Average Guy Tries to Return a Pro Tennis Serve | Above Average Joe

Average Guy Tries to Return a Pro Tennis Serve | Above Average Joe | GQ Sports

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Жыл бұрын

The average male pro tennis player serves their opponent at 125 MPH. On this episode of Above Average Joe, average guy Clay Skipper has exactly one calendar day to prove if he can return a serve from a pro tennis player. He has recruited big time help from tennis coaching legend Rick Macci to meet the challenge. Is Clay more of a Venus or a Serena... or a Richard?
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Пікірлер: 295

@Martinspire Жыл бұрын

If I had a hype man like Rick, I probably would've never quit tennis

@filipposclub Жыл бұрын

get back at it bro, Im getting back again after 5 years.

@esmul Жыл бұрын

@@filipposclub back at it again after 8 years. Started beginner level again. Loving it again

@namansharma2798 Жыл бұрын

I wanted to quit but my parents told me to keep trying so I did now I love the game again

@joshc.6706 Жыл бұрын

Yeah man get back to it. I played tennis at a high competitive level until 17 when I destroyed my shoulder and I was never the same player. After that I walked away, because it was too hard mentally. probably hit a tennis ball a couple times in nine years. For as much as I invested in time, emotions, and physical pain at times, to stay away it progressively ate at me. Sorry for the rant but fact of the matter is I lied to myself saying i could never bring myself to play again. Can I serve without pain to this day, no but I can hit balls back and forth. Point is after time it becomes more clear why you loved the game to begin with. Try it out it might be some of the most fun you would’ve had in a while

@z.sr4869 Жыл бұрын

why u need people to hype u in a hobby ?? u dont need that just have fun and hype urself

@noelopez2237 Жыл бұрын

I love how RIck spoke of anxiety. That's something I never thought of in my own game but always play with.

@swiftDKB Жыл бұрын

seriously, after plyaing a bunch of junior tennis years ago, it all makes sense!

@HTLRsTopGuy Жыл бұрын

Wow! I didn't know my second serves were going over 120!

@Jabip85 Жыл бұрын

Very cool video! However, as someone who plays college tennis those serves were not even close to 120 mph 😭

@2242728william Жыл бұрын

That’s like 120km/h

@Jes1919 Жыл бұрын

The were probably low 100s. 115+ bounce

@imightbebiased9311 Жыл бұрын

Also, I can't find any spelling of "Devonte" in the ATP database. There's a Devante Lindsay and a Devonte Thomas that lost 2 Futures matches, but there's never been a Devonte in the top 100. I think this is all part of Rick's psychology.

@joshc.6706 Жыл бұрын

Yeah definitely, I played quite a few kids in high school that had serves above 120, before I destroyed my shoulder. Just a collection of huge serves in a small area. Definitely don’t think it was 120

@hansklok3564 Жыл бұрын

@@joshc.6706 dont think? bruh, this is clearly not 120 mph. not even close.

@seicbro9459 Жыл бұрын

The ones at “60” were 40 and “90” were 55 120s were maybe 90-100

@poofykins Жыл бұрын

ok...thank you..I wish they would have shown the actual serve coming in with the CUT and change of view cuz we never actually saw the time the ball takes to get to him, and the bounce to him looked slow AF! .i was wondering this because I'm trying to estimate my serves (i'm new to tennis *2 months) and my 1st serve is definitely faster than the 2 "120 mph" guys LIKE WAY FASTER last week i hit an ace in doubles that both opponents said was the fastest serve they've seen in person, they've been playing 30+ years and the ball off 1 bounce went THROUGH the chainlink fence (not getting stuck in the links it went all the way through)

@Nnexxxx Жыл бұрын

the 120's looked like they were between 70-90mph. Not even close to 100

@fezox2712 Жыл бұрын

@@poofykins u are playing tennis 2months and u are serving 120mph? 😂😂😂 sooow!!! U should play tennis 2years and u are going to be next number 1. 🙃😂😂

@sebastianr4937 Жыл бұрын

@@poofykins yeah no

@poofykins Жыл бұрын

@@fezox2712 nooo I got clocked at a tournament at NIU (on my 6th week of playing) at 101 mph i hit it good and clean but recently i did hit one a little faster... and #1 LMAO NOO, my forehand is weak, my back hand is so bad that i switch to my left hand to forehand instead haha. i might say in a year I hit 130 1st serves with good accuracy. I am going to be getting coached. and I am not suggesting this is normal...i'm tall...and I played Pro BBALL and semi pro volleyball, and was obsessed with balance and core training / vertical jump so I have the natural motions and know how to apply power in the swing. so yah it came super fast and natural. Once I get coached on how to implement my lower body and core...i hit 130 easy.

@yuanhu6031 Жыл бұрын

Great video with many useful tennis tips! But I don't think any of the serves were close to 120mph.

@baldeagle4710 Жыл бұрын

they werent...lol

@marcelobarros5729 Жыл бұрын

It's why the camera angles of the serves were setup the way they were. So you couldn't tell how fast they were. No way they were 120.

@rsmith02 Жыл бұрын

It seemed like they were slower slices, but in some ways that's even harder to return. He didn't get a racket on those.

@stoyanplugarov8329 Жыл бұрын

they wanna fool the people who never played tennis

@ronalddelrosario7405 Жыл бұрын

Agreed! That last set of serves looked more like 90. Definitely not close to 120. But he was pretty darn good considering how little practice he had. That split step is something most recreational players never get down and he did it really well. He's a pretty good athlete like they said. Now if those last two servers were really trying, he wouldn't have had a chance. ;)

@luismoreno391 Жыл бұрын

Lmao none of those serves were 120 lol

@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten Жыл бұрын

Yeah more like 110 or 100

@funnyduck4568 Жыл бұрын

@@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten if even

@holyscythe Жыл бұрын

I don’t think he’s holding the racket properly

@menulis7941 Жыл бұрын

@@holyscythe he's not but normally beginners are just meant to have a feel for the sport on the first day in any coaching. Technical stuff comes later.

@imightbebiased9311 Жыл бұрын

If you combined several of them...

@John_DaMan Жыл бұрын

What a great coach. Knowledgable, patient and good at teaching.

@shangojackson60 Жыл бұрын

When I was 10 I got on the court with James Blake. Had one of the fastest serves in tennis back then. The challenge was to hit his serve over. They were waiting for another pro to show up to actually hit it cuz they were not expecting any kid to come close. I got up there and hit it in the net but it threw my racket back to the wall. Literally got me an interview with Tennis TV but at that moment I knew I didnt want to play pro💀

@tomsd8656 8 ай бұрын

You were 10. I wouldn't expect anything more than that.

@marcbobson 8 ай бұрын

Title should have been "Average Guy Tries to Return a Slow Tennis Serve"

@Dennis-highlights Жыл бұрын

The 90's are like 50 - 70 and 120's are like probably in the 90mph, putting spin on the ball takes away speed, go look at zverev serve at court level, that's the real 120mph serve lmao

@sdfswords Жыл бұрын

Rick is the best, nice job Joe, it's way harder than it looks. As an ex-D1 player, what you did is remarkable. Now imagine 140mph or more with angle and precision. Your soccer background would translate well to tennis, go play for sure.

@shakeemrobinson2948 Жыл бұрын

Clay was such a good dude with the kids... Made his triumph even more rewarding to watch.

@Better_Call_Raul Жыл бұрын

Not sure why these pros, including that former Top 100 guy, were SLICING out wide. Very annoying. That is a difficult return for anyone. Just serve it flat to his forehand.

@mrperfect87106 Жыл бұрын

That first guy was no way serving 120. Slice serve out wide 120? Not a chance. I’m not even sure the other guy was serving 120ish.

@eslynbeck9197 Жыл бұрын

I think they were just trying to get him to return and feel good about himself

@chadhowland9787 Жыл бұрын

Yeah get Kyrgios out there and see if he returns any 😂

@ifeanyiikpegbu6465 Жыл бұрын

@@chadhowland9787 😂😂😂He wouldn’t even be able to visualize the ball

@rsmith02 Жыл бұрын

@@Batwam0 Badly mishitting such shots could also lead to arm injury. His forehand is already mostly arm with the wrist forward. Probably just as well they gave him slices.

@boneth8826 Жыл бұрын

Yeah those weren’t 120mph serves…

@keeganairbad4548 Жыл бұрын

If the ones at 5:00 were 90 mph my serve gotta be at least 180 lol

@menulis7941 Жыл бұрын

I've been playing tennis for a while and when he said bisect the angle on wide serves, I was like "wow that makes so much sense"

@jonathanp639 Жыл бұрын

He has a great phrase for everything!

@KandeShack 8 ай бұрын

I love this guy and his “Rickisms”

@kevindorbegi2659 Жыл бұрын

What a fantastic coach!

@drmitofit2673 8 ай бұрын

You know you have an elite coach when his assistant feeds the balls.

@Djlalofriend Жыл бұрын

I want to take a lesson with that coach in the black shirt. Heard he works wonders for tennis 🎾

@kevinwong4230 Жыл бұрын

120km/hr😂

@thaddeusmccaw3303 8 ай бұрын

Id be surprised if those serves were over 100 let alone 120. The 1st time I saw a 120+ mph serve I reacted after the ball past me. Lol.

@zander3208 Жыл бұрын

When I first started playing tennis the ball went to mars and this guy did it in no time.

@benkoi8310 Жыл бұрын

I did learn something in this video. Thanks.

@makaiwise4609 Жыл бұрын

I mean the video is ok, but Rick is the GOAT here, like what a good coach and hype man

@mattm8441 Жыл бұрын

Gilligan was serving some heat

@tigranyeremyan7634 Жыл бұрын

For a guy who hasn't played tennis before, the guy picks it up pretty quick. However, I would say those serves were closer to 40/75/~100 Still impressive for his first time.

@ejfeldmann 5 ай бұрын

I agree 100%

@user-xn2es1gn8z 4 ай бұрын

I agree, but I think the 90s were closer to 60

@napoleondiepri 9 ай бұрын

Really love this video

@jimreadey4837 8 ай бұрын

Really fun video!

@angriestpanda8771 8 ай бұрын

Dude are you sure you're an average joe?? I couldn't even do this with 3 years of training!

@tennisviking Жыл бұрын

Coach brought out his pro racket for this lesson 😆😆😆 fun video though 👍

@Later_Nerd Жыл бұрын

What a great teacher.

@aydrian9196 Жыл бұрын

I think Rick does himself and the players a disservice here by greatly exaggerating the pace of the serves. Great coach, love the positivity, but you also have to keep it real...

@lemonno8605 Жыл бұрын

yall should get Clay to try defend a pro's badminton smash

@hughhoney5930 9 ай бұрын

after watching this, i feel super confident about returning a 120 mph serve lol

@thefridgeman Жыл бұрын

Yeah, the "120 mph" serves were more like 120 km/h serves. No way a slice or kick serve can reach 120 mph. Lol. A 120 serve will kick the back fence really hard.

@JoeV03 Жыл бұрын

This guy must've never heard of Novak Djokovic.

@joel7812 Жыл бұрын

I wouldn't mind if this guy could teach me anything. I'd go back to math class if he was my teacher.

@feensta 9 ай бұрын

Rick is a freaking tennis whisperer. What a guy!

@gqnelly 8 ай бұрын

Great video with excellent return tips. I don't want to be a nitpicker but the serve speeds are grossly overstated. I have played competitively my entire life and my first serve has been clocked up to 105 mph. There is no way any of these serves are anywhere close to the speeds he claims. That aside...its a great instructional piece.

@PF9O 7 ай бұрын

Surprised he didn't correct that grip, I'd start there.

@MomentsinTennis Жыл бұрын

Rick Macci played a tournament there a few months ago

@ledarius82 9 ай бұрын

That sounds like a great tennis coach

@harryp3804 Жыл бұрын

Real life macci is even more OP then the movie version.

@ifeanyiikpegbu6465 Жыл бұрын

It’s obvious he can’t even get his racket on slice serves because he’s a beginner. I doubt he would be able to return kick too.. But none of those serves were 120. Probably 100-110 at most

@joellahrman4557 Жыл бұрын

Probably wouldn't get a kick serve back. I remember the first time I went against a good kick serve, it went as well as when I played Little League and saw my first good curve ball.

@obi-wankenobi8413 Ай бұрын

Barely touching 90 imo, I’ve seen real 100+ serves playing in high school and they look noticeably faster on camera than these

@GGGinJe Жыл бұрын

Rick Macci.... $800.00 for a one hour lesson, and h'es booked out 2 months in advance as of today. Does that fee come with a guarantee that you'll be as good as Sampras or Federer after your lesson? As P.T. Barnum might say "there's a sucker born every minute".

@Tyronebiggums371 Жыл бұрын

God he’s so choked up on that racket hold it at the bottom G

@jumpkickingnara Жыл бұрын

People in the comments are so annoying lol its a great video and we get to see Rick's coaching. We are getting a ton of knowledge for free which is better than see a guy get aced over and over. The amount of positivity is great to see!

@ChowDownDetroit 8 ай бұрын

This is a great example on why you need to take lessons in Tennis.

@vlesmeries Жыл бұрын

I think Rick made a mistake. GQ wanted mph but he gave the dude kmh serves instead.

@angriestpanda8771 8 ай бұрын

At 10:23 he completely missed the kid in the purple shirt raising his hand! 💀💀💀

@jtm3551 8 ай бұрын

Court 16 is my favorite court there

@MikeMike-ms1ns Жыл бұрын

we need an Above Average Joe episode with soccer at Man City

@ChiaroClan 8 ай бұрын

Played a little tennis and there is no way those last serves were 120 MPH.

@vBerk 8 ай бұрын

if these are 120mph serves then I have a 300mph serve it's time to record my world record

@recration Жыл бұрын

Lol thats never 120

@happycamperinc. Жыл бұрын

"He is on fire"

@koopa1231 Жыл бұрын

Two most important shots in tennis - 1. Serve and 2. Return

@azael831 Жыл бұрын

Nick Kyrigos best serve today

@vivoentierra Жыл бұрын

The first time to return 120m/hr serve? Have to say u’r a Real sport talent.

@cesarfernandezlopez5063 Жыл бұрын

Rick Macci is the Daddy...👍🏻❤️🎾

@marfu1119 9 ай бұрын

Pro tennis player makes tennis look so easy

@TheTamrielDrunkard Жыл бұрын

I'd have to say, I think hitting a pro baseball pitch is harder than returning a pro tennis serve.

@zachpatterson411 Жыл бұрын

i would agree but dont use this video as proof this video is lying to you

@TheTamrielDrunkard Жыл бұрын

@@zachpatterson411 You mean regarding how fast the serves are that he's returning? Because I don't believe for a second the speeds that they're claiming. I'm an experienced college player and can hit 120mph. I'm skeptical of some of those serves.

@edugomez3c Жыл бұрын

Yeah

@nicklaslouie5693 Жыл бұрын

It is.

@obi-wankenobi8413 Ай бұрын

@@TheTamrielDrunkardthose serves barely touched 90 imo maybe 100 at best, playing in high school currently and I’ve filmed some of our top players serves and they look a fair bit faster than that

@SynneI 9 ай бұрын

Those serves were varying like 80-100. I mean those were second serve speeds with hardly any spin 😂 just feels like these guys were lying the whole time (not GQ)

@usclvr19 Жыл бұрын

I love Rick

@AlejandroPerez-mg3fc Жыл бұрын

I want a Rick in my life

@triskaidekathirteen724 9 ай бұрын

So your saying I have a chance!

@TheTEN24 Жыл бұрын

Coach is a cool dude

@Stellarffxi Жыл бұрын

All of the mph subtract 20-30 and then it's probably accurate. Lol.

@user-xn2es1gn8z 4 ай бұрын

great video but I'm a high school player and have returned 60 and 90 mile per hour serves, and the kids in the video were not hitting it nearly that fast, The 120 also seemed to be more around 100 Edit, thought about it some, the kids in the video probably could serve at 60/90 but were nervous because they were on camera which is why they served slower than he said

@s41magazine37 Жыл бұрын

Those serves we're nowhere near 90 or 120 🤣

@hellothere-mm2ed 10 ай бұрын

was this the rick macy academy at south county park in boca raton FL??

@nathandiaz3446 Жыл бұрын

Looked like he was distracted by all the kids around him

@williamrobertson6989 8 ай бұрын

I hope Rick gets paid per fist bump! :)

@JurnaMusic Жыл бұрын

If those serves were 120 MPH, I'm John Isner.

@Monsterenergy791 Жыл бұрын

Let's see him return against Bublik or Kyrgios..will give him 20 tries....

@marcbobson 8 ай бұрын

120 KPH...maybe...

@jnprather Жыл бұрын

This was pretty cool, although I'd like to know why Rick felt the need to lie through his teeth and claim that Devante is "top 100 in the world" when he's not even a pro.

@DonYang73 Жыл бұрын

He is muscling the ball. No unit turn, pure muscling. Hitting ball late too. Low level recreational stuff for sure but looks like he has the natural talent to improve a lot

@dayoho_o3962 9 ай бұрын

wow...that guy is a great coach, knows how to bring the best in individuals

@iroamaround_ Жыл бұрын

Calming 10% 😂

@bodiroga96 8 ай бұрын

120 Is the new 80

@miguela.maturana1913 9 ай бұрын

If this is above average, I am ATP level.

@baldeagle4710 Жыл бұрын

it's all about bending your knees, especially if you're tall

@empathy800 Жыл бұрын

If it was 120mph it was before the ball hit the ground. Once the ball hits the ground, the velocity changes a lot.

@kaialoha Жыл бұрын

50% less.

@Lauren-vd4qe 7 ай бұрын

HINT: what I REALLY liked about this video is Maccis GUNG HO POSITIVE attitude towards his student! makes a person try harder be diligent and b UPBEAT!!