I having hard time trying to serve consistent good low serve, in my doubles game. I’m trying to slightly alter my technique but when I play games, I get nervous and fall back on my old serving technique. Even though my current technique is under arm serve, I don’t keep the shuttle close to the racket prior to serving, but my new serve is closer the racket before hitting. But I panic and the serve goes bad, when I play a match. I serve ok when I’m practicing but not playing a match, with the new style. It must be years of serving the same style and now anything new, feels unnatural, especially during competitive games. How can I overcome this? I feel frustrated. Also I tend to rush my flick serve, sometimes going out. As you know service is crucial doubles, as your opponent is ready to attack, if the serve not good so give your points away.
try play some recreational games before playing serious games. that way you'll still be practicing your serve style in a game situation but not so pressured that you'll get nervous and lose form. once you get use to game situations, then maybe start transition into more serious games and manage your emotions
Thanks fella for reply. I understand what you're saying but even recreational games, can be tense. My friends wants to play games, so in that situation I get tense on my new serve.
Hire a court for an hour and practice low serves for an hour (or some flicks if you get bored). Use more than one shuttle, so you can serve a few before you go pick it up. You can learn to serve under pressure by having a practice partner toe the line to try and receive your service - he should look intimidating, he doesn't have to be nasty. You could try building up a rhythm to your serve e.g. 1 (ready racket), 2 (ready shuttle), 3 (perform serve). In pressure situations, serving is then just a case of 1, 2, 3. Make sure the new serve is going to be the only serve you ever need (a good low backhand serve, probably pushed rather than sliced too much). Keep it simple, and less can go wrong! No point having to learn this new serve, and then learn another one when you decide this one isn't good enough! Finally, a really good server (and I believe this is really tough!) will be able to serve through a gap of approximately two shuttles widths above the tape (i.e. between the tape and an imaginary line roughly 12 cm above the net). This is a tough practice - get a partner to hold their racket horizontally above the net. You have to serve above the tape but underneath his racket. The presence of the racket and the additional pressure can be extremely nerve racking, and should help you learn to just hit a serve, rather than worry about the task at hand! Maybe some of those tips will help you!
Good plan. It's also good to remember that the low serve is the one shot you can actually practise at home! Put a dining chair on top of a box or something so that the top of the chair is 5 feet (152.5cm) off the ground: that's the height of the centre of the net. (Or a music stand is good, if you have one.) The service line is 196cm (6 foot 5) from the net, so you need that amount of space either side of the chair. If you don't have a room big enough, you can practice serving up and down the hallway. If you're obsessed enough, you can spend five or ten minutes practising serves every day. Remember too that when you change your technique, it can take several weeks until you can do the new technique consistently under match conditions. If it doesn't work right away there's nothing wrong, it's perfectly normal. So keep on practising, and be patient with yourself.
Keep at it, and be ok with it not working out as well for a few weeks. You'll later reap the rewards of some sucky game scores early on as you get used to it, or maybe do every other one on average (but be more random to keep your opponents guessing at least a bit). I think the practice-under-pressure and home-practice ideas are good too. I've started practicing my backhand low serve at home every now and then too, as it used to be terrible/just never made the effort. Practice accuracy too, trying to hit something (get it in an empty bin maybe, or to hit an A4 sheet of paper) placed the right point at the opposite side service line. When you can get the paper most times after enough practice, fold it in half and step up a level of accuracy! Oh, and help yourself psychologically - tell yourself you can do it, be positive, imagine and see yourself doing it just like you've done it in practice right before you take the shot. Then do the real shot.
Thanks fellas. I do practice my serve but during a game, I get really tense! So tense in fact, that my partner is not amused. I have to 'play' more for fun and ease my tension.
Practice! Use a 'closed' practice first ie one shuttle at a time serving it, think about what your doing practice doesn't improve by increasing the number of shuttle you hit. Also as mentioned have a hitting partner who can be there as a receiver get them to return only the very poor ones back so you can see where most land. After that move to a 'open' practice with your playing partner/receiver, you serve the shuttle they return to the forecourt and you play the 3rd shot then stop and repeat many times and switch. The first 3 shots are usually everything in doubles and not enough players return well into the forecourt or midcourt. There is no secret to serving well most people who are good play alot and/or practice it at some point, its your most important shot and a little practice will win you alot of 'cheap' points in doubles.
