See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/254368803

The kick serve in tennis

Article  in  Sports Technology · January 2012

DOI: 10.1080/19346182.2012.663534

CITATIONS READS
9 3,059

1 author:

Rod Cross
The University of Sydney
238 PUBLICATIONS   2,022 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Rod Cross on 06 July 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 1

The kick serve in tennis

ROD CROSS

Physics Department, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Abstract

A kick serve in tennis is not only the most difficult stroke for players to master but is also the
most difficult stroke to understand. The ball must be served by swinging upwards at the ball
to generate topspin and the ball must be served down below the horizontal in order to land
in the service court. The racquet head is already near the top of its trajectory when the ball
is struck, so the angle of approach of the head on impact is much smaller than that needed to
generate topspin in a forehand. The ball is almost stationary prior to impact. If a stationary
ball is struck by a rising racquet, and if the string plane is vertical on impact, then the ball
will rise above the horizontal after the impact. Consequently, several different effects must
act simultaneously to generate the necessary spin and launch angle in a kick serve. Three
additional effects are identified in this paper, one due to the ball toss, one due to tilt of the
racquet head and one due to the fact that the racquet is rotating when it strikes the ball.
Additional calculations are presented showing how the bounce height of the ball depends on
the serve speed and angle and on the spin and inclination of the spin axis.

Keywords tennis, ball spin, racquet, kick serve

Introduction

The modern game of tennis has evolved into one where players hit most shots as fast as
possible, especially when serving or returning the ball with topspin. Topspin causes the ball
to curve down onto the court at a relatively steep angle, with the result that the ball can be
struck at high speed and land in the court without sailing over the service line or the baseline
or a sideline. The faster the ball is struck the more topspin is generated, allowing players to
strike the ball almost as fast as they wish. In a groundstroke, topspin is generated by players
swinging the racquet head up at the ball, typically at an approach angle of about 30◦ to the
horizontal. The string plane is approximately vertical when the racquet strikes the ball, as
it needs to be for the ball to follow a trajectory over the net and down into the opponent’s
court (Brody et al. 2002; Cross and Lindsey, 2005).

A topspin groundstroke is generated by the action of the racquet head rising up the back of
the ball, resulting in a vertical friction force at the back of the ball. If the racquet is swung
fast enough, the resulting torque on the ball will reverse the direction of spin of the incoming
ball. A ball bouncing off the court bounces with topspin, so the spin direction needs to be
reversed in order to return the ball with topspin. It is the vertical speed of the racquet head
relative to the vertical speed of the ball that determines the amount of topspin generated.
The amount of topspin is significantly reduced if the ball is rising about as fast as the racquet
head after the ball bounces off the court. The amount of topspin is also reduced if the player
 2

attempts to return a groundstroke from around shoulder height since a fast return then needs
to be struck in a downward direction rather than an upward direction to land in the opposite
court.

The generation of topspin in a serve is a related but significantly different problem, for two
reasons. First, the ball is almost stationary when it is struck and the ball has negligible spin
before it is struck. The second reason is that the racquet head is almost at its maximum
height when the ball is struck, so the ability to swing up at the ball is severely curtailed.
Therein lies a mystery, not previously addressed in the tennis literature. If the racquet needs
to rise at 30 degrees to hit a good topspin forehand, how can anyone serve a ball with a
significant amount of topspin when the racquet head is rising at only a few degrees just prior
to impact? Despite that problem, many players have mastered the art of the kick serve where
the ball bounces up around shoulder height as it crosses the baseline. The advantage to the
server is that is more difficult to return a serve aggressively from shoulder height than from
around waist height.

One saving grace is that the ball is not spinning backwards when it is struck, so the server
does not need to apply as large a torque in a kick serve as in a groundstroke. In effect,
the same outgoing spin can be achieved with only about half the effort. Another significant
factor is that the racquet is usually swung faster when serving a ball than when hitting
a groundstroke. The outgoing spin is proportional to the speed of the racquet head and
increases as the approach angle of the racquet head increases. Both of these factors affect the
amount of topspin in a kick serve, but several other factors are also involved, as described
below.

The work described in this paper differs from several previous investigations into spin gener-
ation by tennis players (Choppin et. al. 2007; Goodwill et. al. 2007) in three respects. First,
the spin and the direction of the spin axis were both measured. Both factors are important
when determining the flight of the ball and are also critical in understanding the mechanisms
by which spin is generated by tennis players. Topspin and sidespin play very different roles.
The direction of the spin axis has been determined in baseball (Jinji et. al 2006; 2011); very
little information is available for tennis. Second, the origin of topspin in a kick serve has
been analysed and found to depend on five main factors; namely the translational speed of
the racquet head, the approach angle of the racquet head, the tilt angle of the racquet head,
the rotation speed of the racquet head and the height of the ball toss. Third, calculations
are presented showing how the height of the ball as it crosses the baseline depends on serve
speed, serve angle, ball spin and the tilt of the spin axis.

Qualitative description of a kick serve

The secrets of success in a kick serve are being able to serve with topspin and being able to
serve fast. In general, the faster the ball lands in the court the higher it will bounce, but
a fast serve on its own does not necessarily bounce to around shoulder height. A fast, flat
 3

first serve usually bounces to around waist height. In order to bounce to shoulder height, the
ball must land at high speed and at a relatively steep angle. Normally, the faster the serve,
the lower the angle of incidence on the court since a ball served at high speed needs to pass
low over the net in order to land in the serve box (Brody et al. 2002). But if the ball is
served with topspin, the ball will dive onto the opponent’s court at a relatively steep angle,
even when serving at relatively high speed. The amount of topspin has not previously been
measured, although it is known than spin rates of around 4000 rpm are generated by elite
tennis players when serving a ball (Choppin et. al. 2007; Goodwill et. al. 2007).

(a) Right hander (b) Left hander

Direction Spin
of racquet axis
Direction
head of racquet
head

F F

Spin axis

Net

Figure 1: Direction of racquet head and spin axis in a kick serve, as viewed by (a) a right hander and
(b) a left hander. The ball is traveling into the page toward the net. The spin is primarily sidespin
here with a small topspin component. The aerodynamic Magnus force, F, acts at right angles to the
spin axis, pushing the ball down onto the court and causing it to curve to the left in (a) or to the
right in (b). F is in the opposite direction to the friction force on the ball generated by string motion
across the back of the ball.

When serving a kick serve, right handed players toss the ball over their left shoulder, arch
their back, bend at the knees and then jump up off the court. The end result is that the
racquet head strikes the ball in a direction that is partly sideways across the back of the ball
and partly vertical up the back of the ball, as shown in Fig. 1. The sideways component
generates sidespin and the vertical component generates topspin. In Fig. 1, the ball will have
more sidespin than topspin since the horizontal speed of the racquet head is greater than the
vertical speed. Sidespin causes the ball to curve from right to left through the air, as viewed
by a right–handed server, or from left to right for a left–hander. Topspin causes the ball to
curve down onto the court at a rate that is faster than the effect of gravity alone.

The situation shown in Fig. 1 is the one normally used in coaching manuals to describe how
players need to strike the ball in a kick serve (see, for example, Braden and Bruns, 1998),
and it shows how sidespin is generated as well as topspin. That doesn’t mean that the ball
spins about two separate axes. There is only one spin axis and it is tilted away from the
vertical. If the axis in Fig. 1 is vertical then there is no topspin, just sidespin. If the axis
 4

is horizontal then there is no sidespin, just topspin. If the axis is tilted then any point on
the ball will rotate in a circle around the axis, and it rotates simultaneously in vertical and
horizontal directions.

Generation of topspin

Ball at rest ω v

(a) (b)

Racquet Head

Figure 2: (a) Racquet head approaches a stationary ball at speed V and angle A. (b) The ball
emerges at speed v and with topspin. In a kick serve, the angle A is only a few degrees, but is shown
here as a relatively large angle for clarity.

The amount of topspin generated in a serve due to vertical motion of the racquet head can
be estimated by considering the situation shown in Fig. 2. The racquet head is vertical and
is approaching the ball rapidly at speed V and angle A. The ball can be regarded as being
stationary, although it may in fact be falling slowly as a result of the ball toss. We can ignore
sideways motion of the racquet head in order to calculate the amount of topspin. Sideways
motion is a separate issue and it generates sidespin, in the same way that vertical motion
of the racquet head generates topspin. After the racquet head strikes the ball, the ball will
emerge at speed v and with topspin as in indicated in Fig. 2(b). The ball emerges at high
speed towards the net and is shown heading upward since that is the effect of the upward
friction force of the strings acting on the back of the ball. The friction force must act in an
upward direction to generate topspin.

In order to estimate the amount of spin in Fig. 2, we can consider the collision in a reference
frame where the racquet is initially at rest and the ball approaches the racquet at speed V ,
and angle A as indicated in Fig. 3. Measurements of ball spin have previously been made
for a hand–held racquet (Cross, 2003a; 2005) and it was found that Rω is typically about
equal to vx2 where R is the ball radius and vx2 is the tangential component of the ball speed
after the collision. The condition Rω = vx2 corresponds to a rolling ball condition. It was
also found that vx2 = 0.7vx1 to a good approximation and that vy2 is typically about 0.4vy1
depending on the impact point on the strings. The outgoing ball spin is therefore given to a
good approximation by
Rω = vx2 = 0.7vx1 = 0.7V sin A (1)

The outgoing ball spin in Fig. 3 is the same as that in Fig. 2 and increases with both the
 5

V
A B v
v y2
y1
v x1 v x2

Hand held racquet

Figure 3: The collision in Fig. 2 viewed in a reference frame where the racquet is initially at rest and
the ball approaches the racquet at speed V and angle A. The ball bounces at angle B.

speed of the racquet head and the approach angle. For example, if V = 40 ms−1 , A = 5◦ and
R = 0.033 m then ω = 74 rad.s−1 (706 rpm). If the approach angle is zero then the outgoing
ball spin is zero. Hitting up at a greater approach angle generates more topspin, but the ball
is then launched at a higher angle over the net and may land beyond the service line. The
latter result follows from the fact that the rebound angle B in Fig. 3 increases when the angle
of incidence increases. The result, when transformed back to the reference frame in Fig. 2, is
an increase in the launch angle as the approach angle, A, increases.

Figure 2 also describes the result when the racquet is moving sideways across the back of
the ball, and is approaching the ball at a sideways angle A. In that case, the ball acquires
sidespin, and the amount of sidespin is given by the same expression. In practice, the racquet
head usually approaches the ball as shown in Fig. 1, with a large sideways approach angle
and a relatively small vertical approach angle. As a result, the ball is usually served with
about 4000 rpm of spin in a kick serve, but the spin is mostly sidespin and the amount of
topspin is relatively small. That is, the spin axis is almost vertical, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Spin due to ball toss

Suppose a racquet approaches a ball in a horizontal direction at speed V and the ball is falling
vertically at speed v just prior to impact, as shown in Fig. 4(a). In a reference frame where
the ball is at rest, the racquet is rising vertically at speed v while simultaneously moving
horizontally at speed V , as shown in Fig. 4(b). The situation is then the same as that shown
in Fig. 2 and the spin is given by Eq. (1). If the ball falls say one metre before it is struck
then it will be falling at 4.43 m.s−1 when it is struck. In a kick serve, V is typically about
40 m.s−1 . The racquet approaches the ball at an angle A given by tan A = v/V = 0.11 in this
case, so A = 6.3◦ . That angle could well be larger than the actual vertical approach angle of
the racquet in a typical kick serve, in which case the ball toss would account for more than
half of the topspin generated. From Eq. (1), we find that ω = 93 rad.s−1 (889 rpm) due to
the ball toss alone.
 6

(a) (b)
Ball
at rest
v
A v

V V

Figure 4: Fig. 4 (a) A racquet approaches a ball at speed V while the ball is falling at speed v. In a
reference frame where the ball is at rest, the racquet is rising vertically at speed v, as shown in (b)

Spin due to racquet tilt

If the racquet head is tilted forward when the head strikes the ball, rather than being exactly
vertical, then additional topspin is generated and the ball will pass lower over the net. The
same effect occurs in a topspin groundstroke. The effect of racquet head tilt is illustrated in
Fig. 5. Suppose that the head is tilted forward by an angle A and approaches the ball in a
horizontal direction at speed V , as in Fig. 5(a). The physics of the collision is exactly the
same if the racquet is at rest and the ball approaches at speed V as in Fig. 5(b). Since the
ball approaches the racquet at angle A, it will bounce off the racquet at an angle with the
same topspin as that given by Eq. (1). The result of the collision in Fig. 5(a) is that the ball
is served in a downward direction with topspin, even if the racquet head is not rising when
it strikes the ball.

(a) (b) Racquet

at rest
Ball at rest V
V
A A
A

Figure 5: (a) If a racquet approaches a ball at speed V with the head tilted forward, then the ball
will be served with topspin even if the head is not rising. The same amount of spin is generated if the
ball approaches the racquet at speed V and the racquet is initially at rest, as shown in (b).

Spin due to racquet rotation

The strings grip the ball during a serve. If the racquet rotates 10 degrees while the ball is
on the strings, then the ball also rotates by about 10 degrees, in the topspin direction. The
same effect would occur if the ball was glued to the strings since the ball and the racquet
would both rotate 10 degrees. The ball is not glued to the strings but it is squashed against
 7

the strings. The top end of the racquet is rotating faster than the bottom end, so the top
side of the ball is pushed harder towards the net than the bottom side. As a result, the
ball rotates with topspin, even if the racquet head is not rising when it strikes the ball. Ten
degrees of forward rotation in 0.004 seconds corresponds to about 400 rpm of topspin, which
will contribute significantly to the amount of topspin in a kick serve.

Figure 6: A ball can be represented by a mass m and two springs. If the racquet rotates then so
does the ball since the top spring compresses more than the bottom spring and exerts a greater force
on the ball. (a) shows the geometry just prior to the collision and (b) shows the geometry during the
collision.

Figure 6 shows a simple model of the rotating racquet effect. The ball can be represented by
a mass m plus two springs of spring constant k separated by a distance D. More generally,
k represents the combined stiffness of the ball and the strings. If the racquet translates in
a straight line towards the ball, both springs compress equally and the ball accelerates in a
straight line without rotating. If the racquet is rotating then the top spring compresses more
than the bottom spring so the force F2 is greater than F1 and the ball will rotate in the same
direction as the racquet.

The situation shown in Fig. 6 can be solved numerically. We assume that the racquet rotates
about a fixed axis in the handle located at distance R from the bottom spring. The angular
velocity of the racquet, just prior to the collision, is ω0 . During the collision, suppose that
the left end of the bottom spring is displaced by a horizontal distance x1 and the right
end is displaced by a distance x2 . The horizontal force F1 on the ball is then given by
F1 = k(x1 − x2 ). If the left end of the top spring is displaced by x3 and the right end by
x4 then F2 = k(x3 − x4 ). If the racquet rotates through a small angle θ then x1 = Rθ,
x3 = (R + D)θ and the angular velocity of the racquet is given by ω1 = dθ/dt.

Let v be the velocity of the centre of mass of the ball, let ω2 be the angular velocity of the
ball and let Icm be the moment of inertia of the ball about an axis through its centre of mass.
 8

Then
dv/dt = (F1 + F2 )/m (2)

dω2 /dt = (F2 − F1 )D/(2Icm ) (3)

and
dω1 /dt = −[F1 R + F2 (R + D)]/I0 (4)

where I0 is the moment of inertia of the racquet about an axis through the pivot point in the
handle. The displacements x1 and x3 are given by dx1 /dt = Rω1 and dx3 /dt = (R + D)ω1 ,
while x2 and x4 are given by dx2 /dt = dx4 /dt = v.

Equations (2)–(4) can be solved numerically for initial conditions x1 = x2 = x3 = x4 = 0,

ω1 = ω0 , ω2 = 0 and v = 0. Typical results are shown in Fig. 7 with m = 0.057 kg,
k = 10 kN.m−1 , Icm = 3.4 × 10−5 kg.m2 , I0 = 0.05 kg.m2 and ω0 = 60 rad.s−1 , parameters
typical of those when serving a tennis ball with a tennis racquet. Regardless of the values of
R and D, the ball is served with a coefficient of restitution e = 1 since there is no energy loss
in this model. In this case, e = [vf − (R + D/2)ω1f ]/[(R + D/2)ω0 ] where vf is the speed
of the ball and ω1f is the rotation speed of the racquet at the end of the collision, defined
as the time at which F1 and F2 both decrease to zero. The value of e determined by this
formula was indeed 1.0, confirming the numerical accuracy of the calculations. In practice,
the coefficient of restitution is typically about 0.8 to 0.9 due to losses in the ball, the strings
and the racquet frame (Brody et al. 2002).

80
R = 0.6 m D = 4 cm
70

60 ω1
ω1 50 D = 3 cm

or 40
ω2 30
(rad/s)
20
ω2
10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
t (ms)

Figure 7: Angular velocity of racquet (ω1 ) and ball (ω2 ) vs time for impacts at R = 0.6 m when
D = 3 cm or D = 4 cm

For the parameters shown in Fig. 7, the ball is served at a speed v = 51.6 ms−1 and the
angular velocity of the racquet decreases to 23.6 rad.s−1 by the end of the impact. At the
end of the impact, the rotation speed of the ball is about the same as the initial rotation
 9

speed of the racquet, or even greater, depending on the assumed separation between the two
springs. The torque on the ball increases when the separation of the two springs is increased,
and is zero when D = 0. The angular velocity of the ball also increases as R is reduced since
the ratio of the two forces acting on the ball increases as R is reduced. In a serve, D will be
zero at the beginning and end of the impact since the ball will contact the strings at only
one point, but during the impact the ball squashes and contacts the strings over a width of
about 6 or 7 cm. The results shown in Fig. 7 can be regarded as an approximate estimate
of the spin that is imparted to the ball by racquet rotation, in the sense that the assumed
values of D in Fig. 7 represent an average over the whole impact duration. Furthermore, Icm
was taken to be constant for simplicity even though the ball squashes considerably in a high
speed serve. A better estimate of ball spin would require at least a detailed knowledge of
the normal reaction force distribution over the contact area of the ball, as well as detailed
measurements of the spin effect.

Downward force on ball

Despite the fact that players swing up to the ball in a kick serve, the ball comes off the
strings in a downward direction, typically about 5◦ below the horizontal. If it didn’t, the ball
would land near the baseline. This result indicates that the upward motion of the racquet
head during the serve is only one of several different effects contributing to the final result.
Downward motion of the ball can be attributed to the initial downward velocity resulting
from the ball toss, or to the effect of racquet tilt shown in Fig. 5, or the effect of rotation of
the racquet during the impact, or a combination of all three effects.

The analysis given in the previous section was simplified by ignoring the fact that the normal
reaction force on the ball rotates in direction as the racquet rotates. Such an approximation
can be justified on the basis that a small direction change in the force on the ball will have a
neglible effect on the resulting torque on the ball. A more significant result is that the change
in direction of the normal force will affect the outgoing angle of the ball. The ball will not
emerge in a direction parallel to the initial velocity of the racquet head, as suggested by the
result shown in Fig. 6(b), unless the rotation angle of the racquet during the impact is very
small.

The racquet head is rotating rapidly towards the net when the ball is struck, at an average
angular velocity of about 40 rad.s−1 during the impact in a typical kick serve. The racquet
head therefore rotates through an angle of about 10 degrees during the impact, typically
about 4 ms in duration. If the ball is struck when the head is vertical, then the ball will
come off the strings when the head is tilted forward by about 10 degrees. The ball will come
off the strings at an angle of about five degrees below the horizontal, rather than 10 degrees,
since the force on the ball is a maximum half way through the impact, and is zero at the
start and end of the impact. On average, the force on the ball acts in a direction about 5
degrees below the horizontal in that case. The serve angle is very important in a fast serve
since an error of only one or two degrees can result in a fault where the ball either hits the
 10

net or lands long.

Experimental data

Video film of eight elite players was recorded in order to measure typical spin values and the
orientation of the spin axis for a kick serve. The primary objective was to obtain data on
which to base realistic calculations of kick serve trajectories. The calculations are presented
below, but first we describe the methods used to obtain and analyse the data. The players
were selected from high ranked juniors coached by Tennis NSW, with an average age of
about 20, and filmed during a regular daily coaching session. The film was recorded at 600
fps (frames per second) by observing side–on (viewing parallel the baseline), and zoomed in
to view enlarged images of the ball and the racquet head. The ball was marked with various
dots, circles and lines so that both the spin rate and the spin axis could be determined.

Measurement of spin rates from high speed video film is relatively easy. The spin axis remains
fixed while the ball travels toward the net, so the time for one revolution can be measured
in terms of the number of video frames required for a particular mark or pattern on the
ball to re-appear in the same orientation. When filming at 600 fps, the pattern of marks
re-appeared after about 8–10 frames or about 8/600 to 10/600 seconds, giving a ball spin of
60 to 75 revolutions/sec or 3600 rpm to 4500 rpm.

(a) Sidespin (b) Sidespin (c) Sidespin (d) Sidespin + Topspin

+ Gyrospin

Equator Equator

Axis
Axis Axis Axis

Figure 8: Lines and marks on a ball can be used to determine the location of the spin axis. The red
dot marks the position where the axis passes through the surface of the ball.

It is much more difficult to locate the spin axis, unless the spin axis happens to be exactly
vertical or exactly horizontal. If the spin axis is vertical, then all marks on the ball rotate
in a horizontal direction, and a horizontal line around the equator remains horizontal, as
indicated in Fig. 8(a). If the spin axis is horizontal and points to the camera, then all marks
on the ball rotate in a circular path around the middle of the ball. Otherwise, the marks and
lines rotate in a manner that can be difficult to interpret. For example, Figs. 8(b) and (c)
show two positions of the equator, one half revolution apart, when the axis is vertical and
the equator line is inclined at an angle to the axis. It might appear that the ball is rotating
with topspin, given the rotation of the equator line during half a revolution, but if the axis
 11

is vertical then there is no topspin at all. In that case, marks on the ball rotate purely in the
horizontal direction and then disappear around the back of the ball.

Figure 8(d) shows a situation where the axis is perpendicular to the equator line but the top
end of the axis is tilted to the left and is also tilted out of the page. In that case, the equator
line appears stationary on video film, giving the false impression that there is no topspin.
All marks on the ball rotate in circular paths around the axis, so the axis can be identified
by the motion of those marks. If the axis is horizontal and pointing in the same direction
as the motion of the ball, then the spin is classified as gyrospin. That type of spin is used
when throwing an oval shape football. If the spin axis is essentially vertical but tilted in a
direction toward the net in a serve, then the ball will have a small gyrospin component. If
the spin axis is tilted sideways, in a direction parallel to the net or the baseline (as in Fig. 1)
then the ball will have a small topspin component.

The approach used by the author to determine the spin axis was to mount a ball in such
a way that its axis could be fixed in any given position, and then to rotate the ball about
that axis in order to compare the result with the video film. A certain amount of trial and
error was needed to identify the spin axis, but it was usually close to the orientation shown
in Fig. 1. The inclination of the spin axis could easily be determined to within five degrees
by this method. For some players, the axis was tilted away from the vertical by about 10
or 20 degrees, while others served the ball with an axis tilt of about 30 to 40 degrees. In
some cases, the axis was also tilted slightly toward the net, meaning that the ball was struck
slightly toward the front of the ball rather than exactly at the rear of the ball.

For most of the serves, the racquet head was rising at about 5◦ just before impact and either
continued to rise at a smaller angle at the end of the impact or traveled in a horizontal or
downward direction at the end of the impact. In those cases where the racquet head struck
the ball while the head was traveling in a horizontal direction, the ball came off the strings in
a downward direction with topspin, despite the absence of vertical head motion at the point
of impact. It was the latter observation that prompted the author’s search for alternative
methods of generating topspin.

Additional data were obtained by filming the bounce of the ball as it landed on the court, the
same type of hard court as used in the Australian Open. For this purpose the video camera
was mounted near the service line with its axis parallel to the service line. Players were
instructed to serve kick serves down the centre line separating the two service boxes so that
measurements could be made of the incident speed, spin and angle as well as the rebound
speed, spin and angle. The bounce was filmed at 300 fps and the camera was zoomed in to
see marks on the ball clearly and to capture four or five images of the ball before the bounce
and five or six images after the bounce.
 12

Ball trajectory after bouncing

In the remainder of this paper we consider theoretical calculations of ball trajectories for a
kick serve. The calculations are based on the experimental observations but it is easier and
more instructive to show the effects of varying ball spin, speed and angle by calculating the
effects rather than by measuring just a small sample of different serves. The calculations are
presented in two stages. First, we examine the ball trajectory after the ball bounces, since
that is what determines the height of the ball as it crosses the baseline. Then we examine the
whole trajectory from the serve point to the baseline to show how bounce height is affected
by changes in the serve action.

Measured aerodynamic lift and drag coefficients were used to calculate the force on the ball
(Brody et al, 2002; Mehta et.al. 2008). The Magnus force, FM , and its direction were
determined from the magnitude of the spin and the inclination of the spin axis. If the ball is
traveling in the horizontal direction then the vertical component of the Magnus force is given
by FV = FM sin β where β is the inclination of the spin axis to the vertical. For example, if
the spin axis is tilted by 30◦ then FV = 0.5FM so the vertical force on the ball due to spin is
half the total force.

After the ball lands in the service box, it bounces up off the court at speed v, at an angle θ,
with topspin ω, and then crosses the baseline at height H, as shown in Fig. 9. In general, the
height H increases as v increases, it increases as θ increases, and it decreases as ω increases.
Topspin causes the ball to kick up at a steep angle when the ball bounces, but after the ball
bounces the effect of topspin is to reduce the bounce height.

Topspin
Bounce
speed v
H
θ
Bounce point Baseline

Fig. 9 The ball crosses the baseline at height H after bouncing up off the court at speed v and angle
θ. In a kick serve, v is about 20 m/s, θ is about 20◦ and H is about 5 or 6 ft. The ball bounces with
topspin, at about 600 rad/s (5730 rpm). The distance from the bounce point to the baseline is about
6 to 8 m (20 to 26 ft). The perpendicular distance from the net to the service line is 21 ft (6.4 m).
The perpendicular distance from the service line to the baseline is 18 ft (5.49 m).

Effects of varying these parameters are shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 10(a) shows the effect of
changing the bounce speed, assuming that the ball bounces at θ = 20◦ with 600 rad/s (5370
rpm) of topspin. The ball then travels a horizontal distance of either 6.3 m (20.7 ft) or 8.0
m before crossing the baseline. The shortest distance from the service line to the baseline
is 5.49 m (18.0 ft). The ball needs to travel a longer distance to the baseline if it bounces
 13

before reaching the service line, especially when served wide rather than down the middle.
Fig. 10(b) shows the effect of varying the bounce angle, and Fig. 10(c) shows the effect of
varying the rebound spin of the ball. The ball speeds, spins and angles shown in Fig. 10 are
all typical of those observed for the eight players tested when filming a kick serve. Fast, flat
serves bounce off the court at an angle of about 14◦ .

2.0 2.0

(a) (b)
1.9 1.9

1.8 1.8
8 m ( 26.25 ft)

Height at baseline (m)

Height at baseline (m)

8 m ( 26.25 ft)
1.7 1.7

1.6 1.6
6.3 m (20.7 ft)
1.5 6.3 m (20.7 ft) 1.5

1.4 1.4
0
1.3 Bounce angle = 20 1.3 Bounce speed = 21 m/s
Spin = 600 rad/s = 5730 rpm Spin = 600 rad/s = 5730 rpm

1.2 1.2
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Bounce speed v (m/s)
Bounce angle (degrees)

2.0
(c) Bounce speed = 21 m/s
1.9
0
Bounce angle = 20
1.8
Height at baseline (m)

1.7
8 m ( 26.25 ft)
1.6

1.5
6.3 m (20.7 ft)
1.4

1.3 3820 rpm 5730 rpm

1.2
300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Bounce spin (rad/s)

Fig. 10 Height of the ball as it crosses the baseline, either 6.3 m or 8.0 m from the bounce point.

The bounce speed and angle both have a big effect on the bounce height. The higher the
bounce angle the better, and the higher the bounce speed the better. The distance to the
baseline is also important, given that the ball is still rising as it crosses the baseline in most
of the cases in Fig. 10. If the ball bounces well short of the serve line then it has further to
travel to the baseline so it will cross the baseline at a greater height. The ball always bounces
with topspin. The amount of topspin after the bounce increases with serve speed and with
the angle of incidence onto the court, but the amount of topspin does not have as strong an
effect on the bounce height as the bounce speed or angle.
 14

Horizontal distance (m)

0 5 10 15 20
15
4
40 mph

Vertical height (m)

Vertical height (feet)
10 3
50 mph

6.6 ft
Spin = 4000 rpm 2
5
Axis tilt = 30 deg
1
5.3 ft
Net
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Horizontal distance (feet)

Fig. 11 Low speed topspin lob serves can be used by players to generate a high bounce, but the bounce
height at the baseline is relatively low. The serve line is located at 60 ft and the baseline at 78 ft.

It is clear from these calculations that a good kick serve is one where the ball bounces off the
court at a large angle and at high speed, especially if the ball lands in the service box well
short of the baseline. An alternative method of getting the ball to bounce high is available at
low serve speeds, although professional players do not use this method. Figure 11 shows the
trajectories of a ball served at 40 or 50 mph in an upward direction with topspin, resulting
in a low bounce speed and a high bounce angle. The ball bounces to about head height and
then drops rapidly as it crosses the baseline. This type of serve can also be difficult to return
and can upset the rhythm of the receiver.

Serve parameters

In order to get the ball to bounce up off the court at high speed and at a large angle, the
ball must normally be served at high speed and with topspin. Calculations for a range of
serve speeds, serve spins and serve angles are shown in Fig. 12. The spin values shown in
Fig. 12 refer to the amount of spin generated as the ball comes off the racquet, from all
possible sources, not the spin after the ball bounces off the court. Despite the fact that the
server swings up at the ball in a kick serve, the ball must be projected downward below the
horizontal for a good serve. The serve angle, α, is typically between 2 and 6 degrees below
the horizontal. It was assumed in Fig. 12 that the ball is served down the center line when
deciding whether the ball hit the net or was long, and when calculating the height of the
ball as it crossed the baseline. In that case, the relevant distance to the opposite baseline is
78 ft. Larger bounce heights can be obtained by serving wide rather than down the center
line. The ball was served from a height of 2.9 m (9.5 ft), starting 0.6 m (2 ft) in front of the
server’s baseline.
 15

0 0 0
(a) Ball spin = 4000 rpm Axis tilt = 30 (b) Serve angle = 4 Axis tilt = 30
1.8 1.8
0 0
Spin 30 Spin 30
axis Hits 0 axis
1.7 net 1.7 4
4000 rpm
V
Height at baseline (m)

Height at baseline (m)

1.6 1.6
Hits
net
V = 90 mph 5000 rpm
1.5 1.5
V = 100 mph
V = 80 mph
4000 rpm
1.4 Hits 1.4
net
Long 3000 rpm

Long
1.3 α 1.3
Long Ball hits net
V Ball long

1.2 1.2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 70 80 90 100 110
Serve angle α (degrees) Serve speed V (mph)

0 0 0 0
(c) Serve angle = 6 Axis tilt = 30 (d) Serve angle = 6 Axis tilt = 20
1.8 1.8
0
20
Spin
1.7 1.7 0 axis
6
V
Height at baseline (m)

5000 rpm
Height at baseline (m)

1.6 1.6
4000 rpm

1.5 3000 rpm 1.5 5000 rpm

Ball
hits 4000 rpm
net 3000 rpm
1.4 30
0
1.4
Spin
axis
0 Ball hits net
1.3 6 1.3
V

1.2 1.2
70 80 90 100 110 120 70 80 90 100 110 120
Serve speed V (mph) Serve speed V (mph)

Fig. 12 Height of the ball as it crosses the baseline, vs serve angle α in (a) and serve speed V in (b),
(c) and (d). The angle α is the serve angle in degrees below the horizontal. The ball spin is either
3000, 4000 or 5000 rpm, as labelled, and the spin axis is tilted at either 20◦ or 30◦ , as labelled. A
larger tilt angle means more topspin. If the serve angle is too small or the serve speed is too high, the
ball will land long (beyond the serve line). If the serve angle is too large or the serve speed is too low,
the ball will not clear the net. It was assumed that the ball is served down the center line for these
calculations.

The height of a ball served at 80, 90 or 100 mph as it crosses the baseline is shown as a
function of the serve angle in Fig. 12(a), assuming that the ball is spinning at 4000 rpm and
the spin axis is tilted 30◦ from the vertical. It is clear from this diagram, and the other results
in Fig. 12, that the ball needs to be served at a speed greater than 80 mph for a good kick
serve. At 80 mph, the ball bounces to a height of about 1.4 m (just over 4.5 feet) regardless
 16

of the spin and serve angle. The highest bounces occur when the ball is served at about 90
to 100 mph and at about 6◦ below the horizontal so the ball just clears the net.

Figure 12(b) shows the bounce height at the baseline vs serve speed when α = 4◦ , for three
different values of ball spin. The bounce height increases with spin, but it does not necessarily
increase with serve speed. At high serve speeds the ball lands closer to the serve line, assuming
the serve angle is fixed at 4◦ , so the angle of incidence is low and the ball bounces at a low
angle. In order to increase the bounce height, the ball needs to be served at a steeper angle,
as shown in Fig. 12(c). However, if the amount of topspin is reduced then the ball will again
land close to the service line and the bounce height is reduced, as shown in Fig. 12(d).

Several assumptions were made in calculating the results shown in Fig. 12. To calculate the
change in ball speed when the ball bounced, it was assumed that the vertical speed after the
bounce was 0.8 × the vertical speed before the bounce (ie COR = 0.8), and it was assumed
that the horizontal speed, vx2 , after the bounce was 0.65 × the horizontal speed before the
bounce. The calculations were slightly simplified by assuming that the ball bounces in a
rolling mode, with vx2 = Rω2 , where R is the ball radius and ω2 is the angular velocity of the
ball (in rad/s) after it bounces. The bounce parameters here are typical values, chosen from
the experimental data, although different results can be expected for clay or grass courts
since the horizontal bounce speed is generally lower on clay and higher on grass than the
hard courts tested in this study (Cross, 2003b).

The specific parameters used to calculate the results in Fig. 12 are of less significance than the
general trends, which show that the bounce height at the baseline increases with the amount
of topspin imparted by the server, and it also increases as the serve angle, α, increases.
Serving downward at a relatively large angle has two main advantages. It means that the
angle of incidence on the court will be large, so the bounce angle will be large. It also means
that the ball lands well before the service line, so the ball has a longer distance to travel
before it crosses the baseline. At moderately high bounce speeds, the ball rises all the way
to the baseline, so the longer travel distance allows the ball to rise to a greater height by
the time it reaches the baseline. The advantage of serving with topspin is that the ball is
incident on the court at an even steeper angle and at a greater vertical speed than a ball
served without topspin.

Conclusions

It is difficult for most tennis players to serve an effective kick serve. In order to do so, players
need to serve the ball at a speed of around 100 mph, at an angle about five or six degrees
below the horizontal and with as much topspin as possible. It is easy to hit a groundstroke
with topspin simply by swinging up at the ball at an approach angle of about thirty degrees.
It is not possible to strike the ball in that manner when serving since the racquet head is
almost at the top of its trajectory when the racquet strikes the ball. However, there are three
additional effects that help to increase the amount of topspin and that also help to project
 17

the ball down below the horizontal. The first effect is due to the ball toss. Increasing the
height of the ball toss will help to increase the amount of topspin since the racquet effectively
approaches the ball at a steeper angle when the vertical fall speed of the ball is increased.
A similar effect can be achieved by striking the ball when the racquet head is tilted forward
rather than being vertical at the point of impact. The third effect results from forward
rotation of the racquet. The amount of topspin imparted to the ball as a result of racquet
rotation is about equal to the rotation speed of the racquet. Further measurements will need
to be conducted to quantify these effects more precisely.

References

Braden, V. and Bruns, B. (1998). Tennis 2000: Strokes, strategy and psychology for a lifetime.
Boston : Little Brown & Co.

Brody, H., Cross, R. and Lindsey, C. (2002). The physics and technology of tennis. Solana
Beach, CA: Racquet Tech Publishing.

Choppin, S., Goodwill, S., Haake, S. and Miller, S. (2007). 3D player testing results from the
Wimbledon qualifying tournament. Tennis Science and Technology 3, Eds. Miller, S. and
Capel–Davies, J., International Tennis Federation, 341–348.

Cross, R. (2003a). Oblique impact of a tennis ball on the strings of a tennis racket. Sports
Engineering, 6, 235–254.

Cross, R. (2003b). Measurements of the horizontal and vertical speeds of tennis courts.
Sports Engineering, 6, 93–109.

Cross, R. (2005). Bounce of a spinning ball near normal incidence. American Journal of
Physics, 73, 914–920.

Cross, R. and Lindsey, C. (2005). Technical Tennis. Vista, CA: Racquet Tech Publishing.

Goodwill, S., Capel–Davies, J., Haake, S. and Miller, S. (2007). Ball spin generation by elite
players during match play. Tennis Science and Technology 3, Eds. Miller, S. and Capel–
Davies, J., International Tennis Federation, 349–356.

Jinji, T. and Sakuraia, S. (2006). Direction of spin axis and spin rate of the pitched baseball.
Sports Biomechanics, 5, 197–214.

Jinji, T., Sakurai, S. and Hirano, Y. (2011). Factors determining the spin axis of a pitched
fastball in baseball. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29, 761–767.

Mehta, R., Alam, F. and Aleksandar Subic, A. (2008). Review of tennis ball aerodynamics.
Sports Technology 1, 7–16.

View publication stats