The Slice-Kick Serve Does NOT Exist

In the recreational level, the second serve is probably the biggest overall weakness. They tend to go all out on their first serve and barely tap it in for their second. Others can get spin on it, but also swing too slow on it.

Hence, coaches receive a lot of requests for help with the second serve. Many players describe issues with their second serve, such as having a "kickey slice" or a "slicey kick." This topic has generated confusion because some people believe it's possible to hit a slice serve and a kick serve simultaneously.

I want to clarify that this is impossible. I'll use the Topspin Pro to get an idea of why these two types of serves cannot be combined. I highly recommend the Topspin Pro as a valuable tool for visualizing correct swing paths, whether you're working on your forehand, backhand, backhand slice, kick serve, or slice serve. Therefore, in today’s article, we’ll dive into why hitting a slice and a kick serve simultaneously is not feasible.

True Topspin Properties

To understand why it's impossible to hit both a slice and a kick serve simultaneously, we need to look at how topspin is generated.

In groundstrokes, like forehands or backhands, topspin is created by moving the racket vertically over the ball. This motion allows the racket to make contact with the ball in a way that makes it spin in a particular direction.

However, on the serve, it's not feasible to achieve the same vertical movement as in groundstrokes. Trying to do so would require letting the ball drop too low. 

This would result in a lack of full extension and an uncomfortable wrist position. In other words, creating full topspin on a serve is impossible due to these physical constraints.

Instead, on the serve, players typically generate what's called a "three-quarter topspin." This means that the racket's angle is different compared to groundstrokes. 

The tip of the racket is pointed in a way that allows for a topspin effect, but it's not the same as the vertical movement seen in groundstrokes.

A “True” Slice

On the slice, we're gonna have the racket be more vertical towards the sky and we're also going to make the ball spin. This is where the confusion lies.

On a slice serve, yes the ball is spinning, but it's spinning horizontally so we're coming at the ball and we're going laterally across it.

The ball will behave differently if we approach it and make contact with the racket angled towards the side. Instead of coming at the ball with the racket more vertical we are going to go laterally across the ball on both of these serves but the way the ball is going to behave is going to be very different.

Into The Fence

So let me start off with the slice serve. You are going to throw the ball a little bit more towards the right, which will guarantee that the racket head is going to be more vertical at the moment of contact.

If you have trouble with your slice serve, especially if you're just learning it, a good way to start is by throwing the ball slightly more to your right (assuming you're right-handed).

This will not only ensure a more vertical position of the racket head at the moment of contact but also because the racket is moving towards the right, it's likely to continue in that direction for a right-handed server. This results in an automatic slice serve.

Different Behaviors

Let's talk about how the ball behaves differently on a slice serve compared to a kick serve. On a slice serve, when we meet the ball with a more vertical racket head position and then move laterally across it, the ball spins in a particular direction. When it lands on the other side of the court, it tends to move towards the left for a right-handed server.

But is this the best serve to use as a second serve? It's not a bad choice, but it might not be the optimal way to hit a second serve. The reason for this is that when we hit a slice serve, we don't take full advantage of the benefits that a kick serve offers.

Topspin Has A “Kick”

What needs to happen on a kick serve are two things: we need to hold the position of the torso more sideways so we can't rotate into the contact like we do on a slice serve, and also we need to get that toss to at least 12 o'clock or even more towards the left for right-handed players.

What will happen naturally if you do those two things is that the racket head will be more angled at the moment of contact. Now when you laterally go across the ball, two things will happen: the racket will stay higher longer, which will guarantee a different trajectory of the ball.

The ball will go down just like the flat serve and the slice serve, but it will stay higher for a while before it starts to dip down, which will guarantee that the ball will clear the net at a higher level.  

For that reason, this is the absolute best way to hit a second serve because we can hit the ball hard and have a success rate of 99 percent.

Another advantage of the kick serve is that we are making the ball spin in a different way compared to the slice. So when we meet the ball with the racket angled this way and we hit laterally across the ball, it is going to be spinning at a three-quarter angle.

And when it bounces on the other side, if the kick serve is hit with a lot of power, the ball will not only bounce to the right from right-handers but also will have a tendency to kick up. That's where the name 'kick' comes from because the ball is not only going to the right but it's also kicking up.

Rolled Into The Box

At the recreational level, your kick serve might not be kicking that much, and I think this is where a lot of players get confused. You are still hitting a kick serve, if you want to be more technical, you could call it a topspin serve, correct kick serve, but yet your ball doesn't kick up.

Simply because you're not applying enough power to your serve. What indeed might be happening to your kick serve is that you only get that rightward trajectory or, in some instances, you might not even be getting that.

The ball has the key kick characteristics where it's going high over the net, it's landing shorter in the box, but it's not really doing that much once it lands on the other side. And this has to do with the amount of power that you're applying to your serve.

So, obviously, if you look at the elite level, someone like Matteo Berrettini, who possibly has the best kick serve in the game right now, his ball is extremely lively once it bounces. Not only is it going way off to the right, but it's also jumping up.

Same Definition, Different Actions

There is one thing that happens on the slice serve that makes it seem as if it was hit with a kick. If you hit your slice serve with a more vertical position of the racket face at the moment of contact but if you throw the ball further behind.

By this, I mean making contact slightly above your head instead of in front of your head. It's essential to remember that the slice serve and the flat serve are typically struck slightly in front of our head due to torso rotation being involved. The toss should also be placed a bit more inside the court.

In contrast, on the kick serve, the contact point is slightly further behind, somewhere right on top of our head.

So what will happen if you hit a slice serve and throw the ball further behind? The ball will simply go higher over the net.

Final Thoughts

It is not wrong by any means to have a slice serve as a second serve. A lot of you guys are not at the stage yet where you can comfortably hit a kick serve in a match. The muscle memory is simply not there yet, and you're still learning the kick serve.

When this is the case, it is perfectly fine to use the slice serve, even if you're talking about the high level or, sometimes, at the elite level. Especially on the WTA, you will see some players who use slice serves on their second serves as well.

However, the absolute best way to hit a second serve is to apply topspin, or in other words, kick on it. Don't get confused with the terminology. Don't worry whether your serving action is kicking or not. Take your time with it, get a lot of reps in, and it is by far the best way to hit a second serve. I’m still working on it myself.