Andy Roddick: Serve Analysis

[181erob]

Roddick has a bomb for a serve, but the best serve in history goes to Richard Krajicek. Watch some videos, and you'll see what I mean.

[justkjjin]

These numbers are senseless...... Use your own technique... Those analysis are senseless too cause if you want to imitate a profi player you won't getting better

[yodakaiwi]

id be scared to be a line watcher when andy is playing

[ravi48819]

Andy makes contact ~9.5 feet off the ground.

How far into the court does he make contact?

I want to contact the first serve out in front and need to calculate where the toss should land. I think it depends on height and how far you jump. (I am 6 feet tall and no jump).

[mytennis4you]

@ravi48819 Don't worry too much about these numbers. Keep you tossing arm parallel to the baseline on the way up and toss the ball in a slight right to left curve (if you're a righty). If you don't use your legs, your toss should not be as high and as far into the court as Andy's. Best!

[jazzswingsoulblues]

@ravi48819 Hey man, one thing I'd say is the legs are a key part of the serve. They help generate most of the power!

[jarethmd]

holy shit, i am truly jealous of andy's serve.... now i am sad....

i am going to serve a few hours a day, everyday, until i get that serve.

[cys12141]

you are not very sure of what you are talking about. You are just imitating those talking cabbage-heads on ESPN and CBS. At least they do it for a pay...

[werbeniuk12]

i think annother key point is, his ellbow is very low... before accelerating...

[Allaboutthemojo]

Hi i have a question about serve arm pronation. I find that i have good serves, but i am still not able to pronate quick enough while serving and that's affecting me in two ways 1. Not getting enough racket head speed hence losing power and spin and 2. After serving for a little while i feel pain on the inside part of my elbow. I have everything sorted out from the toss, to the feet positioning to the trophy pose, but i can't figure out a good way to practice pronating fast. Any ideas. Thanks

[derekanaya]

@Allaboutthemojo What I started doing was taking a 15 pound weight and very slowly spin in back and forth in your serving arm with your arm mostly extended. Did wonders for me after about 3 weeks, You can then start making the weights heavier but I havent yet.

[Maniac742]

@Allaboutthemojo Without actually seeing your serve, I can only guess, but here's a few things that helped me. Don't toss the ball into the sky. Toss the ball so it apexes and stops at the furthest you can possibly reach, then you go up there and get it. Don't wait for the ball to come back down to you. If you're under-pronating, try serving balls into your own court and force them to bounce over the net.

[mephatboi]

so just what r these special arm/shoulder exercises???

[ampzvirdee]

@jacobkahn who got broken more times in the match though? federer twice..roddick once...he was unlucky. and roddick served alot of unreturnable serves which federer either got a racket to or hit out...they dont count as aces but are just as effective!!

[ampzvirdee]

best server. can do all types of serve slice, kick, flat with precision and power.

[mrnvader]

Take a close look at Roddick's eye's 33-35 seconds into this video, (use pause), are his eye's on the ball till contact has been made? If you watch "Federer's serve analysis" his eye's are on the ball at the point of contact. I am not a tennis pro... (I did play open level racquetball)... I can't say anything bad about Roddick's serving skill, I am just surprised because of the saying "keep your eye on the ball". Regardless Andy Roddick is an awesome tennis player!

[s900203]

It's amazing how his shoulder can withstand that...

[nadman14]

@jacobkahn nice got any videos of you playing for the national team,

[ihateuutube]

@jacobkahn That's because Roddick is a much weaker returner. You're just another idiot Federer fanboy who knows nothing about tennis.

[theorangegroup1]

i like the dudes accent

[imavaughanstar]

Is there anything better about having an abbreviated service motion as compared to the elongated one? Obviously it doesn't affect power as that has to do with the swing of the racquet coming into the ball and ur jump etc but in terms of placement and consistency when setting up for the serve, is there anyone who can suggest as to why it might be better than a motion like what Djokovic uses?

[dekerstmann]

2010 stats....

roddick first serve perc. is 71% VERY important

first serve points won 80% fastest serve 155mph on record

second serve points 59% which is very high, usually a very high kick serve

number one in service games won at 92%

number on in total service points won at 74% (karlovic 72%, federer 70%)

roddick has the best second serve in the world but the placement with the first serves can be better.

[MrHadluve]

explosive;that just what this is.

[pureownshard]

thing is, when roger's serving, guess who's not returning on the other side of the net? roger! he's a great returner as well as a great server, and the reason roddick's serve is being question is, well, he often plays roger and that's not a fair comparison, since he has higher first, second serve percentage against pretty much any player on the tour

[ampzvirdee]

@fifogeq all federer supporters are glory hunters!!!!!!!

[ampzvirdee]

yes most experts would agree for instance PETER FLEMING, JOHN MCENROE, PATRICK MCENROE. andd why in the last 4 years has roddick had the highest % of points won on first and second serve? cuz he has the best serve.

[ampzvirdee]

roddick does have the best serve in the world because that is the only reason he has been in the top 10 for the last 8 years. Federers is not as good. most experts would agree.

[fifogeq]

that is not true.'' most experts would agree?!'' - you clearly don't know much about tennis

[iAnimeFANS]

@fifogeq

he's right u idiot roddicks serve is better than federer;s.

[DestroyerAlexandros]

Sampras and Federer have better, more effective serves

[blinkMATIC]

huuuhhh not at all, i could agree with you about sampras (but i dont),but never about federer

[gravedigger02]

@blinkMATIC federer's serve is extremely precise and he has always the same ball throwing which makes his serve hard to read... of course it's not as hard as andy's but i wouldn't say that andy's serve is better than his

[tylergaylord]

exactly, it really depends, because most serves can be effective without speed, its all about placement, which andy does have, but he also has speed, there is a lot that a server has to do to be the best, he could have placement, power, spin, and a great percentage of first and especially second serves, if you have all of those, and they are VERY high, i would call that person the best ever

[TheBestEmusic]

beautiful

[fourleafclover96]

the way he coils up is simply amazing

[TheRafanadal21]

WOW!

[Bdubbs09]

Holy crap, that looks so complex yet in a match he does his serve in like a millisecond. Fast, consistent, and explosive.

[zvuk]

best server in the world is rapidshare, not Andy Roddick :)

[macchesney]

ROTFLMAO!! hahah good one :)

[Mrazmerize]

his serve is like a badminton player's smash, which is really hard to do because the tennis racket is so much heavier.

[sami54140]

i don't think so : roddick is not the best server, only the hardest ;)

to be the best , you have to get some awesome points in the court, like the T REGULARY and not once a set :)

[zvucnik91]

i tink karlovic is better server

[bullet4mv93]

"the best server on the planet"? uh noo.....don't get me wrong, i love roddick, but he's not the best server. He just serves the hardest.

[AceGuitarR7]

yeh, definately top 4. pace doesnt bother most pros. one reason why federer has dominated roddick is because he just rips apart roddicks serve and uses the pace to his advantage. when roddick first came on the tour he was alot more effective mostly because players werent used to his serve. he still has a great serve and is one of the best but players arent afraid to go after it.

[Maniac742]

@bullet4mv93 Nah, that's crap. Andy is by far the most technically sound, fit, and athletic server. His weapon isn't just power. Andy can hit many different types of serve from the same toss making it difficult to read for the opponent. Whether it's a slider, flat winner, or a kick serve, Andy tosses the ball the exact same way and he can also choose which side of the opponent(forehand or backhand) he's going to serve to. That's as good as it gets.

[AllGenreMusic]

@bullet4mv93 Eh, it is a pretty subjective question to begin with because there are plenty of players who are quite effective on serve and don't serve nearly as hard, but during Roddick's best tournaments, his serve is one of the best, if not the best serve the tennis world has seen.  Just because Federer is able to return it with frightening consistency and accuracy, shouldn't make Roddick's serve look worse :p Sure Karlovic has a great serve, but Roddick is able to back his up mentally in GS.

[ofpeter]

what about his right shoulder ...his movement isn't so complete as at school tennis teaching

[chocobosROK]

it looks so beautiful to me. xD

[helikobakter]

I think Ivanisevic holds the record for most aces in one year/season

[Carolinaman09]

Whoa, looks like Andy Roddick may have had some prior experience as a pitcher (with that whip arm action to generate more arm speed); reminiscent of my boy back in the day, MIKE MUSSINA!!!

O's r #1 (lol FUCK THE STANDINGS)!!!

[zzyzybynsky]

I love this video, just one thing.

Karlovic has the best serve on the planet, not Andy. However, for most of us who aren't that tall, it would not do to emulate his motion.

[EscapedC0nvict]

only because he can create angles that even the likes of sampras and roddick could dream of. Karlovic has the best serve ever, just my opinion.

[champ1193]

i think because isner is able to jump so high that he is up there also

[EscapedC0nvict]

yes, guccione and querrey have good serves too. Delpotro also has a mean serve.

[AceGuitarR7]

lol, yeh guiccione's serve is good. i cant believe how a guy can have a serve like that and strugle to stay in the top 100.

[GueorguiJoukov]

We all so missed the most awkward, but yet simple thing he does which gives him extra inches and extra miles... so darn stupid, it works.

Look at his pinpoint stance. He's probably the first player to ever do that: HIS FRONT FOOT goes backward before he lowers! We usually see the back foot comign in, but just try and make a little jump with both motions.

Try sliding back foot and try repositioning front foot. By doing like Andy you can do what no other human can: push off both foot at 100%.

[GueorguiJoukov]

The key isn't necessarily to get it back. The idea is to end up on the front of your feet with them close. I think he no longer does that, but what remains is that hsi feet end-up in the same position. Search that position and get a confortable way to get to it.

But seriously, slidding your back foot make you loose your back leg on the push. Try it at home; you'll feel you either miss it totally or partially.

What we learn? Push with both legs, no matter how!!!

[shambayati195]

holy shit tennis serves look awesome when you slow them down. at least people who have perfected their motion like roddick here

[twinterrors44]

I have tried this and looked at other videos and it shows you how to do it and my serves are pretty fast

[sherriffflood]

what's that got to do with tennnis?! The bloke's doing everyone a favour with these videos,mate.

[leengsta94]

only if roodick could place the serves better, anywhere he wanted to would make him a much better server

Roger aced Roddick 50 times (wimbledon finals) by just placing the balls wherever he wanted to

[darthtau]

well.... andy dosn't have a great service return anyway, so federer's great placement is magnified by it.

[mytennis4you]

@ koreapwns & GueorguiJoukov: Couldn't agree more with you. Good points!

[GueorguiJoukov]

I would rather point out how low he gets before jumping.

There's a reason why he gets his racket faster than anyone to the ball and this is how fluently he transfer the energy from his legs to his arm.

[koreapwns]

no doubt andy roddick has the fastest serve. he just needs to work on where he places the ball now. if he can place his serves on the edges like federer and with his speed, every serve will be an ace for him. roddicks my fav player!! besides sampras.

[ElAmiti001]

what kind of serve is this flat? topspin? slice?

[5knapp5]

Pantalones.. how did i know a goof like you would have to have a pop at me??

[5knapp5]

I played tennis today.. I can't immitate how Roddick serves, but I do have the ability to serve quickly and powerfully (obviously it's nothing compared to Roddick!) but I'm going to keep working on it!

[wdwrightjr]

Thank You for the chance to win, and, good luck to everyone! :)

[3shaka3]

the key of andy´s service is how fast he moves his arm...technicly, his service can be improved in many ways...for example, he doesn´t get a correct body weigth traslation because fis feet are too close to each other during the whole serve...

However, he´s got one of the best serves in the history of this sport, so it doesn´t make any sense to point this stuff out

[exitingforward]

ball abuse!! that serve is wicked!! i use the sampras/federer style of serve but ive been thinking of trying this style to see if it can add some speed'

[AoEFreak54321]

idk it seems kind of weird....such a short backswing...

[ZIEGE41]

Karlovic has good serve becasuse he´s very tall.. But Andy has the best serve and his style is awesome..

[Maxush]

Karlovic has the best serve. Think he served 55 aces against Hewitt at The French!

[gravedigger02]

roddick has the fastest serve on this planet but not the best i think ;)

[vyeh25a]

fastest but not accurate enough

[SirBongy]

federer has the best serve.

[gravedigger02]

yeah, i thinks so, too :D

[mrbobevans]

Why does Sampras have a better serve than Roddick?

One thing about Roddick is that he never comes up with the big serve in crucial moments like Fed and Pete.

[thetrickster123456]

i can serve....underhand =D

[krypticsnow]

iv been wondering... is that even alowed?

[thetrickster123456]

if the ref isnt looking =P no but seriously u can serve any way u wanna

[luckykat2]

yes it is, look up chang serve 1989 french open, classic stuff

[micoyeung]

Anybody can serve big nowadays. But it is hard for someone to get it as hard as Andy.

[supertrex2]

but not as accurate. even andy serve is not accurate.

[ilovedalejrhms88]

this is good stuff.

[redsoxfanatic1234567]

love this guy's voice

[GreenSaida]

I am thinking about buying a cheap but decent radar gun. Can anyone recommend me any of their brand? I do want to measure my serves.

[jraybay]

Roddicks serve is actually a lot more difficult than it sounds/looks . It's amazing to see in person though :D

[Anon1352]

i agree getting that much rotation is extremly difficult to achieve especially with getting the timing down but yes awesome to see in person

[jraybay]

yes :D that's exactly what I was saying but I didn't lol.

[portbou]

anon, just one question, you mean the hip rotation?

[Anon1352]

I meant full body rotation lol everything is rotating when he is serving which is why he has so much power

[imadesiboy1993]

ya i been doing a little different wind up then roddick but i try to finish the power he does. my hardest serve has been around 110, an ace in this 1v1 game. i won 6-3, 6-3 :). my coach proved to me he could do 130, hes around 6.0 on that tennis level thingy. im around 4.5 according ot him

[floppydrive42]

lol now when i think about serving, ill thinking about exxon gas, b/c getting a better serve requires better fuel for power

[lfybradley919]

hmm thats true so yeah ill def continue to improve mine. i kno ill never get there but u think its possible to hit as hard as roddick does with a more traditional serve style and ur not the tallest like karlovic. i mean no ones done it but u think its possible. just curious again lol

[mytennis4you]

Basically, yes. Racquet head speed can be created with different backswings as well. I think about Greg Rusedski or Pete Sampras. They've had slightly different motions and came close to Roddick's speed. However, the fundamentals apply to all players: Knee bend, shoulder turn, racket drop, body extension, forearm pronation. Some guys coordinate and optimize this things better than others and are more gifted. Racquet technology is also an important factor...

[lfybradley919]

never heard of the first but def heard of sampras. i have the babolat aeropro drive plus which is really good for serves as well as spin so ill just continue practicing. I actually injured my knee a little while ago so i havent been bending alot (then again ive been stuck in by snow) but once it gets warmer ill get back to practicing and hopefully can post some videos. thx!

[lfybradley919]

idk i have a pretty good serve i mean nothing compared to the pros but pretty fast for the school division i play in. anyways im always trying to improve it. my question is since roddicks serve is so effective should i try to learn that? i used to serve kinda like him and it was strong. i mean do u think more and more people r going to go toward his style? anyways srry for the long post but u think its worth while trying to learn it or go the more traditional way?

[capnmorgan4]

I have actually copied his serve style to the last detail and there are definitely some positives to it. I play high school tennis and I'm serving pretty consistent in the 100's. My advice is that if you have a serve that currently works for you don't go changing it just to copy Roddick because it takes a whole lot of practice to make that serve work. I generally practice serves about 2 hours a day so that helps me alot but I say stick with the serve you have now and just perfect that.

[mytennis4you]

Just like capnmorgan4 I recommend you not to change your serve if it is already "pretty fast" as you've written. Your body has to be in extreme good shape if you wanna emulate A-Rod, cause he explodes so quickly. And your timing might get effected as well because of the shorter backswing. So, stick to the swing you feel comfortable with and try to develop your own motion further. Good luck!

[samurai7411]

i may be wrong, but shouldn't he be looking at the ball and racquet at contact? if you pause at 41 seconds, you'll see that he is not

[mytennis4you]

Yes, you're right. Roddick moved his head together with his shoulders instead of keeping the head in position. I think it doesn't harm his power, cause he's practised this shot so much, but his accuracy can suffer from that. Good point you made.

[AFCompany]

He doesn't have the best serve like the guy in the video said. He just has the fastest one.

[tenniswh0re]

the thing is about his serves are that they are really fast, AND are very consistent ( more than 70% first serves ) fast and constistency is hard to find in other players

[Arhaych]

I feel Karlovic's serve is more potent, in terms of aces, and service winners - Roddick finds himself out-aced by Federer, Murray quite easily.

[samurai7411]

While what you say it true, Roddick may not get more aces, buts his opponents mess up on the return more often (give him an easy put away, hit it into the net, or just shank it) so its not an "ace" perse, but just as good as.

[Arhaych]

Yes, it throws up plenty of service winners.

However, Federer seems content to block it back to neutralise all of the pace, it's an effective strategy.

Whereas with Karlovic, it's just trying to return the damned thing, lmao!

[reefric]

true, wimbledon 2009 was a perfect example..

[Keirosuke]

he uses pin point stance

[sprigganglory]

you make some excellent points about his kick ass serve

[mjlovetennis]

Thanks for this good analysis

[evilmunki54]

Brilliant video, the best slow-mo analysis on youtube!!!