Richard Theriault Slow Motion Serve Demonstration
You may already have a decent and consistent serve. But if you would like to improve it by adding some extra power, spin and aim, this article is for you!
Here are the 7 steps to a better serve.
1. Ready Position
Use a continental grip.
Bounce the ball with your hand, not with your racquet. If you choose to bounce the ball using your racquet, you will have to re-establish your continental grip.
Try holding the ball like a waterglass rather than with your palm up. This will improve the consistency of your toss as you will be restricting the motion of your elbow and wrist.
Relax your arms, bend your elbows and rest your racquet on the ball. Take a deep breath if helpful to relax.
Your back foot should be parallel with the baseline, while your front foot should be slightly in front of your back foot and pointed to the doubles alley just inside of the net post.
2. The Toss
Prepare to toss the ball by rotating your upper body away from the net (i.e. coiling) keeping your racquet on the ball. Shift your weight from your front foot to your back foot while bending your knees.
Toss the ball forward into the court to the right [left] of your body while raising the serving elbow to shoulder height and pointing it towards the back of the court.
The racquet should be pointed toward the right [left] side fence with the strings facing down. This is similar to the “trophy position” that NFL quarterbacks assume as they prepare to throw a football.
3. Knock off the Party Hat
Move your racquet in and above your head (towards your back) while driving your legs up. Imagine yourself wearing a party hat and knocking it off backwards.
Try to time it so that you hit the party hat at the same time that you fully extend your legs. Shift your body weight from the back foot to the front foot as you fully extend your legs.
To practice this, you can wear an actual party hat and knock it off each time you serve.
4. Swing on Edge
Leading with your elbow, swing your racquet around the back of your body and in front of you while keeping your racquet on “edge”. Your racquet face should be pointed to your left [right].
Drop your tossing arm and bring it in against your body. This will help prevent your body from opening up towards the court. You don’t want your body rotating as you make contact.
5. Contact
Make contact with the ball by extending your racquet arm and opening the face of the racquet up while pointing towards the target.
6. Pronate
Keep turning the racquet until you are fully pronated with your strings face to the right [left]. This should complete a 180 degree turn from when your racquet was on “edge”.
7. Follow-through
Complete your swing by following through to the left [right] side of your body. Your arms should end up crossed with the opposite arm tucked around the body underneath.
Take a step with your back foot into the court.
Conclusion
By making a few minor changes, your serve can become much more effective!
If you are a visual learner and would benefit from a video explanation of the steps to a better serve, click here for a 2MinuteTennis demonstration.
To improve your toss, and learn how to add spin (flat, kick and slice) and speed, consult the videos in the reference section below.
Happy serving!
Written by
References
For those that have difficulty tossing consistently
Coach Ryan Reidy tips on how to add speed to your serve by being relaxed, loose and keeping your racquet moving throughout the serving motion
Flat, Kick & Slice Serve Lesson with 4.5 NTRP Player - YouTube How to introduce spin into your serve
A side by side comparison of the service motion of a recreational player vs. Coach Ryan Reidy
.
Comments