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Okay, so my readers wanted an article on slice serves, plus how to return them.
Twist my arm hard enough and you'll get what you want; so here we go!
The Slice serve is called just that because of what it does - it 'slices' away from you as it hits the ground. The reason for this is because of the sideways spin dynamic on the ball. This is very basic. The sideways spin on the ball is caused by the string bed on the face of the tennis racket hitting the tennis ball slightly to the right of center relative to the front of the ball, and hitting it from a horizontal bias. This causes an increase in pressure on the right side of the ball, (if you're a righty) and a corresponding decrease in pressure on the left side of the ball. This is what causes the ball to 'slide' or 'slice' to the left, much like a curve ball in baseball. To picture exactly 'where' the strings hit the ball on a slice serve, imagine this:
Imagine the tennis ball as a clock face. At the apex of your toss, on a 'slice' serve, the strings are making contact at 3:00 (for a right-handed player), as in right-center. The racket is coming into the ball from the side, and moving forward and horizontally at the same time. This propels the ball forward with side spin. The amount of side spin (number of sideways spinning revolutions per distance traveled) produced on the tennis ball will always be relative to:
- How fast the racket is traveling when it strikes the ball,
- The direction (angle) that the racket is traveling toward the tennis ball, and
- The relationship between forward and sideways movement of the racket.
In other words, if I swing toward the 'outside' of the tennis ball (3 o'clock) from a steep horizontal angle (racket coming from the right side) and swing hard with my racket toward the 'side' of the ball, I will produce a lot of spin on the ball but not much forward speed. (A lot of players experience this when they first start try to hit a slice, and because they don't know what pronation is and how to use it, they hit weak, shallow 'junk balls' that don't have any pace.) But if you're a regular reader of mine, that shouldn't be a problem for you ;)
Now, if I were to hit the tennis ball at 3 o'clock with a racket that is moving from a shallower angle (not swinging as much from the 'outside') and pronated my wrist, I would get the ball moving forward with good pace and a ton of spin. How do you strike this balance between spin and forward speed? Simple: practice. Just remember the underlying principle: you must strike the ball near the 3 o'clock position on the tennis ball to produce the side spin will cause the ball to slice away from your opponent when it hits the playing surface.
It also helps to toss the ball a little further out to your right, as this will force you to extend your right arm and lay your wrist 'back', which causes the racket to approach the ball from the correct angle to induce sidespin. Proper pronation of your forearm and wrist will seal the deal.
Now get out there and use what you have learned here to develop your slice serve, and the next time you play a match, see just how wide you can swing your opponent!
To Your Massive Tennis Success,
Coach Kyril
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