OT: Can you do what the pros do?

[superjohn]

Did you watch the video?

The servers in the video don't look like real pros to begin with, the challenger gets multiple chances on his forehand side always from the deuce court, still misses every one except the seventh serve, which seems like a pity serve done for the video. Any decent player will mix up where you serve and make it hard for you to guess. I can guarantee that your challenger will have no chance if the serves were coming to his backhand, or body.

If you have some athleticism and a decent hand-eye coordination, you can even get a hit of a 100mph fast ball after some (a lot of) practice. But if you take one of the yarders here that is not a pro or college level player, they will have no chance of making contact with an 80mph pitch.

Go find those videos/links where the guy serving offers $100 (or $1000, I forget) for someone to return his serve, you can see no one succeeds.

I remember going to a tennis camp at Amherst College and there was a very good 6'5 D1 college player who was an instructor. He could easily crank his serves at 120+ and it's so much more than the speed. The kick he put on it was crazy and that was just a college player with a big serve. ATP players are a different ball game. Sure some rando could probably get a second serve that's guided in but the only chance some rando would have returning a first serve is if the ATP guy told him exactly where the serve was going every time. Even then there's very little chance of returning it in play. If he doesn't want you to return it, there's basically no chance you're returning his first serve.

 

[Jumpman62114]

If Danny drew up a double pin down screen I could def hit a 3. Still got some game at 35.

 

[JerseyAlum]

Keep in mind, I don't play tennis at all, but last year, I tried return a serve from our top sixth grader and I. Got. Smoked.

I player D1 tennis and did the maths to select return a serve. I still play socially

 

[Horatio]

None. I’m an honest, former Division 3 football player. I peaked my senior year in high school.

 

[storrsroars]

I remember going to a tennis camp at Amherst College and there was a very good 6'5 D1 college player who was an instructor. He could easily crank his serves at 120+ and it's so much more than the speed. The kick he put on it was crazy and that was just a college player with a big serve. ATP players are a different ball game. Sure some rando could probably get a second serve that's guided in but the only chance some rando would have returning a first serve is if the ATP guy told him exactly where the serve was going every time. Even then there's very little chance of returning it in play. If he doesn't want you to return it, there's basically no chance you're returning his first serve.

I answered the challenge as it was written. It did not specify first serve, nor speed. I'll stand by my answer.

Like Hoophound said, you see enough serves from players better than you, you pick up things that increase your odds of being able to get to the ball and make contact. It is reactive and you need a quick first step to have any chance, which is why you see guys bouncing on balls of their feet. It's not all that dissimilar from baseball in reading a pitcher. Ball is coming in faster, but from a greater distance. You're probably 85-90 feet away from where ball is delivered, and you have a much bigger hitting surface than a bat provides. But you're not standing in a batters box, you have to move.

I'm not saying it's easy by any means, but if someone is athletic and quick, I think the odds of that guy making contact is more than zero over the course of a 3 set game (minimum 72 first serves and 3-4 second serves if my math is correct).

I'll stand by that. Your experience is yours, mine is mine.

 

[jleves]

Realistically, the only ones that are doable are the team scenarios where they could set stuff up for you like when they had Nykesha Sales set her record with an uncontested basket. Or have the entire defense surround a running back and let you run up and grab his ankles.

But in serious regular play, 99.99% aren't making any of these things happen.

I laugh at people who think they could return a serve even in a 5 set match against a pro or get a hit off a pro pitcher. Scoring a goal in a hockey game or soccer game - never gonna happen. I would pay good money to watch anyone here try to tackle a pro running back in the open field.

Maybe, maybe in a scratch golfers best round ever they could break +10 in a major - for a single round, not a 72 hole tournament.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Im in a wheelchair so i have ZERO shot of doing any of these things lol! Maybe the 145mph tennis serve hits my racket accidentally and goes back over the net.

 

[storrsroars]

I laugh at people who think they could return a serve even in a 5 set match against a pro

Laugh all you want. I actually did that against a ranked player. That was like 38 years ago. I certainly couldn't do it now.

 

[Deepster]

Im in a wheelchair so i have ZERO shot of doing any of these things lol! Maybe the 145mph tennis serve hits my racket accidentally and goes back over the net.

You could truck your chair into a running back's knees, no?

 

[maxw]

I answered the challenge as it was written. It did not specify first serve, nor speed. I'll stand by my answer.

Like Hoophound said, you see enough serves from players better than you, you pick up things that increase your odds of being able to get to the ball and make contact. It is reactive and you need a quick first step to have any chance, which is why you see guys bouncing on balls of their feet. It's not all that dissimilar from baseball in reading a pitcher. Ball is coming in faster, but from a greater distance. You're probably 85-90 feet away from where ball is delivered, and you have a much bigger hitting surface than a bat provides. But you're not standing in a batters box, you have to move.

I'm not saying it's easy by any means, but if someone is athletic and quick, I think the odds of that guy making contact is more than zero over the course of a 3 set game (minimum 72 first serves and 3-4 second serves if my math is correct).

I'll stand by that. Your experience is yours, mine is mine.

Your math is wrong, too. When you are losing 6-0, 6-0 in a best of three set match, you are only facing closer to 24 first serves.

You trying to equate baseball batters with tennis receivers tells us tennis is not your thing. A tennis serve has more dimensions than a baseball pitch, and the receiver needs to cover a much larger distance.

Some of you are making it sound like one can easily return good serves with practice. But know that on ATP tour, 38% of first serves do no come back - they are aces or unreturned serves.

If the pros cannot return more than a third of the serves they receive, what chance do mere mortals have?

 

[storrsroars]

Your math is wrong, too. When you are losing 6-0, 6-0 in a best of three set match, you are only facing closer to 24 first serves.

You trying to equate baseball batters with tennis receivers tells us tennis is not your thing. A tennis serve has more dimensions than a baseball pitch, and the receiver needs to cover a much larger distance.

Some of you are making it sound like one can easily return good serves with practice. But know that on ATP tour, 38% of first serves do no come back - they are aces or unreturned serves.

If the pros cannot return more than a third of the serves they receive, what chance do mere mortals have?

Believe whatever the hell you want. I've actually accomplished the feat.

 

[Hunt for 7]

In 2006 spring about two months before they played the PGA Championship at Medina CC in the Chicago suburbs, I played the course from the tips plus 7K yards. Played with one of the club pros in a charity tournament which was best ball. So we all had to play our scores. I shot 78 the club pro shot 77. Sure there were a few gimme puts but they where all in the leather.

Now could I do the same thing with 70K fans standing around you on every hole is a different story. But I did shoot less than 10 over on pretty much the same set up they used at the PGA. Two of the par 3 were a bit shorter because they were making the holes plus 200 and the new tee boxes were not ready. So that may have helped.

 

[WillB4]

Back in the day.....I played football, not that football, the real football AKA soccer. Had a treble in high school, a few goals in college. Now only a PK would net results.

 

[Tenspro2002]

You can also find some where the challenger succeeds.

He's swinging way too hard to actually return it like you would in a match. And he succeeded at 120 mph once in 7 tries. I'm just trying to get strings on the ball with a slice grip to get that sucker over the net in play. Basically a "tennis bunt," all reflexes, no stroke. Doable with some practice.

 

[Spaceman213J]

The one I would not want to try at all is scoring a goal in pro hockey. I could skate a little when I was young, but a lot of people don't understand how fast those guys are going and how big a lot of those grown men are. Now, aside from keeping your head up and not getting blasted into next week, you also have to skate and maintain control of the puck with a stick.
No thanks! I would like to keep my teeth intact and not be concussed.

 

[Captbluefin]

The question is can the pros do what I do?
Or what any of us do..

 

[superjohn]

He's swinging way too hard to actually return it like you would in a match. And he succeeded at 120 mph once in 7 tries. I'm just trying to get strings on the ball with a slice grip to get that sucker over the net in play. Basically a "tennis bunt," all reflexes, no stroke. Doable with some practice.

Again, those serves are nowhere near 120 mph and the guys who are serving them to him aren't pros. If you think you can return 120 kilometers per hour serves from regular tennis players which is much more in line with this video I would agree with you.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The funniest would be watching any of us try and return a serve from a professional tennis player.

Even that is easier than trying to hit major league pitching.

 

[superjohn]

Even that is easier than trying to hit major league pitching.

Possibly but as we've seen from the responses pretty much everyone agrees they aren't getting a hit against professional pitchers yet several people are delusional enough to think they're returning serves from professional tennis players. I think it would be hilarious watching these people actually try.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Maybe, maybe in a scratch golfers best round ever they could break +10 in a major - for a single round, not a 72 hole tournament.

Buddy’s dad is a member at the same club as Rickie Fowler. Has never played with him but they have a mutual friend that each plays with separately. Buddy’s dad is a 10, the mutual friend is scratch, and the friend has told him the gap between the two of them is far less than between the scratch golfer and Fowler. They’re playing a different sport.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Possibly but as we've seen from the responses pretty much everyone agrees they aren't getting a hit against professional pitchers yet several people are delusional enough to think they're returning serves from professional tennis players. I think it would be hilarious watching these people actually try.

Could change it to “make contact with a pro tennis player’s serve” and the answer would still be a resounding no for the vast majority on here.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Possibly but as we've seen from the responses pretty much everyone agrees they aren't getting a hit against professional pitchers yet several people are delusional enough to think they're returning serves from professional tennis players. I think it would be hilarious watching these people actually try.

Could I do it when I was 22? I think I might be able to do it against a woman's pro from that era when I was at my best. Matina Hingis averaged 79 MPH for example.

 

[storrsroars]

Possibly but as we've seen from the responses pretty much everyone agrees they aren't getting a hit against professional pitchers yet several people are delusional enough to think they're returning serves from professional tennis players. I think it would be hilarious watching these people actually try.

Here's the thing. As I've already mentioned, I've played against a ranked player. He was not a full time pro, but had completed in Open tourneys. And I returned more than one serve and made contact with a few others. I was around 30 at the time. He told me I had no chance. I did. I didn't win a single game. But I did return some serves.

No, I could not do that now at 68. That would be delusional.

 

[Improviser]

Here's the thing. As I've already mentioned, I've played against a ranked player. He was not a full time pro, but had completed in Open tourneys. And I returned more than one serve and made contact with a few others. I was around 30 at the time. He told me I had no chance. I did. I didn't win a single game. But I did return some serves.

No, I could not do that now at 68. That would be delusional.

If you can find one, play a 68 year old former pro (unless he still plays in a separate seniors circuit) and see what happens.

Age wears us all down. Maybe you are now in better shape than he is at his age.

The years are kinder or less kind to different folks. Sometimes things equal out.

 

[storrsroars]

If you can find one, play a 68 year old former pro (unless he still plays in a separate seniors circuit) and see what happens.

Age wears us all down. Maybe you are now in better shape than he is at his age.

The years are kinder or less kind to different folks. Sometimes things equal out.

Just had gel shot into my knees last week. But if that guy is in hospice, I might have a chance!