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DOUBLE FAULT
There is nothing more frustrating that a double fault. It’s best to get back to basics when working to diagnose the problem. In the same manner in which a mechanic would trouble shoot a vehicle problem there are primary checkpoints. These are; grip, swing, toss and point of contact.
First the Continental Grip is customary for advanced or better players. Secondly the most effective swing is an easy throwing motion where the ball is hit over the head with the trajectory going upward and across the ball to induce top and side spin. The toss should be consistently placed to land just in front of the forward foot, the right for a right hander and vice versa for left. The point of contact must be accurate and allow for the body to release its kinetic energy into the shot without any “hitches” or stopping points because of bad timing.
Once the grip and a fluid upward and outward swing are achieved the integration with the toss and timing can be achieved. The overhead swing that goes up at the ball just as it begins to descend to produce spin and the proper trajectory is the correct technique.
There are as many variations on serve as there are instructors in the world but the fundamental concepts are the same. The racquet must impact the ball with an upward arc to impart power and spin to propel it over the net and yet pull it down into the court. The control of this shot requires that you are moving your body in successive link releases which will catapult the ball with the desired velocity, spin, direction and depth. Clearing the net is your first goal. In order to do this consistently the point of contact must be correct and best if consistently placed to fall just in front or on top of your head.
Errors long and into the net are generally caused by ball toss errors. Without even seeing a player but looking at a chart of service points (i.e. points in, points netted, points long, points wide, points won and lost) I can determine usually determine not only the ball toss height, consistency and the grip and postulate some of the fundamentals with the server.
For instance if I see for an intermediate player that all errors are into the net or long I would assume the server has an error of point of contact caused by the ball toss being too far in front or too low. If on the other hand first serves are going wide and long and not in the net the server’s toss is erratic and probably too high and or too far behind his head. If the second serves all go into the net the problem is not hitting with a proper upward motion and having the ball too far forward. If the second serves are going long and everything seems to be right I would think that the player is trying to guide it in and letting up somewhat which causes the ball to go long because it throws the timing off which causes the point of contact to become flatter which pushes the shot long. This may seem opposite of what is supposed to happen but letting up on a second serve will cause it to go long because you lose the power of the spin to bring it down into the court.
So there is a lot to think about here. If it is a mental nervousness that causes it this should show up in bad ball tosses and will throw off your natural swing and cause abundant errors as the server attempts to adjust in position which does not allow a natural motion. One of the best ways to get over double faults is to play one serve games. Hit with a friend who you enjoy playing who also wants to work out and play 3 or more sets using only one serve. To make it more challenging if you double fault do 5 push-ups after each miss. This will be even more frustrating at first but it gets your arms tired and more fluid.
One final note it is impossible to respond to this question on a general basis without looking at a specific player’s game but here is an a description of what occurs with many players who have problems with double faults. It is the movement of the lower body, the legs and timing of the push up of lift into the ball as you swing up into the shot. The legs and the coordination of the knee bend and push off with your lower body will significantly help the swing up and out at the ball. This is necessary in every serve to provide power, accuracy and consistency. An arm server, one who swings without the use of the lower body to release all the links in the kinetic action is inefficient biomechanics. These players are prone to inconsistency due to the nature and the need to be in harmonious concordance with the ball.
This is not golf, the ball is moving and the serve requires rhythm to be hit effectively. Arm servers are notorious for using huge amounts of spin to force the ball over but when they get tight they wind up being flat footed and hit long or into the net because of this over emphasis on the arm’s motion. In other cases arm servers have so little margin for error and if they hit flat they either hit the tape or hit long by a couple inches. They don't have a margin for error because the grip is too eastern and the toss is too far out front.
Errors of the last scenario require a change of grip to a more Continental to Eastern Backhand and bring the ball where it lands close to your right front foot, if you are a right hander and just inside the line a couple inches at the most... very most. On second serves the ball should be a bit higher so you can go up into it as it is coming down and it should land on the line or behind it if you let it drop without hitting the serve. This will give you a higher trajectory over the net and after a few miss hits you will get the hand to the swing. The pronation is created by making sure the racquet stays on the outside of your body as you swing so it does not cross in front or from your right to you left side but stays on the right side of your body. This is primarily for second serves which requires a higher margin of error and it can also create that extra kick. This motion will also develop a better upward swing while keep the head up to avoid any premature head drop which would cause the ball to drop or dive into the net because the loss of the upward thrust.
Double faults are a bad way to lose a point yet hitting weak second serves are just as bad and indicate a deeper flaw in the intermediate player’s game. It is much better to hit strong second serves and miss a few good second serves rather than become timid and have better players rip winners by you every time you hit a second serve. So as in all parts of the game a player must take appropriate risks to achieve winning results. The serve is no different. Through practice and experience players can produce very effective, accurate and powerful second serves with a high degree of consistency.
I hope this helps.
k.
