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JAK'S MONTHLY ESSAY SERIES: Achieving Your Personal Best

“YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR SECOND SERVE”

By Jak Beardsworth

It always strikes me as an unfortunate waste of talent when I observe a veteran, accomplished club player who, with an otherwise well-developed game, tentatively taps in a spin-less, slow-motion second serve knuckleball at a velocity rate so slow that it would fail to even register on a radar gun, or, in inside tennis jargon break an egg – amusingly recognized by some as the Grandpa or Grandma serve.

Jack Kramer, the professional tour founder (most of you do not remember the “shamateur” days,) also a world #1 way back in 1946, and namesake of Wilson’s iconic wooden frame, the Jack Kramer Autograph,  one that made him a fortune (also I’m betting some of you played with it back then), is credited with this  essay’s title which some of you have heard me quote on-court previously.

These otherwise ambitious players, after playing for a number of years, never made the time to both learn and practice a legitimate bending spin serve, or the slice/slider version of spin, content with an underachieving second delivery that immediately put them, or their double’s partners at net, in jeopardy against capable opponents. Advantage receiver. 

Why set the bar so low on serve – most important shot in the game - when you’ve worked so diligently to improve every other facet of your game? Sure, it’s a steep learning curve, requiring solo practice, perseverance, and patience. It’s perhaps the biggest challenge of all to round out one’s game and while gaining admission into higher level of play.   

So besides the obvious – tapping in a cupcake that opponents devour and then results in them immediately getting on top of the point – learning to develop a reliable spin serve on your second will negate that scenario and provide the following plusses:

  • Allow you to consistently, confidently generate the same racket speed as on the first – versus two completely different speeds – re one on first, then inefficiently slower on the second,
  • the rainbow trajectory will provide an expanded and resulting safer margin over the net,
  • the accompanying steeper angle of decent will bounce the ball up higher in the receivers hitting zone where they are typically more challenged – especially on backhand,
  • the spin itself will give you speed of swing confidence by teaming with gravity in causing the ball to descend into the box at a far faster rate versus flat serves, i.e. bending it in. 

Now the hard part, how do you go about learning it? What are the key components? 

  • You’ll need to adjust the grip from your flat-power serve mostly forehand positioned to create a more  angled racket face (closed) at contact,
  • you’ll also have to alter your toss from well in front (flat) to slightly left and closer to your body – and a bit higher - to facilitate hitting up on the ball versus mostly straight through on your flat “bomb”…that’s varying the swing path,
  • your body should move up to the ball (vertical) by leaving (jump) the court slightly, or more (to facilitate a good kinetic chain with more wrist action)  versus more forward movement (horizontal) on your first serve,

  • altering your pre-serve visualization from minimal net clearance (flat) to much higher on your spin second – now a looping rainbow trajectory, plus in the early stages of its development you will probably have to envision more to the right until your brain adjusts to the spin generating some right to left ball movement.

Be advised that you’re going to need to get some help from your pro/coach to really achieve a bona fide spin serve unique to your skills since individual idiosyncrasies and viable interpretations will occur.

Enjoy the challenge. 

Copyright© 2007- 2024 by Jak Beardsworth Tennis. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

COMMENTS WELCOME: JB1tennis@comcast.net

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Past Essays

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  • August 2024 - The Game's Most Difficult Skills & the Most Taken For Granted
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  • June 2024 - KNOW YOUR DOUBLE’S IN-POINT SITUATION WHEN BACK or RETURNING SERVE
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  • April 2024 - Coulda, shoulda got that: The Art of Poaching
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  • March 2024 - Get Your JuJu On
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  • February 2024 - Giving Opponents too Much Respect
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  • January 2024 - Rally Ball Or Pull The Trigger
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  • December 2023 - The Forgotten Stop Volley
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  • November 2023 - "You're Only as Good as Your Second Serve"
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Essay Archives

Click a year to view more essays

2023

  • October 2023 - good misses vs bad misses
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  • September 2023 - Why good players are good players!
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  • August 2023 - On poaching and fake poaching: Becoming a Force at the Net in Doubles
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  • July 2023 - The Beautiful Game is Getting Ugly
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  • June 2023 - The Approach Dropper: Lob Killer
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  • May 2023 - Why club players don't practice
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  • April 2023 - DON'T FIGHT TIGHT
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  • March 2023 - Classic finish line failure
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  • February 2023 - Defending the lob over your net partner - The "Switch"
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2022

  • December 2022 - E. I. D. - Extended Impact Duration
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  • November 2022 - Movement Enhancement to Stay Better In-Point Connected
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  • September 2022 - Advanced Visualization 301
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  • August 2022 - Tennis' uniqueness: warming-up the enemy
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  • July 2022 - Extracting Double Faults Through Receiving Positions... and more
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  • June 2022 - Consider Serve and Volley
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  • May 2022 - How the Toss Primes the Serve Relaxation Pump
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  • April 2022 - Ball Watching and Science
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  • March 2022 - Caving
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  • February 2022 - Kenny G and Emmo
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  • January 2022 - The Knees
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2021

  • December 2021 - The Match is with You
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  • November 2021 - The Backup Racket in Your Bag
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  • October 2021 - Every Tennis Player Can and Should Have a Weapon
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  • September 2021 - LEARNING NEW SKILLS: First the Process, Then the Results
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  • August 2021 - The Challenge of Visualizing… For Some
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  • July 2021 - Playing with both your feet and your hands
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  • June 2021 - Finding the Range
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  • May 2021 - The Focus
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  • April 2021 - About Your Butt Cap
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  • March 2021 - The Essential Forehand and Backhand
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  • February 2021 - On Being a Doubles All-Courter
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  • January 2021 - Same Grip Volleying Myths
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2020

  • December 2020 - On mechanics and style
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  • November 2020 - THE BIG 3: The Glue That Keeps Your Best Game Together
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  • September 2020 - Protocol and Game Tradition Revisited
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  • August 2020 - As Good as Your 2nd Serve
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  • July 2020 - Shot Shaping
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  • June 2020 - Getting a Point in Jeopardy Back to Neutral
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  • May 2020 - A Positive Mind-Set: On and Off the Court in Today's C-19 Reality
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  • April 2020 - The Zombie Tennis Creed – Top Ten
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  • March 2020 - A Roadmap Into "The Zone"
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  • February 2020 - The service toss: myths and realities
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  • January 2020 - Shot Gazing
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2019

  • December 2019 - The Dreaded High Bouncing Moonball Dilemma
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  • November 2019 - Chalk Flew: Troublesome Line Calling without Hawkeye in Clubland [read more]
  • October 2019 - In the Spirit of Don't Drink and Drive… Don't Think and Hit [read more]
  • September 2019 - Old School vs New School [read more]
  • August 2019 - Getting the Ball Where You Want It [read more]
  • July 2019 - Taking Points Off…What? [read more]
  • June 2019 - Confidence Is Confidence: Take It Wherever You Can Get It [read more]
  • May 2019 - TENNIS INNOVATION IMPLODES [read more]
  • April 2019 - Defending the Court with Older Bones: A Club Player's Guide to Saying "Nice Shot" Less [read more]
  • March 2019 - Do You Have Doubles Rally Tolerance? [read more]
  • February 2019 - I Knew Jimy Van Alen: A Historical Look Back [read more]
  • January 2019 - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Mental Toughness Skills [read more]

2018

  • December 2018 - Less Bling is the Thing [read more]
  • November 2018 - Anatomy of a Doubles Serve Return…from the Inside Out [read more]
  • October 2018 - Older Dogs and New Tricks: Still Improving at Any Age [read more]
  • September 2018 - The All-Important Dynamic of Gripping [read more]
  • August 2018 - The Cinemascope Syndrome: Undermining Your Ball Watching [read more]
  • June 2018 - Serving and Returning Better with a Quiet Eye [read more]
  • May 2018 - The Man Who Breathed for Two [read more]
  • January 2018 - Rituals Anyone? [read more]

2017

  • December 2017 - Why Serving is so Difficult in Clubland [read more]
  • October 2017 - Managing your body and mind in tennis space [read more]
  • August 2017 - Why Bother Breathing to Improve Your Game [read more]
  • May 2017 - The "Maintaining" One's Game as One Ages Fallacy [read more]
  • February 2017 - Punta Gorda Tennis Clubs: Setting the Bar [read more]
  • January 2017 - State of the Club Game: The Growing Death of Sportsmanship [read more]

Check back often for more essays.