Gollum
Regular Member
Background
In doubles, it is very important to develop an accurate straight low serve. A good serve will help you win many rallies, because it will be difficult for the receiver to attack.
Of all the strokes in the game, the low serve needs the greatest accuracy. Small improvements in the accuracy of your low serve will make big improvements in your games.
For the perfect low serve, we want:
So the perfect low serve looks something like this (side view; upright line is net, blue curve is shuttle path, small marks indicate service line):
The problem
The points listed above are not independent.
If you stand right at the front, then the shuttle will travel slightly upwards after it passes the net (unless you are very tall). It looks like this:
Alternatively you can give the shuttle more height, like this:
If you stand further back, then you can hit the shuttle flatter and it will drop as it passes the net. It looks like this:
"But my serve is already perfect!"
Are you sure?
How do you know unless you have filmed yourself from the side? It is very difficult to tell whether your serve is perfect; it may actually be too high or too long.
You can see easily if it is low when it crosses the net. But afterwards, it is harder to tell what the trajectory looks like.
Film yourself and see what your serve is really like!
So is it possible to make a perfect low serve?
Yes, it is possible. I know two ways to do this: the difficult way, and the easy way.
Difficult way
You can spin the shuttle by slicing underneath it. This will make it drop more steeply as it passes the net. It is similar to the effect of a sliced fast drop.
This method is very hard to get consistent. Slicing the shuttle makes the serve less accurate.
This method is discussed in another thread: http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?p=317597#post317597
Easy way
You don't need to slice the shuttle so dramatically. Instead, start with a good basic low serve action:
Once you have a good serve, it's time to make it perfect. Make one small change:
I find this technique much easier than slicing underneath the shuttle. The racket action is much simpler, so there is less chance of making a mistake.
With the "slicing underneath" method, I find the service variations almost impossible (flick serve and wide serve). I'm sure other people can do them, but I believe it is much easier with a simple racket movement.
I know that this method works, because I have filmed myself practising the serve on court (side view). When I brush upwards slightly, the serve trajectory can be perfect. When I don't brush it, the serve is always too high or too long.
Since I started using this method, the quality of serve returns from my doubles opponents has decreased noticeably. Some of them hit the shuttle into the net, which they didn't do before!
Remember, a slight brushing action will be enough.
I hope you find this idea beneficial
In doubles, it is very important to develop an accurate straight low serve. A good serve will help you win many rallies, because it will be difficult for the receiver to attack.
Of all the strokes in the game, the low serve needs the greatest accuracy. Small improvements in the accuracy of your low serve will make big improvements in your games.
For the perfect low serve, we want:
- To be standing right at the front of the court, with the shuttle held out in front.
Reason: if the shuttle starts closer to the net, the receiver has less time to react.
[*] - The shuttle to pass as low as possible over the net.
Reason: the higher it goes, the more attacking options for the receiver.
[*] - The shuttle to start falling once it passes the net.
Reason: as above.
[*] - The shuttle to land on the service line T.
Reason: the receiver will have to move slightly further to reach the shuttle. It will be harder to attack.
So the perfect low serve looks something like this (side view; upright line is net, blue curve is shuttle path, small marks indicate service line):

The problem
The points listed above are not independent.
If you stand right at the front, then the shuttle will travel slightly upwards after it passes the net (unless you are very tall). It looks like this:

Alternatively you can give the shuttle more height, like this:

If you stand further back, then you can hit the shuttle flatter and it will drop as it passes the net. It looks like this:

"But my serve is already perfect!"
Are you sure?
How do you know unless you have filmed yourself from the side? It is very difficult to tell whether your serve is perfect; it may actually be too high or too long.
You can see easily if it is low when it crosses the net. But afterwards, it is harder to tell what the trajectory looks like.
Film yourself and see what your serve is really like!
So is it possible to make a perfect low serve?
Yes, it is possible. I know two ways to do this: the difficult way, and the easy way.
Difficult way
You can spin the shuttle by slicing underneath it. This will make it drop more steeply as it passes the net. It is similar to the effect of a sliced fast drop.
This method is very hard to get consistent. Slicing the shuttle makes the serve less accurate.
This method is discussed in another thread: http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?p=317597#post317597
Easy way
You don't need to slice the shuttle so dramatically. Instead, start with a good basic low serve action:
- Use a soft push hitting action instead of tapping the shuttle.
- Hold the shuttle so that it points towards your body. It will travel flatter this way. If the shuttle points towards the floor, it will travel higher.
Once you have a good serve, it's time to make it perfect. Make one small change:
- As you hit the shuttle, drag the racket upwards slightly so that the strings brush across the shuttle base, from bottom to top.
[*] - You are brushing the shuttle, not slicing it.
I find this technique much easier than slicing underneath the shuttle. The racket action is much simpler, so there is less chance of making a mistake.
With the "slicing underneath" method, I find the service variations almost impossible (flick serve and wide serve). I'm sure other people can do them, but I believe it is much easier with a simple racket movement.
I know that this method works, because I have filmed myself practising the serve on court (side view). When I brush upwards slightly, the serve trajectory can be perfect. When I don't brush it, the serve is always too high or too long.
Since I started using this method, the quality of serve returns from my doubles opponents has decreased noticeably. Some of them hit the shuttle into the net, which they didn't do before!
Remember, a slight brushing action will be enough.
I hope you find this idea beneficial

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