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.