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Coaching Tips - Serving
"If you buy an ice cream cone and make it hit your mouth, you can play tennis.
If you stick it on your forehead, your chances are less."
(Vic Braden)
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Get that first serve in!
Question:
Why do commentators go on and on about first serve percentages?
Well, they do it because the serve is arguably the most significant shot in modern tennis.
Typically, in a match between two pros, the server has a better win/loss ratio when the first
serve goes in. So it's important that it does go in! The first serve percentage is
obviously used as an indicator of a player's effectiveness in this area.
OK - it's a significant factor in the pro game. Is it significant for us?
You bet it is! Apart from anything else, repeatedly using two serves per point is tiring,
especially in the course of a long match. You can ill afford to waste the energy!
You should be looking to get 60 - 70% of first serves into play.
Missing your first serve means there's pressure on you to get your second serve in, and this
pressure can start to affect your confidence over time. As a match progresses, a good returner
will apply more pressure by moving in on the second serve and looking to attack you. So you find
that it's not enough to just get the second serve into play - it's got to have a reasonable
amount of depth and penetration as well. This added pressure can lead to double faults.
So if you're missing your first serves, put a bit more spin on (for control) and get those
percentages up again.
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Don't Jacknife!
Question:
How can I stop burying my serves in the net?
One of the most common errors is bending forward at the waist (jacknifing) as you
swing.
Reach up to the ball, first with your free hand (extending your fingers up towards the
ball for a moment AFTER you release it) and then with your racket. Don’t wait for the
ball to come down to you.
Feel that you are pulling your shirt-tail out of your shorts/skirt as
you reach and swing up and out at the ball.
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Coil and tilt!
Question:
How can I get more power on my serve?
There isn't just one answer to this, but bear in mind that power equals racket speed.
One way to increase racket speed is to rotate the shoulder of your racket arm so that it is slightly
on the inside of your ball toss. Uncoiling the shoulder from this position will produce
increased racket speed. Be careful not to uncoil too early.
The key factor, however, is the distance the racket travels when you throw it up to the ball.
Next time you practise, experiment by tapping your back as low as you can with your racket
before you throw it up to the ball. When you release the ball, your shoulders should be tilted
(the shoulder of your racket arm lower than the shoulder of your other arm). This alignment
then allows you to produce a shoulder-over-shoulder trunk rotation.
Here's something else you might like to try - move your hand further down until the bottom of
the grip is in the fleshy part of your palm. This makes a longer lever of the racket and
should therefore produce a faster serve.
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Serving for clock-watchers!
Question:
What is a topspin serve and how do you do it?
When a right-hander serves with topspin, the receiver encounters a ball which kicks up, forwards
and away to his left, forcing him to play a difficult high backhand.
It helps to place the ball slightly more to your left and maybe slightly further back than
normal. Bend your knees and drive up with your legs. Swing your arm with a bent elbow so that
your racket face brushes up and (left to right) across the back of the ball. It might help to
imagine a clock face on the ball and strike from 7 to 1 on the clock face. Try to create a
swishing sound as you brush up and across the ball.
Be patient. It takes time to master this shot, but it's worth it - it could become your stock
second serve. Keep an eye on the clock and get kicking!
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Get your serves at Tesco!
Question:
How high should the ball be when you hit it?
As high as possible! You should contact the ball at full reach. The higher the contact,
the more you can snap the racket over the ball. Tilt your shoulders so that the shoulder of your
racket arm is lower than the shoulder of your other arm. That allows you to produce a
shoulder-over-shoulder trunk rotation, which, combined with a drive up from your legs, enables
you to hit up and out.
Imagine you're at the supermarket and what you want is right up on the top shelf. Reach up for it.
That's where they put the best serves - on the top shelf!
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The art (or science) of consistent ball placements
Question:
How can I make my toss more reliable?
Cast your mind back to those school science lessons - do you remember those tripod
thingies? Well, use your thumb and first two fingers (actually you can use your third finger
too!) to create a kind of inverted tripod. Place the ball in it, not letting it drop down past
the fingertips.
Avoid flicking - and launch the ball by simply opening the fingers as you fully extend your
arm above your head. Think of it as a pushing action rather than a throwing or tossing action.
The ball shouldn't climb any more than a few inches higher than you can reach with your racket
and your fingers should remain extended, pointing at the ball for as long as possible, even
after the ball has been released.
Keep everything straight and you'll avoid flipping the ball off course. Get the tripod out and
let science show you the way to a consistent ball placement!
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Stay loose for more juice!
Question:
How does pronation occur on spin serves? You don't have to think about pronating when you hit a flat serve. Assuming you use a
continental grip, holding the racket like a hammer or a tomahawk, and assuming you start
your action sideways on to the net, your forearm and wrist must turn in the opposite
direction to the rotation of your upper body in order to get the racket face square-on
for a "high-five" with the ball. This will occur naturally enough once you get used to
the grip and the basic throwing action.
When you go for either a slice or topspin serve, you simply use your wrist to help
accelerate the racket through the required swing path. Again, assuming you're using
either a continental or an eastern backhand grip, and assuming your ball placement is
correct, any pronation should occur naturally. If you start consciously trying to
rotate your wrist and forearm, your muscles will tense up and the action will slow
down. The secret is to keep your arm loose and relaxed. The action of the strings up
and/or across the ball will produce the spin.
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Dozens of service variations in just a couple of sentences!
Question:
My serve is too predictable. What can I do?
Developing service variations can take time and lots of practice and you need to
be competent with your basic service action first.
But wait a minute! If you hit one serve to the forehand, another to the backhand and
another to the body, well - that's three variations isn't it? And if you can hit a slice
serve as well as a flat one, that's six variations (flat serve to forehand, slice serve to
forehand, flat serve to backhand, slice serve to backhand, etc).
If you hit a medium paced serve and vary it with a faster one, that takes us up to 12
variations (medium-paced flat serve to forehand, fast flat serve to forehand, medium-paced
slice serve to forehand, fast slice serve to forehand, etc).
If you serve some from close to the centre line and others from a wider position, the
permutations start getting silly - does that make it 32?
What's that? Topspin too? I can't work these out any more!
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The PR5 System
Question:
How do I master a basic service action?
Here at the Cave, we advocate the PR5 system. Sounds complicated and
technical, doesn't it? Don't worry - it isn't!
PR5 stands for Place, Reach and High-5!
Stand sideways on to the net and hold the racket with a relaxed continental or 'chopper' grip:
PLACE the ball where you can REACH for it at full
extension with a throw of the racket arm and "high-5" the ball with a relaxed,
flexible wrist.
If you keep your arm nice and loose, your wrist allows the racket head to go through
the impact ahead of your hand. If that doesn't happen and your wrist leads the way instead,
the ball tends to go long.
Use the PR5 system for a PR5 - Perfectly Respectable 5-star serve!
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Brush up on your technique!
Question:
How can I get more topspin on my serve?
If you're not getting enough topspin, you should try a steeper brush as you accelerate
the racket face up and across the ball away from your body. Imagine the ball as a clock
face and brush up the back of it from 7 o'clock towards 1 o'clock.
You need good lower back flexibility for a topspin serve. If your back's okay, arch it
slightly, bend your knees and push up from the ground. Place the ball slightly further back
than normal and let it drop slightly lower than you would for a flat serve.
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Stick on a Band-Aid!
Question:
My serve keeps going long. How can I fix it?
Providing people with coaching tips "online" can sometimes work very well.
It allows the questioner to consider the suggested solution before attempting to apply it.
Questions like this one, however, demonstrate the limitations! I really need to see your serve!
Could be you're letting the ball drop and then swinging through it, instead of reaching up and
using your wrist. Could be you're leading with your wrist and hitting the underside of the ball.
Could be your grip or your ball placement. Could be a problem with your balance or
co-ordination or rhythm. Like I said, I really need to see it!
And as I can't see your serve, I'm not going to attempt remote surgery! If it's a deep-seated
problem and it won't go away, consult a local coach and seek help with your technique. Sorry,
but if you want a proper cure, it's the only way. If you tinker about with your serve in an
unsupervised way, you may end up introducing even more problems!
However, if it's something that just crops up from time to time, I'll offer you the band-aid
solution! In fact, I'll mention a couple of these. You see, it might sound strange, but
there's some good news about your problem. And the good news is that it's consistent, i.e.
your serve consistently goes long, right? Now, if you're in the middle of a match and you
encounter a consistent problem whereby your serve either goes long all the time or you
hit it short all the time, you can't wander off and find a coach. But what you can do
is stick on one of these band-aids:
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SERVE GOES LONG:
Place the ball further forward
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SERVE GOES IN THE NET:
Place the ball further back
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Simple, I know - but don't knock it! We all encounter these little "cuts and scrapes" as we
play our matches and it's just sensible to have a couple of band-aids available just in case!
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A whippy tip!
Question:
What is pronation? I don't know if I'm doing it right!
It’s nothing more or less than a momentary action that takes place naturally on contact with
the ball on the serve.
If you watch the pros serve, look at how the palm of the racket hand moves - at the start of
the swing, it faces the ear; but after they hit the ball, it faces away from the ear,
indicating outward pronation. This is clearly demonstrated here by Gustavo Kuerten.
The body tends to do it naturally to alleviate stress on the elbow and shoulder. You don’t
need to think about it really - just keep your wrist and arm flexible enough to allow a rolling, whippy
sort of action as you accelerate the racket head up and through the ball.
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Anyone for one-serve tennis?
Question:
My game is ruined by double faults! What can I do?
There's a well-known tennis truism - you'll certainly have heard it - about being "only as
good as your second serve". The thing is - no one can deny it. It's a significant factor in
matches at all levels.
But we hardly ever practise them! That's true, isn't it? When we warm up serves before a
match, are they first serves or second serves? Yep, let's be honest - they're first serves!
The only way to tackle those second serve gremlins is to confront them face-to-face. Find a
like-minded practice partner and agree to play a set where you only have one serve (so imagine
each time you serve that you've already missed your first serve).
Ultimately, you probably need two types of second serve - a slice serve and a topspin one. And
you must develop the control to serve into either half of the service box with both types of
spin. Remember to accelerate the racket in both cases. Nerves often lead to players
decelerating the racket to reduce the risk of an error. But if you’re trying to apply spin,
racket head speed is really important.
If you practise "one-serve tennis" on a regular basis, you'll eventually conquer the fear of
double faults.
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Hop - but skip the jump!
Question:
How do you jump properly when you serve?
If you watch the top players, you'll notice that they bend their knees and store a load
of energy in their leg muscles before releasing the energy by pushing up from the
ground as they extend up to serve. It's a powerful extension, but not a jump.
These guys are great athletes. If they wanted to jump, they could probably clear the
ground by a couple of feet - even from a stationary starting position. Yes, their feet
leave the ground, but only by an inch or two. They produce a powerful propulsion upwards
towards the ball, but they keep their balance strictly under control, landing (usually
on the front foot) in a manner that's more akin to a hop than a jump.
Try and emulate your favourite server by releasing the ball slightly to your right
(assuming you're right-handed), slightly in front of you and high enough for a full
extension of your body and serving arm. Slightly coil your body and bend your knees to
load up with energy under the ball ready to drive up towards it, simultaneously throwing
the racket up and out towards the contact point.
Hop - but skip the jump!
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The time for diplomacy is over!
Question:
I just punch my serve in. How can I develop a fuller action?
Many players settle for just pushing the ball in to start the point when they first
take up tennis. But most quickly get frustrated with it. It's kind of like having to do
diplomacy when what you really want is to go to war!
The serve should be an overarm throwing action. Biomechanically speaking, it's referred
to as a kinetic chain system enabling the body to uncoil from the feet, to the knees, to
the hips, to the trunk, to the shoulders, to the elbow, to the wrist and right through to
the fingers. It's a motor skill like swimming or riding a bike or doing handstands - it
can be learned and it can be improved. Develop a good throw to develop a good serve.
If there's a river or a lake or some other large empty expanse of land or water somewhere
near you, get out there and throw some rocks. Practise throwing them higher and further.
I'll try to describe a full service throwing action:
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Use a continental or "chopper" grip with your fingers spread and your wrist nice and
relaxed.
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Release the ball from your fingertips so that it's slightly in front of you and
high enough to allow a full extension of your racket arm. Rotate your shoulders,
trunk and hips away from the court, sink your knees and bring your racket up behind
your head.
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Lift your elbow, allowing the racket to drop down behind your back. Push up from the
ground and uncoil your hips, trunk and shoulders.
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Transfer the velocity to your arm, accelerating the racket up to the ball. Roll your
forearm out to allow the strings to whip up, through and over the ball. Follow through
across your body.
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The time for diplomacy is over. Someone once said diplomacy is the art of saying "nice
doggy" until you can find a rock!
Are you ready to pick up the rock?
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Can you pinpoint the difference?
Question:
Should I use a pinpoint stance like the top pros?
When you take up position to serve, your front foot should be at about
45 degrees to the baseline and as close to it as possible without
touching it. Your back foot should be parallel to the baseline, a
comfortable shoulder-width behind your front foot.
It's a base that allows a good trunk and shoulder rotation and a
smooth transfer of weight from back foot to front foot. Most players
use it at the start of their action, although many top pros change the
position of their feet before they actually execute the serve. Some
keep the feet apart, but the majority bring the back foot up behind
the front foot in what's become known as the pinpoint stance.
Inevitably, there are arguments for and against both options and they
probably just about cancel each other out. Keeping the feet apart
ensures the good balance you'd expect from a wider base. Bringing them
together permits a slightly higher contact out in front of you.
If you're keen to try the pinpoint option, I would simply warn that
making this change in your technique could jeopardise your control
and balance and will require plenty of practice.
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Attennnn-SHUN!
Question:
The wind-up on my serve is too fast. How can I slow it down?
You may be able to resolve this by simply placing the ball a bit higher, but if the
problem is not caused by rushing to get your racket to the ball, maybe this will help:
Imagine yourself as a drill sergeant. You'd typically use commands
that consist of two segments - a preliminary segment that
prepares the troops for a particular action, followed by an executive
segment that tells them when to do it, e.g. attennnn-SHUN, riiiight-TURN,
quiiiick-MARCH. The preliminary segment is delivered slowly in a
tension-building manner. The executive part is delivered in a short
sharp tone designed to elicit a response. Between the two, there's a
short pause.
You can make up your own command when you're next on parade with
your ball hopper. If you can't think of a command, use the name of
your favourite server, e.g. sammmm-PRAS, rusedddd-SKI, etc. If there's
no one else around, you can call aloud; otherwise, just do it in
your head. Try it without actually hitting the ball at first - just
get the command synchronised with your movement, making sure you
build tension with the preliminary part.
For our purposes, the preliminary segment of the command should map
to the preparation phase of the serve (the ball-placement, backswing
and wind-up), the pause should mark the moment the racket drops from
its position behind the head ready for the throwing action and the
executive part should map to the throwing of the racket up and out at
the ball.
Okay, drill over. Stand at ease!
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Help! My centre of gravity won't leave my body!
Question:
I'm too static when I serve. How can I correct this?
You're right to consider this a problem if you're an advanced player.
To get the maximum out of your serve, you need to transfer your weight
forward into the court. The foot-fault rule means you can only achieve
this by shifting your weight from back foot to front foot. You can,
however, exaggerate this by moving your centre of gravity out in
front of your body before you make contact with the ball, i.e. by
pushing your hips forward into the court. Weight transfer takes place as
your body recovers its natural balance.
The obvious thing to try first is to place the ball a bit more in front of you.
Here's a simple tip that may sound a bit bizarre at first, but I can
vouch for the fact that it really does help:
When you practise serves, you obviously have a stock of balls - maybe
in a ball hopper, maybe loose on the ground, maybe in the hands of
someone feeding you. Instead of positioning this stock of balls
behind or beside you, put them out of harm's way somewhere on the
court between you and the service line. Obviously you'll have to move forwards to
collect the next ball. After a while, you should find forward weight transfer
becoming much more natural.
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Don't be erratic - be pragmatic!
Question:
Is it a bigger problem to hit serves in the net than long?
Irrespective of which shot we're discussing, I always maintain that hitting the ball
in the net is the worst kind of error in tennis.
I recommend you insure against a netted serve even before you start your action. You can
do this by making it the focus of your pre-serve visualisation. Put the emphasis on the
flight of the ball over the net during this visualisation and you should find it easier
to come up with the mechanics required to achieve it. So take up your position behind the
baseline, check your opponent is ready and - STOP! Take a good look at the net and get a
clear awareness of how far away it is and how high it is. Then visualise clearing it with
your serve.
It can be difficult to know where to start if you're trying to remedy an erratic serve. At
least if you're consistently clearing the net, you've made things much simpler - you've halved
the symptoms! And it's a relatively straightforward adjustment to correct a serve
that's flying long - just keep a relaxed wrist and use more of a brushing action to impart
some spin.
You know, it helps to be a bit of a pragmatist when you play tennis and there's a really good
reason why serving long is better than serving in the net - sometimes long serves don't get called out!
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Rock 'n' roll serving!
Question:
I'm an intermediate player with a beginner's serve. What can I do?
Intermediate players are usually ready for the transition to a continental grip for serving.
This involves holding the racket as if you were going to use the frame of it to hammer a nail into
the ground. Avoid gripping tightly - use a soft, loose, relaxed grip with your fingers slightly
spread.
If your first attempts with this grip produce misdirected serves and/or excess slice, that's
because the edge of the racket initially points to the ball and you need to roll your wrist and
forearm outwards to present the full face of the racket to the ball. Try serving a few with your
hand choked up towards the throat of the racket and just try to get a feel for how your wrist and
forearm must pronate (roll outwards) to bring the strings into contact with the ball. It's part
of a kind of "up and over" action - as if you were throwing the racket at the ball - and you
accelerate the racket so that it overtakes your wrist as you hit the ball. Don't get discouraged
if it takes a while to perfect this - the technique will eventually give you a whole lot more
racket acceleration.
Intermediate players should also start to pay attention to weight transfer. If you start your serve
with your weight on your front foot, rock onto your back foot. Placing the ball up and out in front
of you (so that it would drop inside the baseline if you were to let it), shift your weight from
your back foot to your front one and push your hips into the court.
To keep these points in your mind when you're next at the practice court, remember to ROCK back and
then forwards again and ROLL your wrist and forearm - you're about to get yourself a ROCK 'N' ROLL
serve!
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You'll never hit a target unless you aim at it!
Question:
How can I make my serve more accurate?
The best way to improve accuracy is regular use of practice drills involving targets.
You can use all kinds of things as targets - cones, ball tubes, racket covers, racket bags, etc. You
can even make a target pyramid using four tennis balls. Just make sure you choose something that
gives you a chance of success - it's no good aiming at something you're never going to hit!
Place the targets inside the service box, one in a central position inside the service line and
another two inside the corners. If you always put them in the same locations, you can measure your
progress over a period of time. Serve in batches of ten and vary your patterns, remembering to
include spin serves as well as flat ones.
Bear in mind that the top pros are usually happy with a first-serve percentage of 60-70% (that's 3 or
4 serves out of 10 that don't even land in the service box, let alone in the precise target area!). So
don't set your initial expectations too high.
Continue improving accuracy in practice matches by visualising the targets.
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Back to basics
Question:
I need to go back to basics. What are they?
Stand behind the baseline, one foot behind the other, sideways-on to the court. Assuming you're right-handed,
your front foot should be angled towards the right-hand net post. Rock your weight onto your back foot, resting
the ball against the strings of your racket.
Raise your arm smoothly to release the ball, aiming to place it just a bit higher than you can reach
with your racket at full extension. Ideally, the ball should be aligned slightly to your right (or to
your left, if you're left-handed) and slightly in front of your leading foot. Your other arm should swing
your racket up behind your head, poised for the throwing action you're going to use.
Transferring your weight from your back foot to your front one, push your hips into the court.
Using an "up and over" action - as if you were throwing the racket at the ball - accelerate the
racket so that it overtakes your wrist as you hit the ball. Aim to strike the ball at full reach and
allow the racket to swing around your body on the follow-through.
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Variety is the slice of life!
Question:
How do you hit a slice serve?
Left-handers should make the usual translations to the following advice.
Let's clear up one thing to start with. A 'slice serve' is actually a bit of a misnomer, because
slicing a ball can produce any type of spin depending on where and how you slice it.
What people mean by a 'slice serve' is actually a sidespin serve. From the perspective of a
right-handed server, the flight of the ball curves from right to left, particularly after the ball
bounces. It's mainly useful for taking your opponent out of court (e.g. a right-hander's serve to
the deuce court, or a left-hander's serve to the ad court) or jamming a serve into the receiver's
body. Spin always results in a slower serve, but the longer string contact ensures better control
and safety. It's therefore a good option for a second serve.
As with any spin shot, you achieve the effect by applying a glancing blow to the ball. In
this case, you want the ball to rotate left-to-right. If you imagine the ball has a clock face,
you could impart the spin by scraping the racket across from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock, but
it's actually simpler and more effective to think of angling the racket face and just brushing
the right hand side of the ball (at 2 or 3 o'clock). Follow through on the left side of your
body.
When you first try this serve, it may help to place the ball further to the right than usual.
If you're comfortable with it, it may also help to move your racket hand round towards an
eastern backhand grip.
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A tip about the tip!
Question:
Would a certain type of racket give me a faster serve?
I'm often asked this question. To be honest, I usually pull a face and try to steer
the conversation to technique and biomechanics, but the fact is - the racket can make
a difference!
The tip of the racket moves faster than the rest of the frame. So, if you hit the ball
quite high on the string bed, i.e. closer to the tip than the centre of the strings, you
should get more pace on your serve.
Some racket manufacturers recognise this and they produce rackets with an elongated sweet
spot which extends up towards the tip.
There are some other things you might want to consider. Michael Chang got more pop on
his serve when he switched to a longbody racket. A longer racket gives you more reach
and more power. You could also try getting a restring with a lower tension or add lead
strips to the head of your racket to give it more mass (make sure you apply them evenly on
both sides of the racket).
Bear in mind that none of these solutions will give you more control and they may affect
other aspects of your game! Before you go for a radical solution, optimise the biomechanics
of your serve and, at the very least, reach up for a high contact. Oh well, there I go again!
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Trespassers will be foot-faulted!
Question:
What is a foot fault?
The server must stand behind the baseline between the centre mark and the inner sideline
(in singles) or the outer sideline (in doubles). It is a foot fault if any part of either
foot encroaches these boundaries before the ball is struck. Note: it is not a foot fault
unless the encroachment involves touching the ground, i.e. if the feet are in the air (as
shown here by Serena Williams), encroachment is permitted.
The relevant rule is Rule 8 which states:
The Server shall throughout the delivery of the Service:
a. Not change his position by walking or running. The Server shall not by slight movement
of the feet which do not materially affect the location originally taken up by him, be deemed
"to change his position by walking or running".
b. Not touch, with either foot, any area other than that behind the base-line within the
imaginary extensions of the centre-mark and side-lines.
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Advancing on three fronts
Question:
Please suggest a progressive method of mastering the serve
There are three key elements to developing a sound service action and, to some extent, you
can work on them in parallel:
(apologies to left-handers who must make the usual translations!)
1. The ball placement and point of contact
Reliable serving requires a reliable ball placement. Practise at first by simply releasing the
ball and allowing it to drop back into your outstretched fingers without hitting it. Try to
achieve this with no adjustment to the position of your hand between the release and the catch.
Then try to release the ball without imparting any spin on it. Next, place a spare racket on the
court so that the butt is on the baseline in front of your left foot and the tip angled towards
the intersection between the net and the singles sideline. Release the ball as before, but now,
instead of catching it, let the ball drop onto the ground. Practise getting the ball to land on
the strings of the racket lying on the court. When you're happy with the reliability of your
placement, start serving for real and focus on getting the ball to travel high enough for you
to strike it at full extension (but not so high that you have to wait for it to come down!).
2. The grip
People often start out using an eastern forehand grip for serving, but its limitations usually
prompt a change to the continental grip which facilitates a more powerful and versatile use of the wrist.
During the transition to a continental grip, an adjustment to the mechanics of the service action
is required. To ensure that the racket face is in correct alignment at the point of contact, the
forearm and wrist must pronate (turn anti-clockwise) and you should allow plenty of time to get
used to this.
3. The throwing action
Your first attempts at this could involve simply throwing the ball over the net (younger players
will need to stand near the service line to start with). When you're ready to use a racket,
develop the throwing/snapping action by serving from the service line instead of the baseline.
Keeping your arm relaxed and flexible, use your wrist to snap the ball down into the service box
diagonally opposite you. See how high you can get the ball to bounce. If you're a beginner and
you're having trouble co-ordinating your arms, it may help to start your action with the racket
up near your ear (eventually you will need to practise swinging the racket into that position as
you place the ball up). As you gradually move your start position back towards the baseline, you
will need to adjust to hitting less down and more up and through. Advanced players can eventually
progress to developing spin serves and also to accuracy drills, setting up targets in the service
box.
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