Help with my serve?

Question

I want to try out for my school tennis team and my forehand, backhand, and volleys are okay but the reason I lose my games is because of my serve. I get it in the right general direction, but it goes way too far. Any tips, video clips, or pictures that can help me? I think it's my toss, but I'm not sure.

Answer 1

1) Practice your ball toss. A higher toss is easier to time consistently than a lower toss. Once you get your timing down you can work on your precision, speed and direction

2) Use a "leg pump" action to get more spring in your service motion. This will put more of your body weight behind the serve and increase your power. It also allows you to get on top of the ball after your ball toss to hit it at a better angle.

3) Loosen your wrist at the point of impact. Keeping a firm, tight grip on the racket is fine during the service motion, but once you hit the ball, loosen the wrist slightly. This gives you the "wrist snap" effect and gives you more racket head speed on the ball. It also puts more downwards angle on the ball.

4) If you are having trouble with the ball going long, practice intentionally serving the ball into the net. Then try to hit the ball in a specific spot on the net (getting higher and higher) until you can just clear the net consistently with your flat serve. Then learn the "kick" serve to get more angle over the net without going long. Once you have mastered both techniques, use your flat serve for the first serve and the kick serve for your second serve.

5) Watch tennis and try to emulate the service motion of a professional known for having a very strong and consistent serve. Sampras, Roddick, Federer, Serena, Sharapova, Davenport. Choose the player that has the most similar service motion to your own, then pay attention to their technique and try to refine yours by emulating them. Even the pros do this with each other. Venus & Serena learned to serve by watching Pete Sampras. Gael Monfils and Justine Henin copied Andy Roddick's motion.

Answer 2

Try this short vid -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inRRaudOf...  Skip to about 1:10 as the first minute is about serve scoring.  Hope it helps :)

Answer 3

I also struggle with my serve but the are three very importanat things to remember. Number 3 is to have good feet position. Your feet should be positioned to the alleys on either side with you right foot in front of your left and your dominiant arm (your forehand arm) away from the court. Number 2 is your motion is like trying to throw your racquet across the net. And the Number 1 rule is always have a good ball toss. Without that I guarantee that none of your serves will be good. If you follow these rules you will improve a little if not tremendously in your serve!

Answer 4

Toss the ball with your fingertips.... that way, the ball doesn't spin as much into another direction. Toss it really high and a little bit in front of you in order to position yourself. When you toss the ball, leave your left up in the air until you hit it.

Toss is probably the most hardest or important part of the serve. Just master it, and you'll get the hang of it.

If your not on the courts, just practice your toss at home or anywhere else.

Answer 5

Actually, I recently had trouble with my own serve

I made my school's tennis team last year and am going to try out again in a few weeks but I wanted to improve my serve

I figured out that a great toss is important. when you throw the ball, always look at the net post to your right. you will always get a great toss this way

then hit the ball with a continental grip at its peak

practice makes perfect!

Answer 6

general rule is imagine your trying to grab the ball with your racket whilst in the air. also i would suggest just spend a day practising your serve try and get some cones and use them as target practice. But practice goes along way.

Answer 7

Try brushing up on your serve to put topspin on it.  It curves it in, and remember, you have to use a continental grip.