Product Details

• Actors: Nick Bollettieri
• Directors: Human Kinetics
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Human Kinetics
• DVD Release Date: July 29, 2008
• Run Time: 50 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0019KDUPW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,397 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Nick Bollettieri shows you the world's most powerful serves and a step-by-step plan for developing the skills to hit a sonic serve. Learn the correct techniques to spin your opponent off the court or to slam a service winner down the T. Drills to develop your serve are presented in classic Bollettieri style. Part of the 10-disk Bollettieri DVD Collection, Sonic Serve is one of six DVDs that focus on superior technique for the essential strokes. About the Author Nick Bollettieri is the most well-known and successful tennis coach in the world today. His training program is recognized as one of the best systems for developing top players-in fact, 10 of his players have reached the top ranking in the world. Some of his most notable students are Maria Sharapova, Venus and Serena Williams, Tommy Haas, Jelena Jankovic, Andre Agassi, Martina Hingis, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Anna Kournikova, Marcelo Rios, and Boris Becker. Nick founded the world-renowned Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in 1978. Within 10 years, Nick expanded his vision when he joined forces with IMG to turn the tennis academy into a multisport training facility, now known as IMG Academies. IMG Academies trains over 13,000 junior, collegiate, adult, and professional athletes annually, including families and corporate groups, from over 75 countries. Nick's insights into the game of tennis are sought after by organizations around the world. He has authored numerous books on tennis and contributed to many television and video programs, and he regularly writes for magazines and Internet sites. A recipient of USTA's Coach of the Year Award, Nick is recognized globally for his promotion of the sport, especially for his work with youth. He currently resides in Bradenton, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where is Sonic Serve II, Nick?, December 30, 2008

By 

Michael Perine "Powder Obsessed" (North Lake Tahoe) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nick Bollettieri's Stroke Instruction Series: Sonic Serve DVD (DVD)

The Sonic Serve provides very advanced instruction in minute detail. This DVD analyzes the world's six best serves and finds common fundamentals in each. It analyzes each part of the kinetic chain of movement through high speed video. The serve taught in the tape involves the entire body, the legs, hips, torso, chest, shoulder, arm and wrist. Slow motion video emphasizes 360 degrees of racquet rotation with pronation of the forearm and wrist. If you are looking to utilize your entire body to create sonic booms with your serve, this is the DVD for you.

However, obviously lacking are the all too important features of spin and slice. At the end of the DVD, Bollettieri promises a follow-up session in a "couple of months". The months have turned into years and still no Sonic Serve II. If a kick serve is what you are looking for, send Nick Bollettieri an email and ask where the next installment is.

In spite of the lack of subject matter on slice and kick, the Sonic Serve is great for the player who wants to squeeze a few more miles per hour out of his service motion.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings about this one, August 22, 2010

By 

Philip A. Dinauer (Guilford, CT United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nick Bollettieri's Stroke Instruction Series: Sonic Serve DVD (DVD)

Good video regarding how to generate high speed serve, but strongly believe video should have more content on other serve types. I believe that when I apply concepts learned from the video, I will see improvement in my serve technique and speed. I do believe the video will help my game.

On the other hand, I agree with another reviewer about annoying drum roll sound used excessively in the video -- wish that were completely eliminated. Also, wish video took several minutes to demonstrate serve variations and explain how to create a super slice or kick on serves. Lack of this additional instructional material on a relatively short video is disappointing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better Instruction is available, April 19, 2011

By 

Jim Curry (MT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nick Bollettieri's Stroke Instruction Series: Sonic Serve DVD (DVD)

This teaching video gives thorough and correct instruction for hitting one particular sort of tennis serve. The serve is successfully used by the very "biggest hitters" on both men's and women's tours. The fastest serves ever hit were hit in this way. On the women's tour, Dinara Safina and Maria Sharapova hit this style. Many of the biggest hitters on the men's side have hit this way: Richard Krajicek, Goran Ivanisevic---many of them. So, it represents very competent and thorough instruction on one type of serve. We could call this your "big first serve" or your "flat" serve, although no effective serve is truly "flat." It omits more than just very minimal comments about the slice and kick serves, which are very important themselves. So, even if we wish to accept this standard, it is an incomplete instruction. We won't be able to do whatever we want with the ball.

Several possible problems could be identified for this style of serving. It restricts the power that you can really produce with your legs. It puts a premium on balance. It aligns the body in a way that leaves quite low tolerances---not much margin for error at all. There isn't much difference, in this method, between dumping the ball in the net and pushing it long. So, it necessarily requires top timing from the serve. Because it puts a premium on balance, it leaves the server vulnerable to "bad patches" of serving when the rhythm goes off. This doesn't reflect as much the laxity of preparation or the poor coordination of the server. It is just the case that this style of serving leaves rather little margin of error. Most of us humans need more margin for error than that, especially if we're not among the tallest players.

In my opinion, there are two better sources of information about the serve. One is produced by Phil Dent, a verifiable big server of yesteryear---now a top teaching pro and father of fine tennis players, including Taylor Dent. The other is produced by Jim McLennan. These advocate the "other" style of serving, namely the "platform" serve. This is the style that Sampras and Roddick and Edberg use. It is recommended because it allows you to get "full use" out of your legs. It aids your balance---instead of overloading your balance. It leaves much greater margin for error. Consequently, it becomes possible---with lots of practice---to avoid "bad patches" of serving during a match. It is the capability to maintain a consistently very high level of serving all the time---forever and always---that makes Sampras tough. If someone else cranks the occasional extra 5 or 8 miles an hour---what does it matter, really? It's purely show time. It has nothing to do with winning a match. You won't be beaten by a 140 mph serve that hits once every seven games. You'll be beaten by a 125 mph serve that whips into the corner time after time after time after time. Ask Andre Agassi about that.

Both the (great) teaching material by Phil Dent and the (extremely good---wonderful) teaching material by McLennan are, in my opinion, much better guidance for young people up through varsity players at excellent universities. Both are unsatisfactory to me in the sense that I wanted them to give MUCH more information about the use and production of the "spinnier" serves, the slice and the kicker. Still, it is useful to get the mechanics right first. If you can hit these serves, you can certainly learn the spin serves, too. To me, the Dent/McLennan stuff is the indispensable and top quality serve instruction.

If Maria Sharapova moved her serving style to the Dent/McLennan (platform) style, she could easily go back to number 1. There is no reason she has to have a patchy serve---but she does.