“You are only as good as your second serve” is one of the most common phrases in the game. The reality is that if your opponent is able to start the point by attacking the return or even worse, by winning the point through a double fault, your chances of winning the match are slim. In this section, you will find everything you need to develop the serve you always wanted.
Whether you are looking for better placement, more power, or different spins, the tips in the serve technique section will help.
Flat Serve Back View
The back view is the perfect perspective to look at the torso rotation and the shoulder and arm action on the serve. Our player uses a platform stance and a nice torso rotation. The hitting shoulder is below the tossing shoulder in the p...
The Serve
The serve is arguably the most important stroke in tennis. Every point starts with a serve and being able to gain control of the point right from the start with a forcing shot can make a huge difference. To get access to the...
Spin Serve (Bird view)
Here is another example of a bird view of a player serving. In this case it is a spin serve. Observe how the racquet-head continues moving from left to right through contact to spin the ball. To get access to the videos and pr...
Serve (Bird view)
Here is another great example of a bird view analysis of a serve. This serve is flat as you will recognize by the rotation of the forearm to and through contact. Additionally, from this angel one gets a very clear view of the frontal bod...
Serve Flat (Back view)
The back view of the flat serve provides a great angle to observe the toss in relation to the body and the racquet path behind the body as the player swings the racquet up to the ball. Observe how the racquet remains on edge as it travel...
Serve Flat (Bird view)
This flat serve analysis from a top view show the rotation of the shoulder and forearm as the arm moves up to hit the ball. Also interesting is the contact point which is farther in front and slightly more to the right (right handed play...
Serve (Front view)
From this angle one notices several things. The player uses a pin point stance stepping forward with his right leg to allow him to push up from a narrower base. To get access to the videos and premium media, just login he...
Kick Serve (Back view)
A kick serve allows the player to spin the ball forwards akin to a topspin groundstroke. The spin allows the player to hit higher over the net thus increasing the margin of error. It also generates a very high bounce that forces the oppo...
Kick Serve (Bird view)
The bird view of this kick serve allows us to observe closely the correct contact point and racquet work to make the ball spin forwards. Interesting is to observe how the player uses the wrist to propulse the racquet head in the desired ...
Serve Slice (Bird view)
This bird view gives us a very nice look at the path of the racquet on a slice serve. It is important to notice the angle of the racquet at contact and how the forearm pronates even on a slice serve. To get access to the video...
Improving your Serve through the Right Focus
Everyone understands the importance of watching the ball in tennis but many people wrongly believe that this does not apply to the serve. Here is a drill to help you improve your tracking ability when serving. To get access ...
The Toss
A consistent toss is one of the most important aspects of the serve. Here you will find several ideas to help you improve your toss. To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here for a free t...
The Ideal Serving Grip
The clip will explore the best way to grip the racquet to serve, explaining the importance of changing your grip from a Forehand Grip to a Continental Grip to achieve long term success. To get access to the videos and premiu...
The Correct Footwork on the Serve
The video will describe the two acceptable stances to serve: The platform stance and the pin point stance. To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here for a free trial, or become a member o...
The Backswing on the Serve
The video describes in detail the best way to take your racquet back to serve and emphasizes the importance of getting to a clean “power position.” To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, registe...
Understanding Spin on the Serve
In this video you will understand how to hit the three different types of serve: flat, slice and kick. The video will use the analogy of a clock to accelerate your understanding. To get access to the videos and premium media...
The Ideal Elbow Position on the Serve
A common mistake is to drop the elbow too low on the power position, which will lead to inconsistencies and loss of power. The video will clarify the ideal elbow position for an effective serve. To get access to the videos a...
An Easy Way to Practice the Toss
An accurate, consistent toss is essential to develop an effective serve. Here is an easy way to help you practice your toss. To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here for a free trial, or...
Using a Target to Practice the Toss
Using a target on the ceiling or a target on the ground are two excellent ways to practice and improve your toss. Take a look! To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here for a free trial, ...
An Easy Way to Understand How to Spin the Serve
Understanding what it means to spin the serve and how to make the ball rotate is not easy. Here is an easy way to experience spin on the serve – a great introduction to a spin serve. To get access to the videos and premium...
Learning to Use the Continental Grip to Serve
As beginners learning to serve with a forehand grip is easier because the motion does not require any pronation of the forearm. However, when changing to a Continental grip to improve the serve the player will need to learn to pronate t...
Learning to Rotate the Torso When Serving
Learning to serve with more upper body rotation is frequently a bonus for the advanced player, allowing them to serve with more power, disguise and spin. Here is a nice exercise to help them accomplish this. To get access to...
Learning to Serve in Balance
Learning to serve in balance is essential to develop a solid serve. Here is an exercise to help player develop a sense of balance on their serve. To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here...
Learning to Use the Wrist to Improve the Spin Serve
The proper use of the wrist is essential to develop an effective spin serve. Here is an exercise to help you understand how the wrist should move when spinning the serve. When practicing this exercise it is important to keep in mind that...
Developing a Smooth Serving Motion
Developing a fluid serving motion will help you improve the effectiveness of your serve allowing for a better transfer of forces. Here is an exercise that will help you develop a continuous and loose serving motion. To get a...
Checking for Balance on the Serve
A great way to check if you are serving in balance is by checking the landing. If you are able to land on balance you where most likely balanced throughout the whole motion. Here is how to do this. To get access to the video...
Teaching a Spin Serve with a Continental Grip
Teaching a player to spin the serve by changing the grip from a Forehand grip to a Continental grip is always a struggle. Here are some ideas on how to achieve this faster and easier. To get access to the videos and premium ...
Learning to Serve by Throwing
Serving is nothing else than throwing the racquet at the ball. The building blocks for a great serve are throws. Here are a couple of examples of how one can practice the serve through throwing. To get access to the videos a...
Calibrating your Serve Left, Right
Here is a great exercise to help you develop precision on the serve. The idea is to purposely hit right of your intended target, then left and then at the target. The small adjustments will make you a much better server. To ...
Calibrating your Serve Long, Short
Tennis is all about being able to adjust when necessary. It is not uncommon for players to finish a match and complain about hitting every serve in the net or every serve long. Here is a drill to help them adjust when needed. ...
An Effective Way to Teach Slice and Kick Serves
Learning a spin serve is usually quite complicated. Here is a very effective way to simplify the process. To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here for a free trial, or become a member of...
The Role of the Non Dominant Hand
The non-dominant hand plays a very important role on the serve. It helps toss the ball and stabilize the upper body. Only through the correct use of the non-dominant hand will you be able to achieve the proper transfer of forces on the ...
The Landing on the Serve
How you land on the serve is a great gauge of the overall efficiency of the stroke. The video will show you the proper way to land to assure that you are transferring forces correctly when serving. To get access to the video...
The Importance of the Power Position
The “power position” is one of the most important elements of the serve. The video will describe the ideal “power position” for an effective serve, breaking it down in all of its key elements. To get access to the vi...
The Ideal Tossing Arm Path
The ideal path of the tossing arm is somewhere between 45 degrees to the baseline or parallel to the baseline. To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here for a free trial, or become a member...
The Ideal Timing on the Serve
Timing the different segments on the serve is extremely important. Even the best technique will suffer when the timing is not right. Here a few points on improving the timing of your serve. To get access to the videos and pr...
Keep your Eyes at Contact
The importance of tracking the ball to contact is well known to every tennis player however, it is mostly forgotten on the serve. Here are some important observations on this point. To get access to the videos and premium me...
Control your Body for a Better Toss
Many times problems with the toss are related to a lack of balance or to an incorrect shift of the body weight, rather than to faults in the tossing arm. Let’s look at the correct way to use the body when tossing. To get a...
Serve up not Forwards
Making contact with the ball totally stretched is ideal at the serve. To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here for a free trial, or become a member of „Tennis2Brain“, the great traini...
Using the Wrist to Achieve a Better Contact Point
Many beginners have a hard time achieving the ideal contact point on the serve because they lock their wrist, which does not allow them to get the racquet head high. Here is how you can correct this common mistake. To get ac...
Where to Toss the Ball
The ideal toss will put the ball in a spot... To get access to the videos and premium media, just login here, register here for a free trial, or become a member of „Tennis2Brain“, the great training portal with tips and i...
Swing Path Comparison of Flat, Slice and Kick Serves.
When you compare swing path of the flat, slice and kick serves, you will see that the slice and flat serve have similar swing paths and that the kick serve is different. The swing path on the kisk serve has definitely a more lateral co...