Improve Your Second Serve | Tennis Serve Lesson 

Time, patience and the right fundamentals repeated countless times will get you a kick serve for life. Learn the fundamentals here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-j6c1WPIsk_8.html

Fantastic. what a great coach. I'm 67 years old , been playing since high school I play as much as possible . Lots of regional tourneys in my life. I Can't play in the heat , but I am getting better. I find myself watching you hours on end. My body is capable of doing what you teach, so it is great to have it explained like you do. I have been working on a kick serve for years I get lucky some of the time but I am not confident , and end up with a weak uncontrolled slice serve for second serve. I wish I could have private lessons with you. My original coach said, "At this point, just play tennis," but I am looking always to improve. Thanks again.

So important to have a real second serve! Good opponents love weak second serves, which they can either hit winners on, or just chip to a corner and charge in. And this messes with you, because your first serve is under pressure and it breaks down too. I'm so glad I learnt the kick serve. My double fault rates have gone down to almost zero and I don't concede as many break points as I used to. Also I can mess with the opponents by hitting kicks on the first serve when they're expecting my usual first serve. And even hit two first serves when my opponent expects a kick on the second.

Nick is right. The kick serve requires a lot of practice and patience to master. For me the toss location and the back bend are musts to get adequate spin on the ball.

Great video on importance of Kick serve! I also liked that you were honest in the end about the time needed to develop a kick serve. It sets up the right mindset to put the grind into it and practice it!

Great! Just what I needed. Working on the kick serve for 2 years now. slowly getting there. In matches I tend to fall back to some tap/slice serve when I am in fatigue, but percentage-wise I am doing good. Also sometimes I try to hit it as a 1st serve - can confuse opponent - and I try to also stick to the technique even when producing lots of double faults... you need to take these misses. Focus on your technique first, results come later! and enjoy!

This is a very well balanced explanation. I admire it.

I love the editing, you've been getting a lot better. I have also been working on my second serve recently, so this was super helpful. I've been doing the drill that you stand in the corner of the court and try to make the kick serve in from really far away. I think it's been kicking more so thanks Nik!!

So, my second serve doesn't have a lot of kick, but I'm pretty sure that's it's heavy on topspin. If I hit it to the backhand side, I find that most one handers find it hard to return because you need to hit the ball fairly assertively to counteract the spin. So I get a lot of bloopy returns on that side and being a doubles player, it's an easy point for my net partner. I actually don't mind missing my first serve because I have confidence in my second and enjoy the thrill of hitting a well placed topspin. Finally, you're right about practice. I've been working on my second serve for about 3 seasons; endured the frustrations; given up on it countless times. But in the end, I persevered and as I said, it's not perfect, but it works for me and gives me confidence when I need it.

Good video and nice court there,Nick .I also like that you mention so often Dominic Thiem,he has the best form for all the shots and he`s a great example to watch and learn.All the best and waiting for new great stuff !

Been playing for years... was a top player in college... you are by far the best tennis guru around!

Agassi’s kick serve was phenomenal and it was usually under 70 mph. I’m re watching so many of your videos! Thanks!

Just watched. The second serve is hands down the biggest challenge to my game right now. Been playing for a few years and I double fault way too much. Going to put in the work to get a rock solid second serve with the goal of reducing my double faults to one or two a set.

Very love your explanation, I will practise as your advice on court to improve my 2nd serve. Thanks you very much.

I hurt my shoulder and lost my power first serve. I just did my second serve for both serves for few years. I'm pretty sure my serve is way better than it used to be bc I now have a heavy slice, spin and can hit corners and my percentages are way up. My advice is to slow it down and focus on location and spin. Doing what you want with the ball is more important than tryin to kill it.

Ok . Here is a give away for all Niki's fans and followers. He has a a great tip that helps you guys get up and running with second serve in no time. That tip is hidden in his video series 'The role of wrist' and to be specific 'The role of wrist in serve'. Go there, watch it carefully and you will be amazed how it transforms your second serve. Mine has and will be yours. Good luck !

I love the way you explain things. I'm a 5.0 player with a good ground and net game and ok first serve. My second serve is just a slow slice that gets attacked. I've been applying your kick serve practice and it's getting better. Slowwlllyyy haha

Another great explanation and demo. Thanks again coach Nick 👍

Hey man love your videos keep up the Great work, you’ve taught me so much.

Excelent explanation

I love your words. ..your mode. ..And The professional way You explain

A bow of gratitude

Thanks for the tips. They are good one

Two questions. Since most recreational players will not have a good kick serve, what is the best second serve to have while you are still learning to kick? Am I incorrect in thinking that the kick and the slice are closer to each other than most coaches make them out to be? Both balls spin on the 7-8 o'clock to 1-2 o'clock diagonal, but the science of imparting this spin is completely different.

An excellent lesson, Nick. Well presented and explained.Your kick serve videos are really helping me to develop my second serve. Well done. Tony Costa. UK.

Very Nicely Explained. Keep up the good work, Coach.

Excellent suggestions. Thank you!

Yeah Nik this whole summer I hit probably 400 kick serves per week and this had taken me from 3.5 up to 4.0 level and even my 4.5 hitting partner has commented my serve had gotten better and definitely more consistent. Now i rarely double fault anymore and I'm only hitting it probably 60-70mph and that is keeping my opponents "honest" and no one is really smashing it back at me. I will continue developing this serve but now I have something reliable. Next to develop will be Flat serve which I can hit and sometimes ace people but the consistency is not there yet with my flat

I can't stress enough how I agree with time and patience. In my opinion the kick serve is the hardest shot to truly master, and takes alot of time to do so. Ive recently started working on a really good kick serve because im making too many double faults in matches, and It took me a few weeks to really master the form and technique and swing and everything in order to produce alot of spin and have alot of kick, the ball bounces high and extremely right, even from the deuce down the T. So im at a stage where the base foundation of my kick is good, I can get lots of kick and spin, but the serve is not yet consistent enough or repeatable enough to be effectively used in matches and be consistent. Either a bit wayward toss, or bad contact, or slightly too much brush or too direct etc... things like that happen from time to time so that I misshit it slightly and it just goes a bit wide or long or something. It will take alot of time to really master it and make it consistent, specialy during matches where ur more tight. Last time I was serving only kick serves, full racquet speed as fast as possible tons of kick no slowdown, and counting, and I managed to hit 38 out of 50 in the box. Which I guess is not horrible, considering the short amount of time working on the kick and the fact that im really swinging out as you should, but as a whole picture its not nearly enough, that would net me many double faults and not really be a reliable 2nd serve. What do you think a good number would be ? 47 out of 50?

I have watched some video of Raonic and he seems to have a lot of form on his serve in that his wrist is not flipping around going back the take back is just turning the shoulders. His motion into the ball looks like his hitting arm just extends up, then the forearm rotates, and then finally the wrist releases. Doesn't seem to be any forward motion for the first or second serve. It seems to me the less wrist motion the heavier the kick serve will be.

i wonder if you could give some examples with pros eg. is kick serve used as much on deuce court as ad? do wta players use kick serve as often as atp? thanks Nik :)

I have a question/suggested Given the fact that recreational players have limited time for exercise and often play matches, I had the idea to, as long as your kick serve is not fully reliable (to the point that even under stress, like a break point, you can confidently hit a kick serve), hit both first serve and second serve as a kick serve. 1. the kick serve has an attacking purpose too, with its high kick 2. doubling the amount of kick serves will make for higher consistency and good practice 3. striking successive kick serves (2nd serves) reduces the amount of errors, leading to more wins, increasing confidence Would you approve of this approach? Or is it outweighed by refraining from first serve variations like flat or slice?

Coming from your 3 types of serve VDO.. 😊

Nice video

Thx!

Hey Nick, Thanks for the amazing video. I have a question which I am unable to find an answer in any of the videos on youtube. May be you can create a video if you think it’s a good topic. What’s exactly the difference in a slice first serve and a slice second serve. Is slice serve always supposed to be the same or do you need to change it slightly if you are going for a second serve. I tend to use a slice serve only in my first serve. It’s very aggressive and close to the side line or centre line from ad side mostly. Using it as a second serve isn’t safe for me. Can you please guide me on this. Should I change my second serve slice serve slightly? And how can I make it safer so that I can use it on my second serve as well. Again thank you so much for your valuable tips. 😊

At a competitive level you are only as good as your second serve. The difference between first and second serve is not how hard or fast you swing it’s the amount of spin you put on the ball. Serve with spin and the ball will go in. It is extremely important to be able to place your service and move it around. Know your opponent and where / what they don’t like and hit to,that spot or side. Practice hitting the kick serve deep into the service box. Remember to keep the service score in mind when hitting first and second serve. There is a big difference of which type or where to place the service if it’s 30-40 or 40- love. My coach would make me hit 5 second serves on a row with my head/eyes up and never look at the service box to see if they went in. He would keep count and let me know after. It was a Zen type of training that worked for me.

Great video

All good videos, but as a new tennis player i have a newbie question. Is the risk of a double fault really so great that you shouldn't just do your best serve?

I want this guy to be my coach!

THX PERFECT

Kick serve is not so easy to play and if the ball doesn't bounce high enough the opponent is going to hurt you easily. I prefer the slice serve, it bounce low and it can be very effective plus it is easier to master. I like playing with the slice and use the trajectories to confuse the receiver. Also the kick it is easier to read. When I play a kicker I actually have better time. I can stand a meter behind and attack it because the ball is high and I have more time or I can step inside the court and hit it on the rise taking time off to the other player.

I thought the slice serve was used by top professional players. Don't players like Federer often serve out wide on the deuce side with the slice serve?

Great lesson! I wonder should we practice kick serve side by side to our first serve? I have a friend of mine and he told me that I shouldnt try to learn kick serve unless I "master" flat one. What's your opinion on that?

Thank you for your channel and all the videos. Quick question, do all ATP players perform a kick serve for their 2nd serves? Or do some of them serve a slice serve?

I just found your videos today. Thank you so much for this video! To serve a kick serve from the deuce side, how should one position the body and what is the swing direction?

How many practice serves do you recommended serving per day or week to get a solid kick serve?

At what age do you think is the right age for a kid to learn the kick serve? My son is 11 and has a second serve and it does go over the net but the clearance is too close to the net. Luckily his second serve has been going in but his coach wants him to have more clearance over the net.

What is the equivalent of the offensive second kick serve on the deuce side?

so, how do you do it exactly? asking for my friend Alexander Z.

Great to see Roger Federer giving us these tips on RU-vid

🎾🎾🎾🎾

OMG!

I thought it was Tim henman

It's just you didn't show the second serve technique step by step.