Perfect Tennis Serve - Don't Fear The Second Serve

When it comes to a perfect tennis serve something that's going to make it worse is being afraid of double faulting. This puts unreal pressure on your first serve and so much more on your second which leads to a less than perfect tennis serve. So what you need to do is keep the following in mind so that you don't end up double faulting when it comes down to it.


1. Be ConfidentIn 1995, Boris Becker promised me a big bonus if he won a top-level clay title. In the Monte Carlo final, he had match point against Thomas Muster in the fourth-set tiebreaker. Becker went for a 122-m.p.h. second serve and missed by two inches. He lost the fifth set at love, and there went my bonus. But Becker did the right thing: His serve was his biggest weapon, and he didn’t hold back. The second serve is a confidence shot, and no one hit it more confidently than Becker. That’s the attitude you need to strive for; you can only get there by learning to accept double faults.

2. Play On Your TermsYou can’t afford to be on the defensive when you serve. If you hit one dinky second serve after another, you’re not going to control too many points. Look at the double fault this way: If you hit one, at least you’re losing the point on your terms, not your opponent’s. You want to call the shots when you serve.

3. Go After It In MatchesYou can hit thousands of second serves in practice, but once the match starts, it will feel different. There’s more pressure in competition. It’s important to go after your second serves in a match because that’s where you need this weapon most. You may lose a few matches on double faults and feel like pulling your hair out, but that's O.K. It's for your own good.

4. Take It To Tough Returners
The return game has improved immensely both on the pro tour and at the club level. It used to be that only Andre Agassi was a dangerous returner from both wings. Now almost every top pro can crush a weak second serve, no matter where it’s placed. At the club level, modern racquets and strings give the returner more stability, which in turn results in more power and fewer mishits. So if you hit a terrible second serve, it’s almost as bad as a double fault. You need to make your second serve as solid as possible. If that means a few double faults along the way, so be it.

5. Look AheadLosing because of double faults will make you miserable. But cheer up, you’re preparing for the future, not worrying about the present, and that’s the best way to improve. Some people call the serve the easiest shot in tennis, because you have complete control over it. But it’s the toughest shot, too, since all the pressure is on you. If you double fault, there’s no one to blame but yourself. It takes time and lots of setbacks to learn to believe in yourself. The sooner you get started, the better.

Tennis Serve Drills - The Slice Serve

You can  learn to improve your slice by using the following form for your tennis serve drills so make sure that you understand it fully and make sure that you are following every part to make sure that you can produce a deadly slice.

1. ADJUST TO A SLICE GRIP
To hit an effective slice, you’ve got to start with the right grip. For many players, holding the racquet with a Continental grip allows them to put adequate slice on the ball. If this works for you, then stick with it. However, if you have trouble generating enough spin this way, I recommend adjusting your hand slightly beyond the Continental toward a backhand grip. This “slice grip” makes it easier for the edge of the racquet to lead the way toward contact, creating more brushing action against the side of the ball, and consequently extra slice.

2. MINIMIZE BODY MOVEMENT
There are a lot of moving parts to coordinate in a serve, but to establish the feel of slicing the ball, try to keep your body as quiet as possible throughout the motion. Your main focus is on the swing and the contact of the ball. To accentuate this part of the serve, imagine that you will create the whole motion while standing and rotating your body within a big cylinder or tube.

You’re hoping to eliminate any extraneous movements. Position your body weight forward in your stance and maintain strong, upright back posture throughout the motion. This will allow you to more accurately practice the brushing action at contact, while minimizing mishits off the frame. As you improve your ability to apply the slice spin, you can begin to incorporate more body movement into the swing.

3. USE THE NET POST TO ALIGN YOUR BODY
To properly coordinate your body, toss, and swing for a slice serve, the two net posts on the outside of the court can function as helpful points of reference. Establish a serving stance where your body is aligned with and facing the net post on the right side of the court (opposite for lefties). Now, turn your upper body so your shoulders are in a line perpendicular to the net. This alignment will facilitate and amplify the effectiveness of the rest of your service motion.

4. ACCURATELY PLACE THE SERVICE TOSS
Have your arm fully extended but relaxed as you begin your tossing motion. Line up your tossing arm with the net post and lift the ball along that line. You want to position the ball as though it were directly above the net post , but still well within your reach. The contact point for the slice is typically lower than what you ideally want for a hard flat serve. This will allow you to brush the outside part of the ball to better apply an upward sidespin to the serve.

5. THROW THE EDGE OF THE RACQUET AT THE BALL
To generate good slice, you have to swing as if you were intentionally trying to hit the ball with the side of the frame. Initially it may feel like you’re going to shank the ball off the edge of the racquet, but after a few tries you should get results.

Try to focus on the point of contact to avoid mishits, and swing upward to create the slice spin. Most players make the mistake of trying to cut straight across the ball and spin it down into the court. You should actually feel like you’re spinning the ball up off your strings. This creates an action on the ball that’s part topspin but mostly sidespin. Both are necessary: The sidespin puts a curve on the ball and topspin brings it down into the court.

Again, use the net post as a guide as you accelerate the racquet high above it to lightly brush up and across the outer side of the ball. When first experimenting, make an effort to graze the fuzz of the ball without making too much direct impact. As you get comfortable, start hitting more of the ball to add pace to the serve.

6. MAINTAIN YOUR FORM AND FOLLOW THROUGH
To maximize spin production you need racquet-head speed. That means the head of the racquet should travel much faster than the handle into contact. Like throwing a hatchet where the blade edge leads as it flips end over end, you want the leading edge of the racquet head to travel at top speed. The key to achieving this is to keep your wrist as relaxed as possible in the motion and avoid forcing the racquet head to snap. With this emphasis on racquet-head speed, there’s a chance that your upper body may fold over or that you’ll swing too close to your chest. Make sure your follow-through is in line with—your new best friend—the net post. It may feel awkward at first to swing in the direction of the post to slice the ball. You must remember though, when you lead with the edge of the racquet, it will contact the ball on a severe angle. That, combined with the right-to-left spinning movement of the slice (opposite for lefties) will take your serve to the desired target. It’s like learning to throw a curveball in baseball. You first must overcome the fear of throwing the ball to the right of the catcher’s mitt and trust that the spin will take the ball into the strike zone. In tennis, the ball may start to the right, but after it hits the target it will continue to tail away from your opponent, creating a wicked slice serve.

Something of Interest

Introducing: Serve Unlocked – Discover Your Body’s Natural Serving Potential

Serve Unlocked is a unique video course that gives you the missing key that helps you unlock your natural serving potential.

It teaches your mind how to let go of the limitations and incorrect mental images you may have about the serve.

It also teaches your body with very simple drills how to generate effortless power by using the laws of physics and movements that you already posses but haven’t yet applied to the serve.

The video course can be watched online on a PC, MAC, iPad, iPhone, or any Android-based device.

All the videos are in MP4 format, and you can download high quality or lower quality (smaller size) videos to your computer, tablet, or smartphone and use the instruction right there on court.

Perfect Tennis Serve - The Second Serve

Many of us think that a perfect tennis serve must be the first. This would be great as it puts us under less pressure however at times when we fault and are left on our last serve that is our moment to make it a perfect tennis serve.

By concentrating on strong and repeatable mechanics, good placement, and spin, you can develop a second serve that helps you play points on your terms and here's how you can go onto to doing this for yourself.

 

BEGINNER

 

OBJECTIVE 1: Develop a consistent motion
The most important thing to focus on at this level— whether it’s the first or second serve—is consistency with your delivery, and that begins with the ball toss. It’s normal to tighten up a little on your second serve, so it’s vital, if you want to use that stroke effectively, to take as many variables as possible out of the equation and let repetition and habit take over. The best way to do this is to have a consistent ball toss that doesn’t fly all over the place and force you to make technical changes in order to hit the ball. Practice by holding the ball in your fingertips and using a lifting, not throwing, motion to place the ball to the right (assuming you’re a right-hander) and in front of your body just above the height of your outstretched racquet. Also, remember to extend your arm fully for your second serve just as you would for your first. Many players unintentionally lower their toss on their second delivery because they get tense.

 

OBJECTIVE 2: Bridge the gap
At the club level, it’s common to see players hit big, flat first serves that rarely go in, and then follow them up with weak second serves that travel at less than half the speed of their first. Ideally, your first serve should go in 60 to 70 percent of the time and your second serve should move at about two-thirds of the speed of your first one. If you have trouble reaching those levels, you might consider being less ambitious on your first serve. Build your serve up from your second serve, not down from your first.

 

INTERMEDIATE

 

OBJECTIVE 1: Pick a targetYour first priority at this level is to master placement. Make sure you can direct serves to each of the three important locations in the service box: the forehand, the backhand, and right at your opponent’s body. Players tend to forget about the body serve, but it’s an important part of good strategy. Many receivers don’t handle the body blow well and you can use it to get your opponent off-balance so you can take advantage with your next shot. But most of your second serves should be aimed toward your opponent’s weaker side—just don’t become predictable. Mix it up by occasionally going toward his stronger wing or right at him. By doing this, you not only keep your opponent guessing, you also create opportunities to dictate play. And by serving to his strength you make it easier to target his weak side, which will help you get on the offensive after the serve. Practice this tactic by placing targets on the court and aiming for them.

 

OBJECTIVE 2: Experiment with spin
Adding spin to your serve gives you another dimension to play with. Spin adds margin for error to your serve—you can hit the ball higher and harder and it will still fall into the court—plus it produces tricky bounces that can confound your opponent. Start by learning the slice. It’s easier than the kick serve because it’s not quite as complicated and it’s a more natural motion for your body.

 

To hit the slice serve, toss the ball farther to the right (if you’re righthanded) than you would for a flat serve and hit across the outside of the ball from 2 o’clock down to about 8 o’clock. Don’t do this solo. It’s best to get an instructor to help you lay the groundwork for a spin serve. As you get better, you can also begin experimenting with the kicker, too.

 

ADVANCED

 

OBJECTIVE 1: Notice your opponent’s tendencies
At this level you should have a pretty sound second serve in terms of technique, placement, and spin control. While you don’t want your second delivery to be overly aggressive, which invites double faults, you should serve with the intention of setting up the point so you can hit your second shot from a position of strength. For example, if you have a big forehand and you want to hit as many as you can once the point begins, figure out where to place your second serve to increase your chances of getting a return to your forehand. How you get this done will vary depending on your opponent’s tendencies and strengths, so there are no hard and fast rules here. Pay attention to your opponent’s patterns and tailor your second serve accordingly.

 

OBJECTIVE 2: Rely on your second serve in practice
There’s a saying in tennis that you’re only as good as your second serve. This is absolutely true. Your second serve is the foundation of your service game; it’s the shot you rely on when your first serve isn’t working well, so it has to be dependable under pressure. A great way to hone your second delivery is to play practice sets in which you get only one serve. This forces you to find a balance between aggression and consistency, which is exactly what you’re looking for in a good second serve.

 

Tennis Serve Exercises - Control The Returner

One of the tennis serve exercises that you should try is controlling the returner. When you serve there are two things to look out for, where the ball lands and then where the the opponent returns it, if you can control the opponent then you can control the game.

For example, say you’re a right-handed player trying to hit the ball down the T in the deuce court. If you hit a serve with some slice (which curves from right to left), the ball may land near the T, but it will curve toward your opponent. It may still be a good shot, but a flatter serve that lands in the same spot will stay farther away from your opponent and potentially be a more difficult return.

 

On the other hand, if you’re a righty and serving from the deuce side, that same slice serve placed out wide will curve away from your opponent more than a flat serve hit to the same location will. So you have to experiment with your serves and spins to figure out the spots you need to hit to stretch or jam your opponents. Depending on the flight path of your serve you may have to start the ball directly at the target or slightly to one side to achieve the desired effect. That’s why placement and spin are just as important as pace when it comes to the success of your serve.

Fix My Serve - Pay Attention To Your Front Foot

To fix my serve something that I learned was that your front foot is vitally important. You want to be able to control where you put the ball and something that will help that is the placement of your front foot.

To manipulate the placement of your serve, you must first have control over your balance. Many players blame a bad toss for problems with their service accuracy, but I think you should look at the feet first. If your front foot is moving around to accommodate an errant toss, you’re going to hit from an unstable base. It’s fine to drag your back foot up during your service motion, but that front foot, apart from turning slightly to assist your upper-body rotation, should stay where it is.

In fact, most of the time your toss should be in line with your front big toe, give or take an inch or two. If you can consistently put the toss in that location, you’ll have a better opportunity to control your serve. The big mistake players make is changing the toss to help hit to a target. Obviously, if you’re hitting a kick serve, the toss will have to move more behind your head, but on your basic power first serve the toss needs to be more in line with your front foot, no matter what direction you’re aiming the ball in.

Perfect Tennis Serve - The Kick Serve

Another weapon to add to your serving arsenal is the kick serve. This is a brutal serve and is definitely one that will benefit you when it comes down to the future. 

For many, the second serve is a measuring stick. If you have one that consistently goes in and, just as important, prevents your opponent from going on the offensive, then you’re a player. That’s where the kick serve comes in— it’s the ultimate second serve. It bounces up high and twists away from your opponents, confusing them and taking the ball out of their strike zone. This disrupts their timing and positioning and can cause them to be conservative or even defensive on the return. And being able to hit a good kick serve adds a degree of difficulty to your game that opens up other options. If you hit your serve predominantly with only one spin and trajectory, your opponent will get comfortable with it. But mixing in a kick serve, even on your first offerings, can keep the other guy off-balance. It’s a great serve to follow to net because it gives you time to move in and the height of the ball makes it difficult to return at your feet. Most of all, if you have a reliable kick serve, you’ll take more chances on your first serve, making it more dangerous. No doubt, the kick is a tricky and difficult shot to learn. But with the proper technique and practice, anybody can own this valuable weapon. Here are the five essential elements of the kicker.

1. Toss the ball behind your head. On a first, or flat, serve, you want to hit the ball when it’s at the peak of the toss in front of your body. The kick serve is different because you want to hit the ball while it’s still in motion and behind your body.

For example, if you’re right-handed, you want the toss to be to your left and behind your body so that when your racquet contacts the ball it creates a left-to-right spin, which will jump away from your opponent. You’ll have to experiment to see where the toss works best for you, but a general guideline is to make contact at 11 o’clock (1 o’clock for lefties, who will generate a right-to-left spin), with 12 o’clock being directly above your head.

To test your toss, have your coach stand behind you and hold a racquet in line with your body before you begin your motion. For a kick serve you want the ball to be to the left of the racquet (right for lefties); for a flatter serve you’d want the toss to be to the right.

2. Bend your knees and bring your hips forward. When learning any shot, the right technique is important because not only does it yield the most success in execution, but it also helps prevent injury. Because the toss is behind the head, many times when players try to hit a kick serve they severely arch backwards. Then they twist forward to hit the ball, putting tremendous strain on the lower back. That will hurt your serve and eventually your body.

Instead, as the toss goes up, bend your knees and bring your pelvis forward. This will help keep you balanced with your weight evenly distributed and force you to reach for the ball instead of leaning with your back. On a first serve, with the ball in front, you really load up your front leg. Here the ball is behind you so you need your weight balanced between your legs, which helps you get more power and better control.

3. Spring toward the ball, keeping your head and hitting elbow up. The main thing that people do wrong after they execute a good toss and knee bend is they crouch down while they swing. It looks as if they’re folding over at the waist. This is problematic for putting pace and spin on the ball. You must extend and reach up to use your full force and get power on the serve. The upward thrust is key for completely straightening the back and beginning the uncoiling of the upper body.

After the racquet head drops down, the hitting elbow should be at least at shoulder level. You can achieve this by keeping your head up and holding your tossing arm in position a split-second longer than usual. When a player pulls his head down, or the tossing arm starts to drift and drop too soon, the upper body often comes with it. Keeping your head and tossing arm up while straightening the legs will get you in the best position to allow your racquet to whip through the hitting zone.

4. Brush up the back of the ball with as much racquet-head speed as a first serve. When players first learn the kick serve, the concept of swinging up on the ball is tricky. Most feel they’re going to hit it over the fence, so they try to spin the ball toward the box instead of up and generally hit a very short serve or one that doesn’t clear the net. One way to get the sensation of brushing up the back of the ball is to put some towels on the court and serve from your knees. From this position you have to swing up in order to clear the net (and not smack your racquet into the court). Concentrate on trying to get the ball up 6 to 10 feet over the net and allow the spin to bring it down into the box. Using a Continental grip (even slightly toward a backhand grip) is strongly recommended.

The wrist should also play a huge role in the racquet accelerating up the back of the ball. You can practice the snapping motion of the wrist without holding a racquet. Simply hold the ball in your off hand and brush up the back of it with the palm of your hitting hand to get comfortable with the wrist action. The other thing to keep in mind with your swing is to let it go. So many people, because it’s a second serve, decelerate the racquet. You have to trust that the heavy topspin you’re putting on the ball will keep it in the court.

5. Uncoil at the top of your swing and follow through. After you reach up to hit the serve, your upper body should uncoil toward your target. When you can’t reach any higher, the racquet is naturally going to go forward. You don’t want to uncoil too soon by bringing your back leg around because you would prematurely face the net. This would cause you to fall to your left (right for lefties) and drain your shot of power and spin, not to mention leave you off-balance and out of position for the next shot. Try to keep your arm loose and allow it to finish naturally and help prepare you for your opponent’s return.