SERVE LIKE A BOT

GET A GRIP

Your grip should feel like you’re shaking hands with the racket (with the edge facing towards you). Your grip strength should be a 5 out of 10, with your index finger in a hook-like grip, which will help release the tension and allow the racket to move more freely. When going through the various teaching points, start by holding the racket higher up the grip, closer to the strings and point of contact. This will give you more feel and control. Stances vary according to preference and comfort, but generally your feet should be positioned so that the front foot is pointing towards the right net post (for right-handers) and the back foot is parallel to the baseline.

Exercises

• Do bounce-downs with the edge of your racket. 

• Do bounce-downs with the edge of your racket and then with the strings (alternating).
  
  

GIVE A TOSS

Start by holding the ball just below your fingertips, with your elbow and wrist in a fixed position. Think about placing, rather than throwing, the ball, as if you’re carefully raising a glass of water. The ball toss placement for a righty is 12-1 o’clock. For a lefty, it’s at 11-12 o’clock. The ball toss wants to reach a height to where your racket can be fully extended at the point of contact and it should land inside the court if allowed to drop. 

Exercises

• Place the ball in the air and catch while staying stationary with your feet planted. A good ball toss should not move too much from your standing position. 

• Hold a ball in each hand and place the ball toss hand up first. Whilst simulating a serve, use the other ball in your hand to hit the ball in a throwing motion, while the defending ball is still mid-flight.

WAITER’S TRAY

The classic position that 99% of beginners will start with when serving is the palm up position, aka the trophy position, aka the waiter’s tray. It’s the best place to start, but as you improve, it will ultimately reduce your power, spin and control over your serves. The racket-arm elbow plays a big role in a consistent serve and needs to be in line with the shoulder and at a 90° angle. The ball toss arm should be raised nice and high like a Nike tick. Then with a slight bend in the knees, your trophy position is in its loading phase, meaning 60% of your weight will be on the back leg, storing up energy, waiting to be released up and inside the court. This is a strong position to allow you to generate massive power and control. 

Exercises

• Practise the ball toss and racket position by freezing your body position. Hold for two seconds to check your various body positions. Key checkpoints are the Nike tick and the loading of the legs. The racket will ascend to the trophy position. Watch the hand and racket as you go through the motion slowly. Practise this three times each (the first two at a slow-motion speed and the third one a bit faster). It’s all about building muscle memory. 

DRIVE & DROP

Get the leg drive right and you can add an extra 20-30% more power to your serve. 

The timing of the vertical drive is crucial. As the ball is placed in the air (up), you will descend with the legs (down) and as the ball has reached its peak, you drive up to the ball. with the legs. Driving upwards will also allow greater racket drop. 

Exercises

• Practise picking up a ball behind your back leg, loading and throwing the ball upwards whilst driving from your back leg.

• Practise starting in the trophy position, loading with a knee, driving upwards and letting the movement initiate the racket drop. The goal is for the ball to hit your racket arm elbow.

CONTACT

The point where the ball meets the racket is the most important part of the serve. The flat first serve provides more power but is less consistent because there’s less contact time with the ball. The second serve should have more contact time with the ball with the strings gliding across the face of the ball to give you more spin and control. The natural racket pathway will go from a high contact point and finish across the body, normally by the side of the hip (left side if you’re right-handed and right side if you’re left-handed). 

Exercises

• In trophy position or full-service motion, practise hitting with the edge of the racket and then the strings of the racket (similar to the first grip and stance exercise, but above the head). For the fundamentals of the slice serve, practise tossing the ball slightly to the side of the body, gradually increasing the height of contact.