1. Have a Great Body?
A powerful tennis serve is the first step toward a win. It takes practice to master this often difficult shot. Start by getting your body in the correct position to serve. If you're on the right side and you're right-handed, you want to point your left foot toward the right net post. Your shoulder should be pointing toward where you want to place the ball. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart. Your right foot should be slightly behind your left foot.
2. Get a Grip!
Your grip depends on what kind of serve you want to do. For a flat serve, just hold the racquet with a forehand grip. If you want top spin or side spin, you need a continental grip, where you line up your index knuckle with the edge of the grip.
3. Think Before You Toss
The way you toss the ball before serving it can make all the difference. No matter what serve you're doing, you want to toss the ball high to be able to come down on the ball and hit it harder. Start by holding the ball in your fingertips, just in front of your right thigh. For a flat serve, you need to toss the ball above you. For a top spin serve, you need to toss the ball up and a little behind you. Ideally, if you weren't hitting the ball with your racquet, it would land on top of your head. For side spin, toss the ball a little in front of your body.
4. Where's That Ball?
Decide where you want to place the bill in your opponent's court. If your opponent is standing out wide, you want to hit down the middle of the serving tee. If he's standing closer toward the middle, aim for the left corner of the serving box.
5. Ace it!
Don't forget to follow through. When your arm extends behind your body, you want to pronate your wrist so you can come up over the ball. Pronating your wrist is simply rotating your arm so your palm faces down. After you strike the ball, bring your arm down and across your body to the left side in a graceful, fluid motion. It may seem as though you're about to smack yourself in the legs with your racquet, but with some practice, the racquet will get by your legs with no harm done. If you don't follow through, the ball will not go where you want to place it.
Think you got it down? Watch our video on how to serve in tennis for more tips.
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