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.

Check out this online video course and learn different serving methods that will help you reach your potential on the court. Also learn how you can generate more power and speed from your wrist by not locking it up when you serve.

A great program with lots and features and definitely worth a look when you have the time.