How To Tennis Serve
How to tennis serve.
Below is a very simple description of some basics about serving in tennis. To learn to serve well it is up to you to get either some tennis lessons or watch a tennis serving DVD so you can learn the movements visually. Then you need to practice.
How To Serve
Stand side ways to the net with the arm you hold the tennis racquet with being closest to the fence at the back of the court.
Your front foot is not allowed to touch the base line and must be to one side of the little line in the middle of the baseline, if you stand on the line while you are serving, your serve is called a ‘foot fault’. But still stand as close as you can to the line anyway, there is no need to stand 1-2 feet away from the baseline (unless you really can’t stop yourself standing on the line during your serve).
Toss the ball up above your head about five feet in the air. The toss position should be above the head but a little bit in front. Aiming for an imaginary 1 o’clock if you are right handed or 11 o’clock if your are left handed.
While you are throwing the ball up get your racquet head dropped behind your head so your elbow is pointed. Do this while you are waiting for your ball toss to come into your hitting zone.
After you hit the ball remember to ‘follow through’. A good way to understand ‘follow through’ is imagine you have thrown a baseball. Now once the ball left your hand your arm keeps moving, that’s follow through. It’s similar in tennis. After you hit the ball let the racquet keep swinging through. This will help your speed and spin.
After you have got your serve over the net and into the service box opposite the side your served from, then you need to quickly get yourself into ‘ready position’. ‘Ready position’ is when you stand in the middle of the court behind the baseline, your knees slightly bent and springy, facing the front of the court with both hands on the racquet. By getting into ready position after your serve you are now ready for whatever kind of shot comes back to you.
When practicing your serve it is a good idea to practice your ball toss. Stand as if you were going to serve, toss the ball up but don’t hit it. Ideally the ball should land within 1 foot of your front foot. A coach will be more specific with helping you determine the best place you personally should toss the ball.
I recommend you get some tips from a coach one-on-one if you are serious about getting your serve working for you. Or go and practice some basics on an empty court if you have time, this is another way to get better. But if you would like more instructions right now and don’t want to go get coaching straight away I recommend this online coaching course that is immediately downloadable and has video instructions CLICK HERE for more information.
If you want to focus specifically on the serve I recommend this DVD ‘The Serve by Bill Mountford, CLICK HERE to read my review.