied it, stuck with it, got some positive results, but most of all, I read that you’re having more fun.
That to me is wat it’s all about.
The greatest thing Tom Stoe ever instilled in me was the reason we were practicing this approach shot over and over again was because playing this way is just a helluva lot more fun.
Until then I’d never thought tat tennis could be payed in a different way that was “fun”.
I owe everything to that man …
Brent
Brilliant!
Cool!
Brent
When serving to the opponent’s body, is it correct to aim exactly at a line that would bisect the opponent’s body?
Dang Jules. Man, if you can command that accuracy, heck ya, go for it.
Seriously, the placement just has to force the opponent to get out of the way of your serve.
Brent
This is nonsense. I have NEVER heard a right-handed player suggest that serving to the ad court seemed easier or more natural. But gee I have only been playing 30 years, maybe I have not been around the game long enough.
It must be a real accident of nature that the majority of record breaking serves have been served by right-handers into the deuce court.
Ouch. Just goes to show, you can’t please em all …
Brent
Ok so I have found keeping the shoulders from rotating very helpful… But I have always found it harder to serve on the ad side of the court.. and I am a righty… what is up with that??
Hi Eka. Not sure what’s up with that, but like everything in tennis, it’s not always an exact science.
Some of this is just perception, not necessarily a physical truth.
What happens with your serve to the ad court that makes it more difficult for you?
Brent
I also find that many players start their tossing hand over to the left, resulting in a toss that is too far to the left for a right handed player to hit effectively and comfortably. I think it’s some kind of instinct to face your target area that causes this problem.
I’m a lefty myself and because it was explained to me early on the effectiveness in learning to serve out wide in the ad court to my opponent’s backhand, I got plenty of practice serving to that side and never had a problem facing away from the service box.
Just a reflection.
Thanks for all your videos. I’m really enjoying your content!
Cat
Hey Cat.
That could be a possible source. The tossing motion is what starts the illusion.
Brent
Hi Brent
Great food for thought about the deuce court serve. I learned the kick serve later in life and for me it wasn`t too much of a problem swerving the ball to the left (on the deuce). However, I understand where you`re coming from with the bio-mechanics and empathize with others that might struggle. Playing basketball and volleyball gave me an edge when acquiring tennis skills……maybe we take things for granted?
Many thanks for inspiration
Andreas
Hello Andreas. Always good to hear from you.
Brent
I have always been a chronic experimenter. Off and on over the years, as a right-hander, I have thought about and focussed on keeping my front shoulder lined up with my target (i.e., to my r handed opponent’s backhand, or down the edge of the center line), and it was very often effective. For some reason, probably in experimenting with other mechanical changes when serving, I have forgotten this success, and gotten away from that (keeping the front shoulder from rotating too much).
Your video instruction has just made it clear that I should never have gotten away from this; in fact, when I aimed my serve to the left side of the deuce box I had gotten into a bad habit of rotating my wrist to get curve action, but really I can do pronation on the r side of the ball, as long as I don’t rotate my front shoulder.
Thanks for the tip, really a valuable reminder to me.
Love to hear that you got this figured out now Bill.
Brent
Hi Brent. Thanks for your tips. Real good food for thought. This video I like because my friends and I are all righties, and all feel like the ad side is much easier to serve to. I will try staying turned longer, but do my shoulders have to be squared with the net upon contact? I don’t feel like it but my friends say yes.
Hi Nelson.
Squared to the net, as in facing the net?
If so, no, you want maintain a slightly sideways alignment at contact to allow the swing path to impart spin.
Brent
Wow, I find just the opposite. For me the ad court is the more difficult court to serve into. As a 4.0 right hander, my slice hooks neatly into anywhere in the deuce and top spin or flat serves down the T are pretty straight forward.
Aiming wide at the (right hander’s) backhand in the ad court on the other hand requires more work (spin) to clear the net (at least perceptually). The slice is find though.
I keep my feet parallel to the baseline in the deuce court, but turn the toes slightly away from the baseline for the ad court. I guess you could say that a line drawn across the toes of both feet aim to the right side of the service box in either court.
And yes, my perpetual (bad) habit is to open the shoulders too soon causing the ball to fly long.
Hi Joe.
Good feedback.
This certainly isn’t a hard and fast rule for all righties, but many feel that they serve better to the ad court.
No big. Sounds like you’re good there. Just gotta keep working on tat swing path to impart topspin to the ad court.
Brent
On reflection on your video comments about opening the shoulders too soon causing the serve to go long (the video sure captured that), I’m going to think more about keeping my shoulders perpendicular to the net longer for more spin.
Excellent Joe. Check bak in after you tinker with this and let us know.
Brent
Hi Brent,
I have done all of the above. Guilty as charged!
But I cannot say the ad court was easier. As a beginner and for a long time I practiced mostly on the deuce side, and when I got more serious about it, it took a long time to get the feet and the stance right on the ad court and to just get comfortable looking at the court from that angle. I still sometimes drive the ball into the right doubles alley when I let it fly.
Morning Robert.
Thanks for weighing.
Brent
Hi Brent,
Not so much an optical illusion as a function of biology. It’s well documented that most right-handed people are right eye dominant (as lefties are left-eye dominant). Thus, for both righties and lefties, the forehand stroke requires tracking the ball across the non-dominant eye. This can cause distortions in the depth of field. How many times has it been said for even the top pros that their forehand is their less consistent side. Contrast this with the backhand. For most righties and lefties one is tracking the ball with the front, dominant eye. Great vision, no distortion. Clean. The same goes for the serve. For a righty, hitting from the deuce side requires ‘looking across’ (actually, up and across) the non-dominant eye, and would naturally encourge the player to open the body too early so as to get a good look at the ball. Cartwheeling up into the ball on the serve can go some way toward resolving this, just like the open stance compensates on the forehand by bring the dominant eye around to more fully face the ball.
Hmmmm. Damn. That sounds so logical.
Still, an open stance forehand isn’t literally played facing the net.
You can step out with your lead foot, but the shoulders still have to be turned for the swing.
Not yet convinced on that one …
But what you describe with the serve makes perfect sense.
Thanks Dave.
Brent
This lefty finds it easier to serve deuce then add. So I think we suffer from the same illusion. Gonna give the delayed shoulder release a try. I’ve been pointing my body more directly at the add box but that hasn’t really helped as would be suggested by the above poster discussing a clearer visual with the dominant eye. My compensation for the add court as a lefty has been to utilize more kick serves which I guess forces my front shoulder to hang in better.
Hey Jeff.
Glad to hear it can also inflict you guys as well.
Right, try keeping the shoulder closed a hair longer.
Brent
Hi Brent,
Never really thought about there being a difference between serving to the two courts. Now I hope I don’t over think about it!!
Ah darn Lanika!
Now I’ve messed you up
Brent
Hi Brent,
About a year ago, I recognized this problem but took a different approach to solving it.
So not to adjust my service motion depending on which court I was serving to, I adjust the alignment of my left foot relative to the baseline when setting up for my serve. This way my perspective of the service box is the same regardless which one I’m serving to.
Dan
Glad that’s helped Dan.
Brent
Wow. Epiphany! I just figured out why my wide serve to the deuce court sometimes goes too wide.
Thanks Brent!
Dave
Hey Dave.
Nah, it must be that fresh Kona air that’s doing it to you.
Brent
I am a lefty and I also have the perception that it is harder to serve on the deuce court than the ad court. Any tip?
I think which side is easier depends on the skill level. Many club players at 3.0 level and below serve with forehand grip and serve facing the net (especially women who have less skill in throwing). If you line up your body to serve properly, you will find that serving into the ad court requires turning further away from the net. If you don’t do this, your serves will tend to go wide, or you will have to “push” the ball in. I have found it very useful to consciously make sure I adjust my starting serve position for the ad court serve so that my body is facing more away from the net. Otherwise, I much preferred serving to the deuce side. Also for many club players, they take practice serves before serving the first point–and the practice serves are always to the deuce side. This means they are getting much more practice and therefore are more comfortable with the deuce side serve. I myself feel much more comfortable serving to the deuce side even though I’m right handed.