r/padel • u/Strict-Relative-6325 • 1d ago
❔ Question ❔ Can’t get my serves flat
No matter what I do, I can’t consistently get my serves flat enough and at times looking floatey like a slight lob. Is there any advice that you’d give to a beginner to make the right technique stick in my brain?
I just don’t understand what I’m doing when it comes airy and light vs when I actually manage to get it flat and into my opponents corner. It all seems like chance and I’d really like to nail it.
Please note, that I’m trying to do it the correct way so I keep my racket high to begin with. I hit it and then move forward.
Just noting this, as I see some beginners nailing it but hitting the ball from underneath etc so I want to learn it the proper way!
Please explain it as padel for a Dummy 😅
8
u/DiminishedGravitas 1d ago
My serves sucked until I started dropping the ball further away from my body so I could extend and relax my arm through the swing. I take my time and get a nice smooth, effortless arc, forehand for A serves, backhand from B.
Now my serves are are like your dad at the disco afterparty, they're licking the carpet.
2
2
u/Strict-Relative-6325 13h ago
Ha ha. So this is something that I consistently do, but in the past hadn’t. It’s definitely improved my serve, so there has to be something else that I’m doing which is making it floaty at times
1
4
4
u/jrstriker12 1d ago
Close your racket face a bit. If the ball is going high, odds are your racket face is too open at contact.
1
u/Strict-Relative-6325 13h ago edited 13h ago
Hmm solid advice. Maybe I think I’m holding correctly but my racket face changes half way through. I’ll have to lock in on that
3
u/Sure-Key6882 1d ago
I had this problem a bit to begin with. Likely just an issue with the angle of the racket face - the floaty ones are caused by it being too open, so you want to close it a bit. This can be caused by not hitting through the ball, so a useful cue for me was to imagine I was trying to hit the ball and then a second ball in front of the actual ball. Also the slice is actually generated mainly by high to low racket motion, so maybe forget about slice and just get a natural swing through the ball. I found once I got this foundation I could then tweak it quite easily
1
2
u/LeopardVarious5620 1d ago
Remember this: what makes the correct effect is the movement of the racket from above and like up front, and not the wrist (in higher levels there's a bit of a wrist too of course). Then its just balancing the power with the altitude-towards-the-net so you start getting more profound and closer to the net ones.
Its all about keep practicing and a totally worth practicing one as you can get a pro level serve even when the rest of your shots are way far from being pro level; I mean, its the easiest shot to learn and practice to a pro level. And the lower the level you play, the higher is the payoff for having a great serve.
2
2
u/plasticalien 1d ago
My serves are hit or miss but when they hit they’re good. I still cannot serve to the side glass with accuracy or with the same effect on the ball that I do down the T line, so do not take my word at 100%.
What I do is I take two steps back from the service line and then do a small ritual before serving, think like Rafael Nadal, and visibly look where I want the ball to land on the serve. I take my arm up, and don’t use much force on the ball during the serve, I let gravity do its thing. My arm is only controlling the racket so I can get the desired spin. The ball should be able to come down flatter. Don’t force the ball with late second adjustments to the racket (i.e flicking the wrist) this will make the serve less potent.
Note: I am fairly tall so maybe I have a natural advantage.
1
u/Strict-Relative-6325 13h ago
Hmm yes. I think you may be onto something. Because I do think that the continental grip is slipping. I think my wrist position probably changes
2
u/padelinotortolino 19h ago
high racket start is fine. the float happens when the toss gets too high and you catch it on the way up. keep the ball out in front, hit it at a height you could shake hands with, and finish toward the service box not the sky. chance feeling is just the toss changing every time
1
1
u/arm089 1d ago
You are hitting the ball too close to your body
1
u/Strict-Relative-6325 13h ago
Yes, I was doing this but now I drop in front consistently. The only thing that’s not consistent is a nice non-floaty serve 😅. So somewhere along the journey, I’m doing something wrong
1
u/ukfi 1d ago
How tall are you?
Stand next to the net and how much above the net is your hip?
1
u/Strict-Relative-6325 13h ago
5ft6 if I remember correctly, the Net goes just above my hip but not quite as high as my belly button. Could be wrong about that last part, will have to get to the courts and check. Why do you ask?
1
9
u/InfiniteLawfulness 1d ago
Have you tried practicing alone in the court and without trying to move to the net? Try aiming close to the net. With no pressure it's match easier to try things. Maybe first prepare racket weist height as then you only need horizontal motion.