The serve is one of the most important strokes in tennis. It starts each point, and it is the only shot in tennis you initiate. If you want a good serve, the key components to concentrate on are the proper grip and body positioning, a consistent ball toss, proper contact with the ball and a fluid follow-through. Spending a lot of hours on the practice court is another key factor in developing a good serve.
Proper Grip
A good serves starts with a proper grip. Just as there is more than one type of serve, there is more than one grip. However, your basic serve uses a continental grip. If you hold your racket with the strings perpendicular to the court and look at the end of your tennis racket, you will see that the handle has eight sides. If you put the base of your index finger and the heel of your hand on the top side and rotate your hand to the right by one side, your hand will be positioned correctly for a continental grip. Left-handed players will rotate their hand by one side to the left.
Body Positioning
How your body is positioned impacts the success of your serve. Whether you are serving cross-court toward the left or right, you want to stand at a 45-degree angle to the court. If you draw an imaginary angled line from the right net post to where you are standing, your toes will be on the line. Left-handed players draw the line from the left net post. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and slightly staggered. Your front foot should be slightly ahead of the back foot.
Ball Toss
A consistent ball toss is crucial to a good serve. As you are standing at the baseline, visualize a clock in front and above your head. The ideal location for the ball toss is at 1 o'clock. This would be 11 o'clock for left-handed servers. If you toss the ball in this location and allow it to bounce without hitting it, the ball should land about 1 foot inside the baseline. This allows you to "fall" into the court as you contact the ball and to keep the energy of your swing's momentum going forward into the ball. The toss should not be so high that it causes you to wait for the ball and interrupt the rhythm of your swing.
Ball Contact
A fully extended arm at contact is another key component of a good serve. You want to "reach" up for the ball. The edge of the racket, not the racket face, approaches the ball. Using the clock again as a reference, you want the strings of your racket to contact the ball at 3 o'clock. This puts a counter-clockwise spin on the ball and makes it more difficult for your opponent to return the serve. Left-handed servers contact the ball at 9 o'clock and impart a clockwise spin. Concentrate on keeping your head up and hitting up and out toward your target. If you hit down on the ball, it most likely will go into the net.
Follow Through
You don't want to stop your forward momentum at the point of contact. You want to hit through this point and complete the serve with a full follow-through. When you execute this properly, you will have to take a step inside the baseline to maintain your balance. Finish the follow-through with your hitting arm moving across your body and the racket ending on the opposite of your body.
References
- iSport Tennis: Tennis Serve -- Basic Serve Technique
- "Tennis: A Professional Guide"; U.S. Professional Tennis Association; 1984
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