3 Pickleball Serves You NEED to Master Now!

Summary

In this informative video, the presenter teaches viewers three highly effective pickleball serves: the screw ball, the heavy top spin, and the looper. The screw ball, with its side spin, can curve the ball away from opponents, making it challenging to return. The heavy top spin serve, a staple among professionals, requires the right amount of arc and spin for a powerful and deep serve. Lastly, the looper, a variation of the top spin serve, adds height for a trickier bounce. The video emphasizes the importance of mastering these serves to enhance gameplay and score more points in pickleball.

Takeaways

• 🏐 The screw ball serve in pickleball involves a side spin that makes the ball curve, creating a challenging return for opponents.
• 🎾 To achieve the screw ball serve, players should aim for a visible curve in the ball's trajectory, which requires a significant amount of side spin.
• 🤸‍♂️ The technique for the screw ball involves cutting to the side while hitting the ball, using a Continental grip for better spin.
• 🌀 The windscreen drill can be used to practice and perfect the side spin needed for the screw ball serve.
• 🏆 The heavy Top Spin serve is the most effective and commonly used serve in pickleball, especially at the professional level.
• 🏓 For the heavy Top Spin serve, players should aim for a height of 2 to 3 feet over the net and generate a lot of Top Spin for a more challenging return.
• 🔄 The brushing motion is key to generating Top Spin, and practicing with a windscreen or the Dink Master can help improve this technique.
• 🎯 When serving, maintaining accuracy is crucial, and beginners should aim for the center of the court to ensure consistency.
• 🔄 The Looper serve is a variation of the heavy Top Spin serve, with added height and spin, making it particularly effective against opponents who slice their returns.
• 💪 Generating the right amount of power in serves is important for depth and making returns more difficult for opponents.
• 📚 The video script also mentions an upcoming video focusing on stroke mechanics to maximize power in pickleball.

Q & A

What are the three serves discussed in the video?

The three serves discussed are the screw ball, the heavy top spin, and the looper.

What is the key to making the screw ball serve effective?

The key to making the screw ball serve effective is getting enough side spin to create a visible curve in the ball's trajectory.

How does the heavy top spin serve differ from the screw ball serve?

The heavy top spin serve focuses on generating more top spin and hitting the ball higher over the net, creating a rainbow trajectory, while the screw ball serve emphasizes side spin and a lower trajectory.

What is the purpose of the looper serve?

The looper serve is designed to create a higher and loopier trajectory, making it difficult for opponents to return, especially those who slice their returns.

Why is it important to mix up serves in pickleball?

Mixing up serves in pickleball keeps opponents guessing and prevents them from getting used to a single serve, making it easier to score points.

What is the recommended grip for executing the screw ball serve?

The Continental grip is recommended for the screw ball serve, as it allows for better side spin and control.

How can you practice generating top spin without a partner?

You can practice generating top spin by bouncing the ball on your paddle, trying to get it to spin and jump to the side.

What is the 'windscreen drill' mentioned in the video?

The windscreen drill involves hitting the ball into a windscreen to test the amount of side spin. If the ball goes to the side, it indicates successful spin generation.

What should you aim for when executing the heavy top spin serve?

When executing the heavy top spin serve, aim for a height of 2 to 3 feet over the net and focus on generating a good amount of top spin for a more challenging return.

How does the height of the serve affect its effectiveness?

A higher serve, especially with top spin, can create a more erratic bounce and a rainbow trajectory, making it harder for opponents to time and return the ball.

What is the target area for the heavy top spin serve?

The target area for the heavy top spin serve is the back third of the box, aiming for depth and power.

Outlines

00:00

🏐 Mastering the Screw Ball Serve

The video begins with an introduction to three effective serves in pickleball, emphasizing the importance of variety in serves. The first serve discussed is the screw ball, which involves a side spin that causes the ball to curve. The speaker explains that the curve can make the serve challenging for opponents at the 3.0 to 4.0 level. They highlight the common mistake of not getting enough spin, which results in an easy return for the opponent. The technique for the screw ball is detailed, focusing on the Continental grip and the need to cut to the side while hitting the ball. The speaker also introduces the 'windscreen drill' to practice getting the right amount of spin and curve.

05:02

🎾 Balancing Spin and Consistency

The second paragraph continues the discussion on the screw ball serve, emphasizing the balance between spin and consistency. The speaker advises on finding the right amount of cut to maintain accuracy while still achieving a challenging curve. They also suggest starting with serves down the middle to improve accuracy and gradually progress to targeting specific areas. The paragraph concludes with a reminder of the importance of the screw ball as a change-up serve and introduces the next serve, the heavy Top Spin serve, which is considered the standard serve in pickleball.

10:04

🏓 Perfecting the Heavy Top Spin Serve

The third paragraph focuses on the heavy Top Spin serve, which is the most commonly used serve by professionals. The speaker identifies two common errors made by players at the wreck level: not hitting the ball high enough over the net and not generating enough Top Spin. They explain that a higher trajectory and more Top Spin create a challenging 'rainbow' path for opponents. The technique for generating Top Spin is described as a 'brush' motion, where the paddle moves up and behind the ball. The speaker recommends practicing with a windscreen to achieve the right amount of lift and spin, aiming for a serve that lands in the back third of the box.

15:04

🔍 The Mysterious Looper Serve

The final paragraph introduces the Looper serve, a variation of the heavy Top Spin serve with added height and spin. The speaker explains that this serve can be particularly effective against opponents who slice their returns, as it creates a difficult bounce to time. They suggest aiming the serve to the opponent's backhand, which is often weaker. The paragraph concludes with a prompt for viewers to share their experiences with the Looper serve and a teaser for the next video, which will cover stroke mechanics for maximizing power in pickleball.

Keywords

💡Pickleball

Pickleball is a sport played with a paddle and a plastic ball with a hole through it. The video focuses on improving serves in pickleball, which is crucial for scoring points. The sport is mentioned as a context for the serving techniques being taught.

💡Screw Ball

The screw ball is a serve in pickleball that involves a side spin, causing the ball to curve as it travels. This serve can be challenging for opponents to return, especially at the 3.0 to 4.0 skill level. The video emphasizes the importance of generating enough spin to create a visible curve in the ball's trajectory.

💡Serve Technique

Serve technique refers to the specific method used to hit the ball in pickleball. The video provides detailed instructions on how to execute the screw ball serve, including the correct grip, paddle movement, and contact point with the ball. Proper technique is essential for achieving the desired spin and curve.

💡Continental Grip

The continental grip is a hand position used in racket sports, including pickleball, where the base knuckle of the index finger is on the bevel of the racket handle. This grip allows for a side-to-side motion, which is necessary for generating the side spin in the screw ball serve. The video suggests using this grip to effectively execute the serve.

💡Top Spin

Top spin is a type of spin applied to a ball that causes it to dip down and bounce forward after hitting the ground. In pickleball, a heavy top spin serve is recommended for its effectiveness. The video explains how to generate top spin by brushing up behind the ball and maintaining a flat paddle face during contact.

💡Arc

Arc refers to the curved path a ball takes through the air. In the context of the heavy top spin serve, a higher arc over the net is beneficial as it creates a more erratic bounce and a rainbow trajectory, making it difficult for opponents to return. The video advises aiming for a height of 2 to 3 feet over the net to achieve this arc.

💡Power

Power in serving refers to the force applied to the ball, which affects the speed and depth of the serve. The video emphasizes the importance of balancing power with spin and accuracy to make the serve effective. Power is derived from the forward motion and shoulder rotation during the serve.

💡Looper Serve

The looper serve is a variation of the heavy top spin serve with added height and spin. This serve is designed to be tricky and can disrupt an opponent's balance, particularly against players who slice their returns. The video suggests targeting the opponent's backhand with the looper serve for maximum effectiveness.

💡Dink Master

The Dink Master is a training tool used to practice and improve control and spin in pickleball. The video mentions using the Dink Master to practice top spin, as hitting the ball with top spin will cause it to jump up off the device. This tool helps players develop the feel for generating spin without the pressure of hitting a moving ball.

💡Consistency

Consistency in serving refers to the ability to hit the ball accurately and reliably, ensuring it lands in the desired location. The video stresses the importance of maintaining consistency while trying to generate spin and power, as sacrificing accuracy can lead to easy returns for the opponent.

Highlights

Learn three effective pickleball serves to improve your game.

The screw ball serve curves and can be tricky at the 3.0 to 4.0 level.

For the screw ball, aim for a visible curve on the ball's trajectory.

The technique for the screw ball involves 100% side spin and a Continental grip.

The windscreen drill helps practice getting the right amount of side spin.

Bouncing the ball on the paddle is a good way to practice generating spin.

The heavy Top Spin serve is the most effective and frequently used serve in pickleball.

Aim for a serve height of 2 to 3 feet over the net for the heavy Top Spin.

Use a brushing motion to generate Top Spin on the serve.

The Looper serve is a higher, loopier version of the heavy Top Spin serve.

The Looper serve is effective against opponents who slice their returns.

Aim the Looper serve towards the opponent's backhand for a challenging return.

Maintaining accuracy is crucial when practicing the screw ball serve.

Find the right balance between spin and power for consistent serves.

The Continental grip allows for better side spin on the screw ball serve.

The heavy Top Spin serve should land in the back third of the box for maximum effect.

Practicing with the wind screen and dink master can improve serve consistency and spin.

The mystery serve, the Looper, is less known but can be highly effective.

Transcripts

today I'm going to teach you three

insanely effective serves that'll make

it way easier to score when you're

playing pickle ball what's important to

note is that serving better in pickle

ball isn't about just going harder and

harder just like a pitcher in baseball

you don't want to throw your fast ball

every single time you need to have a few

different serves up your sleeve so you

can mix it up so today I'm going to take

you through every single detail of my

three favorite serves so you can Master

them the last serve is one that less

than 1% of players know but let me tell

you it works insanely well at the 3.0 to

4.0 level so stay tuned helping me today

have my sister

Kennedy so the first serve that we are

going to be going over is the screw ball

which is pretty much a sid spin serve

that curves so if you watch this serve

closely you notice there's a little bit

of a curve to it you'll actually be able

to see the curve more when I go down the

line you see it really curves away from

your opponent and at the 3.0 to 4.0

level can be really really tricky and

I'm sure if you played against it that

you know that It's Tricky so regardless

of where I hit this serve the curve can

make things more challenging so if I'm

on the right side I hit a serve like

this it's kind of cool if I go down the

middle cuz it can really make my

opponent reach and on the left side it

can be really effective too cuz I can

actually get my opponent off the court

if I go out wide regardless though

wherever you take it the curve is going

to make things more challenging the

issue is when most players go for the

serve they're making a critical mistake

so watch these serves and try to see

which one looks better

so if you saw the second one you'll

notice that it had way more spin so in

order to get the most out of your screw

ball serve you need to make sure you're

getting enough spin to where you get

that curve if you're just hitting a

little bit of spin you're actually

giving them a really easy serve to

return because the screw ball serve

tends to stay lower so if if it's just

low without any spin that's the easiest

type of return for your opponent to get

back so in order to make this serve

effective you need to be getting more

spin which looks like this I think that

you should be able to visibly see the

curve on the trajectory of the ball so

if you can't see the curve you're

probably not getting the effectiveness

of using this

serve in order to get that curve though

and that much spin you need to

understand the technique which I'm going

to go over first all I want to show you

a few more examples so you'll see when I

go down the middle I can actually curve

the ball around the middle sometimes

that's very risky you probably don't

want to do that in an actual game but

it's just a good example of how much

spin you can really get so you see there

that ball would have taken its second

bounce on the other side of the center

line so in order to get enough spin to

get that curve effect we need to think

about our technique so the main action

that gets that spin right we're getting

100% side spin so there's not really any

Top Spin or slice it's 100% side spin so

our goal is to make the ball spin on a

vertical axis and the way that we do

that is by cutting to the side like this

as we hit the ball so one thing that you

need to consider is that in order to

even be able to cut to the side we need

to hit the serve a lot less on the side

of our body than we would a normal Top

Spin so if you see kenned hit a Top Spin

here you'll notice she's contacting the

ball around right here and that's how

she's getting Top Spin on the screw ball

though we want our paddle to be facing

down when we hit the ball if you're

standing side is you want to toss the

ball just in front of your front leg so

I'm not going out to the side I'm going

actually in front of my front leg and

that lets me hit the ball like this to

where I can get that cut and obviously

to hit the ball you need to make your

paddle move forward so what you're

really trying to do is carve around the

ball as you're going forward in tennis

we call that peeling the orange you're

essentially going around the ball

getting it to spin on that vertical axis

another important thing to consider is

when you're doing the screw ball serve

you definitely want to have the

Continental grip that lets you cut a lot

more so you don't want to have your

normal Eastern grip that would make it a

lot harder to get around the ball in

this position you want to have the

Continental grip so you can go sideways

as you're going forward see an example

Kennedy exactly

and a great way to be able to test

whether or not you're getting enough

spin is with what I call the windscreen

drill so you see if I hit into the wind

screen with no

spin the ball essentially comes straight

back to me but if I get a ton of side

spin with the screw Ball Watch how it

reacts off the wind

screen so it goes to the side you'll see

there if I do it again I can really get

it to go to the side if I get that side

spin so if you're the type of player

that's still figuring out how to get

that much spin while hitting the ball

forward the wind screen is a great place

to test this out cuz you can get a ton

of repetition where you're just trying

over and over again to get that ball to

jump to the side so if you see Kennedy

does a few she's getting a really good

cut to the side so when that ball goes

off it goes straight off to the side and

that's your indication that you're

getting that side Spin and if you're

even newer to generating spin another

cool drill you can do is simply just

bouncing the ball on your paddle trying

to get the ball spinning so you see here

I'm bouncing the ball in my paddle

trying to get it spin the exact same way

as my screw ball you see when it bounces

jumps to the side a little bit you can

actually see visually the ball getting

spin so if you're just starting you

might not be able to spin it very well

but as you get the hang of what the

action is to get the spin you see I can

make the ball bounce straight up while

spinning to the side when we're hitting

the screw ball serve we're doing the

exact same thing we're just hitting it a

little bit harder and more forward right

so doing this is pretty much the same

thing as as this on a screw ball it's

just a good way to start off if you

don't quite have the hang of getting

that kind of spin so if you're the type

of player that still feels like they

need to learn to generate spin I highly

recommend starting with those drills

when you're hitting the serve though

there's a few more key things that you

need to know but before we get into that

make sure to like this video it really

helps us grow our channel so when you're

hitting the serve obviously the more you

cut the more spin you'll get so if I go

for an extreme cut I'm going to get more

curve the issue with that is if you cut

too hard you start to lose your

consistency and accuracy so it gets a

little bit Reckless so when you're

practicing this your goal should be to

find the right amount of cut to where

you still make it in every time because

you don't want to sacrifice your

consistency just to get more spin so for

me that probably looks like this I'm not

really going for a serve that is getting

the craziest amount of curve but I'm

making it in every single time and I'm

still getting a little bit so this would

probably be too much for me see I missed

that one but but this I still get some

good curve and I'm probably going to

make that in at least 9 out of 10 times

if not 10 out of 10 and when you're

hitting the serve because you're cutting

to the side sometimes it can be a little

bit tricky to keep your accuracy so in

order to maintain your consistency if

you're just starting off with the serve

I recommend just going down the

middle you see and there I was going

down the middle but because I lost my

accuracy a little bit it went more to

the side but I went down the middle so I

had margin for air and I still made the

serve if I'm going right on the

line I might end up hitting it a little

bit away from where I was aiming and

missing so as you're getting into this

serve I recommend starting off just

going down the middle and if you're a

little bit more experienced with it

maybe you can start targeting one side

but I definitely would never aim within

two or three feet of the line so you're

really just aiming a little bit towards

the middle or a little off center so

here I'll aim more towards Kennedy's

back hand and see there I actually

missed it so you can see it's a little

bit risky once you start deviating from

aiming towards the center so generally

if I'm hitting a serve and I'm trying to

mitigate my risk I'm aiming towards the

center right there I went towards the

center if I go towards Kennedy's backand

see there I actually was aiming just a

little bit to her back hand because I

lost a little accuracy because of the

spin went right on the line so be

careful with where you're aiming and try

to mitigate your risk realistically

though you don't want to use the screw

ball serve every time cuz the screw ball

is what I'd call a change up which we

used to trick our opponents and deviate

from our standard default serve so the

next serve we're going to go over is

actually what I would consider to be

your standard default serve so you need

to make sure that you know it if you

want to get the most out of your screw

ball before I get into that though I

wanted to announce that next week we're

coming out with an awesome video that

we're putting a ton of effort into so if

you want to see that make sure to

subscribe all you need to do to

subscribe is head below the video and

hit the Subscribe button and the bell

and then you'll get suggested our video

next week the next server that we're

going to go over is the heavy Top Spin

so this is definitely the St standard

most effective serve to use in pickle

ball that you should be using the most

frequently if you watch Pros they use

this serve probably 90% of the time so

definitely need to know it the issue is

that most players at the wreck level are

making two critical errors on this serve

that are holding them back from getting

the most out of it before I get into

what those errors are though I need to

show you some examples so watch

Kennedy's next two serves and try to

determine what looks like it's harder

for me to

return

so if you said the second serve looked

like it was harder you're correct but

why well both serves were actually kind

of deep and challenging in terms of

where they were positioned but the

second serve was harder for two key

reasons the first was she hit it higher

over the net which makes the bounce a

little bit more erratic so a little bit

more arc on the heavy Top Spin serve is

actually better the second reason is

that it had more Top Spin so when you

hit more Top Spin on your heavy Top Spin

it makes the ball drop quicker which

actually works hand in hand with that

Arc to create a rainbow trajectory which

can be a little bit challenging for your

opponents to return and then when that

Top Spin hits the ground it Jets off

more which makes it tougher for me to

time as the returner so the two things I

want to go over in terms of making your

Top Spin serve better are getting a

little bit more Arc and getting more Top

Spin so in terms of trajectory I like to

tell my students to aim around 2 to 3

feet over the net on the heavy Top Spin

Serb so you see when she hit that Top

Spin it passed the net at around this

height so when we're thinking about

height we're thinking about how high it

is when it passes over the net if the

ball's only around this High when it's

passing over the net it's going to have

more of a line drive trajectory which is

easier for your opponents to time and

it's also probably going to make you hit

shorter so this Height's generally

better if you're going for the heavy

tops and serf the issue is if you're

hitting the ball this High over the net

and it doesn't have enough Spin and

you're going for power it's not going to

dip down quickly enough to where it

doesn't sail long so you need to make

sure that you can generate a lot of Top

Spin if you're going to go that higher

over the net and the way you do that is

by having the right technique and the

way that we generate that Top Spin with

our technique is with a motion called

the brush okay so to get the ball to

spin away from us like this we need to

be going up behind the ball to get that

effect right so if we're just going

straight behind the ball it's going to

come off what we call flat so that

pretty much means no spin to get Top

Spin we need to brush so just like how

on our screw ball we go like this the

Top Spin serve we need to go like this

so the key thing is that when you're

starting your serve before you hit the

ball you need to be a little bit below

it and then you need to finish above it

and while you're doing that the the

paddle face stays perpendicular to the

ground so it's pretty much flat right so

I'm going forward while going up and

that gives me Top Spin and the more

aggressively that you do this the more

Top Spin you get so just like on your

screw ball you need to go out and find

the right balance of brush so that you

can consistently make your serve you

don't want to go for way too much cuz

then the ball won't go anywhere but you

do need to get a pretty good amount of

Rush on the ball if you want to get the

most Top Spin possible and a great way

to practice with this is with the wind

screen just like we did for the screw

ball so when you're hitting Top Spin

what you want to happen is the ball to

go up so if I'm hitting flat you'll

notice the ball just sort of falls off

the fence doesn't really go up at all

but when I'm hitting Top Spin you'll see

you get a little bit of lift on the ball

so a great way to practice Top Spin is

actually hitting the ball nice and slow

and trying to get the ball to jump up

off of the fence which is actually a

little bit tricky so you have to be

really good at hitting Top Spin to make

that happen every single time you see it

jumps up off the fence a flat shot does

not really jump up at all when I get

that that Top Spin I get that little bit

of lift you can also see Top Spin on the

ball so when you're hitting the ball

you're trying to get that ball spinning

away from

you so you see here when Kennedy's doing

it she's getting that ball to go up

every single time if you're just

starting you might not be able to do

this consistently but with practice

you'll get the hang of hitting the ball

clean so you're not Mish hitting the

ball while also getting spin every

single time so this is one of the best

ways to learn to master Top Spin so you

can apply on your serve so when we're

hitting the actual serve you see I apply

that same brushing motion but I also

need to be going forward a good amount

so I can get a good amount of power

because if I'm only getting Top Spin and

I'm not getting power it's going to be a

really easy return for Kennedy cuz it's

not very deep it's not traveling very

fast so we also need to be worrying

about that forward motion which you get

from driving your shoulder so you're

getting under the ball with the brush

and you're also rotating through with

your shoulder

so that's how we get get good

power and to get the absolute most out

of this Topson serve you really want to

be getting it nice and deep and that

applies to pretty much every serve but

on the Top Spin serve it's especially

important so my goal while I'm hitting

this serve is to get it at the right

height and the right power so that it's

Landing in the back third of the Box

okay so I want to be really towards that

back line if I can

be so you see there I got it nice and

deep that would be an effective

serve and that one did too so you see

I'm not going for an extreme amount of

Top Spin the pickle ball paddle doesn't

have strings like a tennis racket so you

can't go for too much I'm going for the

right amount so I have maximum

consistency and I can still focus on my

power and my depth and I'm curious guys

out of the screw ball serve and the

heavy topsin serve which do you think is

harder to return so head to the comments

and let me know what you think now guys

I want to take you through the mystery

serve that I mentioned earlier before I

get into that though I want to show you

a cool way that you can work on your

spin on the Dig master so just like you

can practice Top Spin on the wind screen

you can practice Top Spin on the dink

Master by tilting it up a little bit so

the dink Master actually tilts upwards

when it's like this when you hit Top

Spin you'll notice the ball jumps up off

it so watch when I get that Top Spin the

ball sort of rolls up the dink master

and comes up at that upward angle if I'm

to hit flat you'll notice the ball

doesn't really jump up off it it sort of

just comes down flat but when I hit that

top of spin see it really jumps up this

is a great way to work on that Top Spin

if you don't necessarily have the feel

down yet so all you really need to do is

come out and just feed the ball for

yourself get a bunch of reps once you

get the hang of it you can actually sort

of rally with yourself and if you can do

this you can definitely hit really

really hard Top Spin servs and of course

this applies to the other shots too like

Top Spin dinks Top Spin drops and Top

Spin drives if you want to check out the

dink Master head to the link in the

description below the video now though

guys let's get into into our mystery

serve the Looper so all this serve is is

a slightly higher loopier version of our

heavy Top Spin so our heavy tops and

serve looks like this we're going for

more power and the Looper we're going

for more height so it looks like this I

add a little bit of height and maybe a

little bit more

spin what that does is it can make

things really tricky off the balance if

you saw that serve it really jetted off

the balance so here I'm probably aiming

about five feet over the Net versus two

or three and when I do this I can get a

really erratic bounce sometimes where I

like to aim the serve is to the backand

and this works especially well if your

opponents are slicing their returns cuz

think if I'm hitting a really high serve

the ball is going to bounce higher right

so it's going to have a more upward and

downward bounce and if they're slicing

down it's a little bit harder for them

to time as it's rising so what I like to

do is go to my opponent's back hand if

they're slicing it on the way in with

the Looper and you'll notice a lot of

the time they might shank it so you see

if Kennedy's slicing her return it can

be a little bit tricky to return that

higher trajectory serve just because of

the way that it's bouncing so you can

use this against someone that's slicing

and occasionally you'll get a free point

I like to take it out to the backhand

cuz usually players have worse backhand

returns too so if it's a backhand and

it's a slice a lot of the time you can

get an easier return it works just as

well on the right side too let go right

down the middle the back hand with that

loopy motion can be tricky for them to

hit an effective return and if you've

tried this serve and it's worked for you

let me know in the comments I haven't

seen many wck players using it so I'd

love to hear if you've used it

effectively as I mentioned throughout

the video getting the right amount of

power on your serve is extremely

important in terms of getting more depth

and of course just hitting harder makes

it a little bit tougher on your

opponents in this next video I go

through all the stroke mechanics that

you need to know to get the most

possible power so go check it

out

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