Okay, let’s talk about this whole thing with big serves, kinda like what you see from Milos Raonic.
My Big Serve Experiment
So, I was watching some tennis highlights the other day, and man, seeing those serves, especially the power guys like Milos bring… it got me thinking. I play tennis pretty regularly, you know, just club level stuff, nothing fancy. But I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to add a bit more ‘oomph’ to my serve? Just get a few more free points maybe.
Getting Started
Next time I hit the courts, that was my mission. Forget warming up properly with groundstrokes, I grabbed my basket of balls and went straight to the baseline. My plan was simple: just try to hit the ball really, really hard. I pictured that explosive motion, trying to copy it, kinda throwing my whole body into it.
The Process (or Mess)
Well, let me tell you, it didn’t quite go as planned. Here’s what happened:
- First few attempts? The ball went flying. Like, way out. Over the fence once, I think.
- Then came the double faults. Lots of them. Net, wide, long – you name it, I hit it.
- I kept trying to muscle it, thinking more effort equals more speed. My arm started feeling… weird. Not painful right away, but definitely strained.
- I spent maybe a solid hour just doing this. Serve, walk, pick up balls, repeat. Getting more frustrated with each bad toss and mishit.
Reality Check
After a while, sweating and kinda annoyed, I stopped. My shoulder was definitely barking at me. I looked at the balls scattered everywhere except in the service box. It hit me then. This wasn’t working. Trying to just copy the power part without understanding the technique behind it was dumb. These pros spend years perfecting their motion, balance, timing… everything.
What I Learned
So, yeah. My little experiment to get a Milos-style serve ended with a sore shoulder and a bruised ego. I had to take a few days off playing just to let my arm recover. It was a good lesson, though. Focus on the basics first. Smooth technique and timing will get you further (and safer) than just trying to smash the cover off the ball. Chasing raw power like that, without the foundation? Not a great idea, at least not for me. Back to working on my toss and rhythm, I guess.
