Question 141: I can't hit a good "second serve"

Answer

▶In tennis, "depth" is harder than "left and right"

Since I haven't actually seen your second serve, this is just a guess, but I suspect the issue with your control is likely not "left and right," but rather "depth".

You can probably manage the left and right direction to some extent.

However, I imagine you are struggling with unstable depth, leading to balls going long or into the net.

▶The key to a stable second serve is "depth"

Tennis is a sport where controlling depth is many times more difficult than controlling left and right.

Therefore, you should practice hitting to different depths many times more than you practice left and right.

A common practice in serve training is hitting to targets placed in the center and wide to practice course placement..

Of course, it depends on the purpose of your practice, but for now, practicing hitting to targets placed near and far to vary the depth will be many times more effective for stabilizing your serve.

Acquiring the sense of controlling depth in this way is the point of mastering the second serve.

So, set targets on the service line and inside the service line.

Furthermore, in practice, it is also a trick to "avoid being bound by rules.".

▶Become a Federer "William Tell"

In other words, put aside the preconceived notion that the goal is to get the ball into the service box.

This is because the sense of aiming without being bound by rules will, as a result, lead to "free and flexible control" rather than just control limited to the service box..

A feat like William Tell shooting down a target above his head could never be achieved if you are trapped in practice limited to the service area..

https://youtu.be/ZT3bsV7UoT8?t=78

▶Dare to challenge "mistakes"

Specifically, what you should do is practice by placing targets not only in the two previous spots but also behind the service line (at a depth that would be a fault).

It is a world of relativity..

Just like seasoning food, because you can intuitively tell when it is too strong or too weak, you will be able to season it just right..

To do that, you must dare to challenge yourself with mistakes that are too strong or too weak.

That is the practice of aiming (in front of and) behind the service line.

▶If you aim "far," the near feels "easy"

Especially once you can aim far, the near (service line) will feel closer and easier to aim at.

By being able to aim for the back, the sense of distance to the front becomes easier to grasp intuitively..

This "sense of security" that makes it feel easy to aim at is the second serve..

However, if you are bound by "over-fault = mistake," you cannot take on this challenge.

▶The ball is controlled by "time"

By the way, the main element that controls the ball is "time."

In other words, "when you hit" the tossed ball (timing of the hit) will also allow you to intuitively control the depth..

So, the "lack of spin" you mentioned in your question is a sub-element controlled by "when you hit."

Although the amount of spin is also controlled as a result of "when you hit," please be careful because if you consciously try to "apply spin," you will lose the crucial timing of the hit..

Practice for controlling spin should be done separately from controlling depth, as a "tasting of spin."

▶"Free and flexible" control power

When people talk about serve practice, they tend to aim only at getting the ball into the service box.

But with this, you won't easily acquire free and flexible control.

Even in baseball control, if you imagine only practicing throwing into the strike zone, you will understand that you are too confined to a mold and your potential won't expand..

Rather than that, developing control through catch and long toss, where you can intuitively aim at various places, is a shortcut to throwing accurate strikes, even if it seems like a detour.

▶Because the second serve has "no second chances"...

Professional tennis players often hit balls that intentionally go long during their serve warm-up.

Of course, there is also the purpose of "warming up the shoulders" by swinging the arm widely, but it also serves as a "distance-sense warm-up.".

"Over-fault = bad" is not true.

To repeat, if you have the control to aim for an over-fault, you will gain a sense of security that makes the closer service box feel intuitively easier to aim at..

Without that, the second serve has "no second chances," so you are always anxious, which causes a loss of concentration on the ball and disrupts your timing at the moment of impact (*though this is not limited to the second serve).

▶Being able to add "spicy" or "sweet and spicy" seasoning

I often say, "practice without a target is not practice," and targets are a magical item for improving control.

The service box is too wide as a target.

By narrowing your focus to a single point like a cone, just as in cooking, improvement is not just about "whether it is delicious or not," but being able to perform delicate control such as "making it a bit spicy or sweet and spicy." that is what improvement is.

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