When serving for doubles , i've noticed that most people serve using their backhand . Why is that ? Is there a difference between serving using forehand or backhand ?
well if you served a forehand serve, you would most likely lose the attack since the opponent can easily smash... remember that you can't serve it all the way to the baseline...cuz its doubles...
I always serve short serves with my backhand and I am not accustomed to serving shorts with my forehand. the problem I have with my forhand short serve is that I have less control on the location the birdy is going to land and the birdy is slower compared to backhand shot serves if you want to place it right past the serving line. by the way, in backhand short serve, you tend to hit the birdy at a higher height than in forhand serve.
Yes, there is a big difference-a difference of two feet for the short serve and an element of surprise for the flick serve, using the backhand serve that you don't get with the forehand serve in doubles. If you are still serving forehand in doubles, this is one important weakness you must correct.
doesnt matter how you serve as long as its accurate. i oftern see some ppl mastering a slice with a forehand and keeping it net low. What ever ur good at
I find that the backhand serve gives your opponents a tiny bit less time to react to your shot. This is because: a) My forehand serve tends to involve a bit more motion before contacting the bird, as compared to the backhand. This could give my opponent more cues for how to react to the serve. b) I can hold the bird further in front of me for the backhand serve. This means a shorter distance for the bird to travel.
No, not true. In doubles the serve and the return of serve are the two most important shots of any rally. The ability to serve backhand at the very front of the front service line, low and flick if necessary, has almost become mandatory for good doubles play. The reason is time. Delivering a serve that has the shortest path, and hence reducing the time as well as the options the receiver has, is the very cornerstone of today's doubles game. If you serve forehand in doubles you are merely handicapping yourself and your partner.
BTW, for the doubles backhand serve to be effective you must stand as near to the front service line as is legally permitted, and your serve must be delivered from as far in front of the front service line as you can manage without tumbling over, to a point at or near the opponent's front service line. Remember, the objective is to achieve the shortest flight path. I have seen some doubles players (mixed doubles excepted) serving low from mid court. This is ridiculous-what a waste.
Got to disagree with this...objective of a doubles' serve to ensure that when the shuttle crosses over the net it is at its highest point of flight and is just skimming over, so that when the shuttle passes over, it is on a downward trajectory. So it doesn't matter if you do this forehand/backhand, standing 1 mm from the service line or 10 cm... Standing close to the service line is for the server to be in a better position to anticipate a net shot reply hence moving in quickly for the net kill.. Shortest flight path....the opponent can't move till you serve, and he sure can't do zilch till the shuttle crosses over to his side. And once the shuttle crosses over, it doesn't matter if you have just serve from mid court or the front service line, distance will be the same.
OK, but the more time it takes for the shuttle to get from the server to the net, the more time the receiver has to prepare for his reply. if the receiver can take the shuttle closer to the net, he can play a better reply.
There's no doubt that the backhand serve is more effective than the forehand. Nowadays you won't see any professional level doubles players using a forehand serve. Of course, many people have excellent forehand serves. A good forehand serve is better than a bad backhand serve; but a good backhand serve reigns supreme. Adherents to forehand serving often claim that they can produce deceptive angled serves, directed wide of the T. They say that players using a backhand serve can't do this. That's false; it is possible to perform all service variations with a backhand serve. But it is much more difficult to perform the wide serves using a backhand; many club players never see anyone succeed at this, whereas plenty of people can perform the forehand wide serves.
jeezz.. if u got a not so good backhand, whats stopping ya from carrying on wiv ur forehand serve? at least one good thing about the forehand serve is you can serve a much wider angle, very effective in doubles. U can slice it and hit it to the roof! backhand serve is just so boring... even tho i still do the backhand serve cos i cant serve as accuratly with forehand hehe
Nothing. If you have a good forehand service, then by all means use it But use it in the knowledge that, if you learned to serve backhand well, it would be even more effective. No, no, no! You can create the same angled serves with a backhand. It just takes knowledge and practice. For the knowledge, see www.ibbs.tv and the video on low service. There is no fundamental advantage to using a forehand serve in doubles. There are obvious advantages to using a backhand serve. The only reason to use a forehand serve is that you are familiar with it. It's the same reason that players deliberately use poor technique: they can't be bothered to learn something new. Of course, we all rely on our existing techniques when under pressure to win a game. But we should strive to replace them with better techniques - that is, if we want to become better players! I have served aces against good club players using my (new) angled backhand serve. When it works, it is so deceptive that they are not able to reach it before it hits the ground. The opponent has less time to react than with a forehand wide serve. When it doesn't work, it hits the net or floats up for an easy kill. It's an inconsistent service, but with practice it will become consistent.
The best way to understand it is to watch the "backhand low serve" video at www.ibbs.tv. That's where I learned it. It's quite simple, really. The technique is slightly different for each side. In both cases, I prepare as if for a normal (straight) low serve. It's important NOT to hold the racket "vertically"; the shaft should be at an angle (45 degrees from vertical, or a bit less). Most players do this already, but I didn't. It's all about how you hold the shuttle. To start, the shuttle is angled straight (it points towards my knees). But at the last moment, I angle the shuttle outwards by turning my wrist (strictly speaking, I pronate or supinate the forearm). To serve to the left (my backhand side), I also need to angle the racket otuwards. If I don't do this, then I typically hit the feathers first (which is against the laws). Serving to the right is easier, because I don't need to angle my racket face. I find that I turn the shuttle more for a rightwards serve; perhaps I also drop my elbow a bit to change the direction, as Lee demonstrates in the video. I don't drop the elbow as much as Lee, though, because in his demonstration I believe he is breaking the serving laws by bringing the racket head too high (I shall discuss this with him when next I get an opportunity). The important point to remember is that you can achieve a wide serve by angling the shuttle outwards at the last moment.
but then you would still have to face your racket in the direction where ur hitting. for me, i just think if i serve with a forehand, i can slice it and its much more difficult for the oponent to see where im hitting. I also have the option to hit a high serve without them seeing through me. But in the end, it depends on what works best for you and how your oponent plays. Im sure all coaches have different opinions, if it works for u, its cool
No, I don't have to do that. For the left serve, I change the angle of the racket face using my wrist and fingers; it's a slice. For the right serve, turning the shuttle does most of the work for me. In both cases, any adjustments are made at the last moment. Indeed; a forehand serve can work very well up to a high standard of play. But at the professional level, it is too much of a disadvantage (since everyone has near-perfect backhand serves too).
