Topic: Serve toss; spin or no spin?

[dmastous]

One of the things I learned early on when attempting to learn to serve in tennis, is that the serve toss should have no spin. Many pros back in the day would place the ball on the tips of their fingers and let it loose that way to keep from adding spin. Some toss the ball with the hand on top to try and limit the spin.
What we were taught not to do was grip the ball in the palm, and toss it from there, as that will generate slight spin which will affect the serve.
I caught some of the Sharapova/Kuznetsova match last night when I got home, and I noticed both were gripping the ball in the palm when tossing for the serve.
I'm now wondering if people now learning tennis are taught to toss with minimum spin, or if that is no longer thought to be an issue.

[dmastous]

For the record, I use the tip of my fingers on the toss to keep the ball from spinning. 

[Tennis4you]

I have zero clue if my toss creates spins or not, I am inclined to say that it does not. either way, I cannot see tossing the ball with spin would make a huge difference. The spin you could create with a toss like that is most likely not huge.  If anyone knows what the difference for the serve would be with a ball tossed with some spin I would love to know.

[kickserve]

I've never been taught not to spin the ball toss, I think I probably do add some spin to it, but I don't do it consciously.

[Clay Death]

I've never been taught not to spin the ball toss, I think I probably do add some spin to it, but I don't do it consciously.

cooooooooooooooooooooooooooool sig Kicker.

[Chris1987]

I have always just naturally more than anything threw the ball up with it in the palm of my hand, whether or not that puts any sort of spin on it I wouldn't know for sure as I'd probably need to tape and study video's of myself. I've never thought of throwing it up in my finger tips and the effect that has- I'll have to try that next time I'm out and see how that comes down, any different effect it has and whether that could work for me.

[dmastous]

Sounds like it's there's not much concern about this anymore. I remember when I learn tossing the ball hundreds, thousands of times to make sure it went where it was supposed to go, and doing so without putting spin on it.
Oh well, hours of practice wasted. 

[Chris1987]

I think there's one practice and exercise that should be perfected before a racquet is even picked up (once you're past the early years) but once you get to 5/6 I like the idea of having a large bin/garbage bin(whatever its refered to in America, placing it in the perfect place where the toss should land, and doing that hundreds of times without a racquet even in the hand. Then the ball must land in the bin X amount of times before moving on. I really like that practice and its the perfect way to start the serve the right way. Then when you consider some of the terribly wayward and inconsistent tosses we see in the game from professionals- something like this or similar should be done will all youngsters to ensure their toss is straight and coming down in the perfect position.

[BGT]

I just hit it and hope it gets in.

[Pacer]

Well, if there's spin you're probably throwing the ball rather than releasing it and that's an issue with mechanics. If you're ball has spin, more than likely you'll have an inconsistant toss since it's moving around because of the spin. It can also cause you to mis**t often. You don't want allot of spin on the ball toss.

[pawan89]

I never thought about this. I just went a tossed it to see what I do cuz I never ever thought about this. I hold the ball in my fingers (not finger tips but fully on my fingers) and when I release my toss, there is a slight spin on the ball. a clear spinning, slow enough to follow with your eyes but its for sure there.

I don't see how this alters anything though. As long as you are releasing the ball from the position you want, the balls bound to go up exactly where you want it, and the spin is negligible compared to the slice or topspin or any spin you put on your serve - especially considering how the toss is so slow that when you serve, you are pretty much making an instananeous contact - i really don't see how that slight spin effects anything.

[Tennis4you]

I paid attention as I played today with the spin on my toss.  My ball, when in the air, we spinning very little, not really noticeable. 

[Start da Game]

hey dmas......dat's right. serve toss shudn't ve too much spin or else the ball will deviate ever so slightly which is enough to create a smaller margin for error......i grip the ball with my fingers(not palm) n let it go plain without much swirl......it definitely helps to have a gud control on the serve......

[OSU Buckeye]

Well, if there's spin you're probably throwing the ball rather than releasing it and that's an issue with mechanics. If you're ball has spin, more than likely you'll have an inconsistant toss since it's moving around because of the spin. It can also cause you to mis**t often. You don't want allot of spin on the ball toss.

Yeah, I thought this was about avoiding inconsistent tosses much more than some other harm that could be doone by ball toss with spin! 

[Farenhajt]

From the physical side of the problem, it doesn't matter if you hold the ball lightly on your fingertips or you have it on the palm - because if you have it on the palm, what will create the spin is NOT RELEASING all your fingers at the same time. (If we take that the hand moves straight upwards, there's no possible spin component coming from there, BUT if one side of the ball brushes your thumb a split second BEFORE or AFTER it brushes the remaining fingers, that spins it, however lightly.)

So, if you want to toss a perfectly spinless ball holding it in your palm, the point is in the finger release action.

[monstertruck]

My .02

I don't focus so much on the spin-  there always seems to be some small amount.
The goal of course is consistent placement of the toss. 

For me, I think of it more as 'lifting' the ball into place in a slow, controled, 'elevator' type motion rather than tossing.  The hand is merely a platform on which the ball rests and then continues up from, once the 'elevator' has reached the top floor.

So to clarify, I think there should be little or no spin.