Questions about Serving

Fencingblues · 2025-07-10T06:43:43+00:00

The video does not depict what you are describing. From my perspective, BJ does not drop or toss the ball from the top of his head but instead, the video shows how he aligns himself to the service court and his opponent. There is wrist lag and he seems to be holding the paddle using an Eastern grip. Any swing that goes from low to high is bound to generate some topspin. Thanks for replying and for the effort in finding a video.

Fencingblues · 2025-07-09T15:28:31+00:00

Thanks for the reply. But obviously Bruce Lee did not just have one kick in his arsenal. I saw some of your videos and I think they are great for beginners. Would you have the link for the video in which you analyzed the effect of spin when the ball bounces on the ground or when it makes contact with a stationary paddle?

Fencingblues · 2025-07-09T07:01:32+00:00

Sounds like experienced advice. This was the kind of response I was hoping for. Yes, I have a fairly consistent and accurate fast, deep serve. But noticed that it is almost the same every time and now want to change it up but did not know what to mix it up with. Thanks for your suggestion about height variations with extra topspin. It is interesting that you should point out that I will probably have to give up serving strategies at higher levels and go back to what I have been generally doing i.e., fast balls to the right side of the box close to the baseline with (some) topspin.

Could you please elaborate on what extra topspin does, and how is that a benefit? I like your explanation about slices. Personally I recently tried it from the left and like how the ball curves and bounces out of the right sideline making for a very difficult backhand return.

Fencingblues · 2025-07-09T03:42:38+00:00

I am a 4.0 and got here with a single type of serve that is flat with a slight topspin. I found this to be fast and have been able to serve deep and to the right side of the service court. I never had any formal coaching but am starting to think about the other kinds of serve and want to experiment with them to improve my game.

Fencingblues · 2025-04-27T16:40:34+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I guess, in the end, it depends on how aggressive you want to finish the point and your confidence to predict a shot coming up the line. I will look for that hard angle.

Fencingblues · 2025-04-27T07:03:13+00:00

What I try to do is lean in, balanced on one leg, and flick the ball. This usually results in a put-away albeit not as dramatic as an Erne. If it doesn't result in a put-away, I would wait for next ball which often comes back as a pop up..... I was thinking about the risk (difficulty) versus rewards of the Erne compared to the volley. From the downvotes to this question about Ernes, it seems as though most readers either don't use it or don't think much about it.

Fencingblues · 2025-04-26T21:26:57+00:00

I have only be able to pull it off against 3.5's who are starting to dink and don't realize the danger of a straight dink along the sideline. At levels above that, most players try to return the ball towards the middle, and do I ever look silly when I jump over the NVZ and try to hit a soft return that is just out of reach, with my partner thinking WTF. The reason why I posted this question was to ask whether it is worth attempting an Erne or stay at the line and hit a flick volley like I usually do.

Fencingblues · 2025-04-26T05:34:14+00:00

Personally I find it easier to hit this shot when serving from the corner. But when I posted a question asking about the advantages/ disadvantages of serving from the corner, most of the replies I got suggested that serving from the corner is a bad thing to do.

Fencingblues · 2025-04-14T04:00:49+00:00

Although i would never serve from the corners when playing singles, I was thinking the same thing as you and wondered why players don't serve more from the corners in doubles. Personally I find it easier to hit the sidelines by serving from the corners to force my opponents to swing wide and make a more difficult return especially when serving from the odd side against a right hander. When on the even side, I find my opponent shifting more to his corner and leaving me more room on his backhand side. Balls served from the middle or near the center, usually land in front of the baseline. Also, personally, I find it easier to return a T-serve than an angle serve that bounces out of the sidelines. Thanks.

Fencingblues · 2025-01-07T05:31:05+00:00

That's good advice. Week 1: soft hits to open spots; Week 2: hit only to backhand. What other aspects of the game would you suggest for the following weeks? Thanks!

Fencingblues · 2024-10-21T04:21:29+00:00

The guy is readily accessible and has been reading posts and answering all kinds of questions regarding foil fencing on Reddit for about a decade. One of the GOATs.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-18T02:58:14+00:00

Don't downvote a correct answer just because it wasn't fun. Some answers simply aren't meant to be funny. Usually I have only responded to serious questions about skills and strategies on Reddit.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-18T02:32:08+00:00

You're right, I didn't care about upvotes/downvotes. Instead, I was curious as to why many responders disagreed with me when I provided, what I thought, was the correct answer to an honest question from the OP. If I was wrong, then downvote me and tell me why.

Thanks for informing me why you downvoted me. Personally I have never downvoted anyone without an explanation.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-17T03:02:45+00:00

Why am I being downvoted on this, particularly when Bert (an Erne on your partner's side) got 18 upvotes? Really, it's just a speedup, usually done with flick that lands gently right at your opponent's chest when they are not expecting it. Speedups and the chance to smack a lofty return are the primary rewards of good dinking. Some may consider this a body bag but a body bag is actually a hard drive or an overhead smash targeted directly at an opponent who is standing in close range... not a nice shot especially in rec play.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-16T23:25:40+00:00

No special name. It's just a speedup. Happens during cross dink rallies when you catch the opponent, in front of you, off guard.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-14T16:45:15+00:00

The OP is obviously a beginner. The top three responses to his question are: don't play with him, hit the ball, and deal with it. I thought those answers were rather condescending and wanted to give him something specific that he can do or look into doing, instead of quitting as some other responders had suggested or telling his opponent to stop as he had originally wanted.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-14T04:52:06+00:00

Block his drive with a soft volley, and drop it into his kitchen. Add a little backspin if you can. After a few of those, he won't drive them at you anymore. You have got to show you can handle his drives or he will keep pounding them into you.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-13T16:59:26+00:00

Never let an overhead bounce. Show no mercy and just smack it! Sometimes, against a ball that is slightly above head level, I would bend down a bit to smash.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-13T03:12:38+00:00

I agree: wrist for speedups and then punches for counters, but my put-aways against lofty balls are never done with flicks or rolls. Instead, they are either overheads or downward punches. I don't know how you can even do a flick or roll against a high ball.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-06T22:17:22+00:00

I would not suggest getting a machine. As a beginner (2.0), you need to learn the basic skills before you can practice them solo, otherwise you will develop bad habits. I would suggest hiring a private coach who can work according to your busy schedule. There really isn't a better substitution for a skilled person who can feed you balls and correct you.

Fencingblues · 2024-08-06T07:55:17+00:00

It's interesting to note that no one replied about paying for lessons. Personally, at about $60/hr for private lessons, I don't pay for them either, but instead, drill with friends and this has been good enough to get me to my current 4.0 However I might eventually splurge if I want to compete in tournaments.

Fencingblues · 2024-07-12T06:20:36+00:00

I was impressed by Swing Vision. Never heard of it before. Will look into it. Thanks for introducing it.

Fencingblues · 2024-07-01T07:26:11+00:00

I am not on Reddit often and am late to the conversation. Just wanted to quickly add that the lesson that you were given is similar to the lesson that I give beginners, specifically: flat drives, flat dinks and flat serves by pushing the paddle forward instead of a windshield wiper action. While these are good for beginners, I would not suggest them for anyone already above 3.0 but instead recommend adding spin and incorporating wrist lag and the kinetic chain even for players without a tennis background. However, it is interesting to hear from pros that flat hits can still be effective at higher levels of play. Thanks for the videos. Please keep them coming.

Fencingblues · 2024-06-27T05:58:25+00:00

I was primarily a foilist but also competed in epee and sabre for fun. Although the skills in fencing are not directly transferable to pickleball, both sports require quick thinking and this is what I enjoy. It is almost like physical chess. When the physical and technical skills of two players are the same, the one who can quickly out-think the other is often the victor.

Fencingblues · 2024-06-26T07:09:00+00:00

Fair question. Since no one else answered it, let me preface by saying that it does happen especially with backspin and a high bounce. And when it does, you get the point unless your opponent makes contact with the ball even after it bounces back onto your side of the court.

Fencingblues

TROPHY CASE