A good service is one of the best tools in a tennis player’s arsenal! Thus, a good serve is ideal if you want to improve your game!
There are tons of different serving techniques. Among them, the pancake service is one of the most useful ones. However, many players need clarification about the dynamics of this serve.
So, how to do a pancake serve tennis?
Pancake serve is done by applying a sidespin to the ball and hitting it with force. While hitting the ball, the eastern grip or “pancake grip” is used. There are many advantages and disadvantages to this serve. Along with the pros and cons, there are ways to counter the pancake serve.
This is only the summary of the entire article. Read till the end to know all the necessary pieces of information!
What is a Pancake Serve in Tennis?
Pancake serve is a special service in tennis where your arm and wrist twist while you serve. That’s how the name ‘pancake serve’ originated. While making pancakes, we usually flip the pancake. In pancake serve, we rotate our forearms when attempting it.
The pancake serve is also known as the slice serves. This service isn’t like the mainstream service in tennis. In regular service, there is barely any spin. However, in pancake serving, the goal is to achieve maximum spin while serving.
Now you must be intrigued by the techniques of these services. I’ve given a step-by-step tutorial on pancake serve in the next segment. Read it to find out!
How to Do a Pancake Serve in Tennis?
There is some prerequisite knowledge to pancake service. Before doing a pancake serve, you must understand factors like grip, ball spin, and ball speed.
Pancake Grip:
The 1st thing you need to achieve is the pancake grip. The pancake grip is also known as the eastern grip.
By doing an eastern forearm grip, your forearm should be ready to attempt the pancake serve. Refrain from squishing your racket too hard.
Ball Spin:
The 2nd thing you have to learn is sidespin. Hitting the side of the ball applies sidespin to the pancake serve. Sidespin is really popular in other serving techniques as well.
Avoid hitting the ball at the center of the racket. The sidespin is also an essential trick to know in table tennis.
Ball Speed:
The 3rd condition for the pancake serve is to hit the ball really hard. Speedy pancake serves are the strongest. However, most people make the wrong move here.
They push the ball with the racket to apply more speed to the ball. It’s not the right way to do a pancake serve or serving a speedy ball in general.
The best way to make the ball speedy is by extending your forearm and hitting the ball. You can also twist your body so that energy can be transferred to the racket. Also, using tennis rackets that are powerful particularly, may help you in this case.
Steps: Pancake Serve
Now, let’s know the steps to do a pancake serve. Follow the steps below-
- First, change your grip from a conventional hammer grip to a pancake grip.
- After that, throw to ball up in the air and hit the ball by swinging your forearm. The hitting of the pancake serve is similar to the regular serve.
However, you need to apply a little bit of sidespin to the ball. Twist your forearm while hitting the ball. This will apply the sidespin.
The sidespin will be left/right, depending on which way you twist your forearm. If you can apply a lot of spin to the ball, it might curve a bit while airborne! - Finally, let the racket swing naturally to your right or left side to avoid injury.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Pancake Serve
There are a few pros and cons to the pancake serve. Knowing them will help you mentally prepare for this service.
Advantages:
The advantages of a pancake serve are-
- Increased Speed and Strength: The serve will be quick and strong. The pancake serve is strong in general, and the different spins add to the speed.
Note that, the grip determines the power of your serve. So always clean your racket grips before starting matches.
- Increased Consistency: The sidespin of the pancake serve will allow high consistency in your serve. Beware though, you have to clear the net for that.
- Unpredictable Service: The pancake serve increases uncertainty in your serve. It can be the perfect start to help you catch your opponent off guard.
Just remember to change grips mid-serving. So you can switch to the eastern grip right before swinging the racket. This will help disguise the pancake serve.
Disadvantages:
Here are the disadvantages of a pancake serve-
- When it’s too windy while playing tennis, the pancake serve might not work. Because the ball spins in a pancake serve, the wind can disrupt the serve pretty easily.
- Your hands might be overworked. Since the pancake serve requires a lot of twisting of forearms and wrists, your hands may be sore. In order to avoid that, you must do hand stretching and wrist exercises regularly.
How to Counter Pancake Serves in Tennis?
You can counter pancake serves by doing the following-
- Keep an eye on the grip of your opponent. If your opponent is holding or switching to an eastern grip, a pancake serve may be inbound!
- Return the pancake serve by holding your tennis racket at an angle. This will counter the sidespin from the pancake serve and cause it to be less effective.
- Avoid staying too far from the center of your court. The ball will be speedy as well, so try to return the serve down the middle.
By following these tips, you can counter the pancake serve effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
What is the easiest tennis serve?
The flat serve is the easiest tennis serve. It is the most simple serving technique. Flat services are the first things beginners learn while playing tennis. This initiates the learning curve for them. Hitting the ball straight with as much as you can is how a flat service is done.
What serves are illegal in tennis?
An illegal serve in tennis is when the ball makes contact with the top portion of the net. If the ball bounces on the service box after that, it’s regarded as an illegal serve. If an illegal service happens twice in a row, the service is considered to be a faulty one.
What are 3 things you can not do in tennis?
Firstly, you cannot cross to the opponent’s side of the court. Secondly, you cannot touch the net or any posts while in the game. Thirdly, carrying the ball or catching the ball with a racket is considered a foul in tennis.
The Final Words
That’s all you need to know about pancake serve tennis. Hopefully, now you’re ready to implement this serve while playing tennis.
Try to learn a few serving techniques and keep switching them up while you play tennis. This will make your services versatile and improve your gameplay!
Best of luck.
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