Tennis Talk

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It´s time to look at the serve. You know, that stroke that requires an athletic movement with a very un-coordinated part of your body (the ball toss with the left arm), that stroke that is only "in" if you hit a small square representing 25% of the entire tennis court, that stroke that makes your racket feel so heavy during big points when you only have one chance left to get it in. Well, I will try my best to help you make this stroke a more enjoyable experience, with 2 more checkpoints to add to your list from the previous articles. But first I want to look at a few theories with the serve.
You´re only as good as your 2nd serve!!!
You´ve all seen the player that hits their first serve as hard as they can, and when they miss they offer you a big "lolli-pop" serve 80% softer than their first one. If that player happens to be you, then please read on...
Though hitting the 2nd serve at that speed demonstrates the partial understanding of the fact that if the 2nd serve doesn´t go in, you lose the point, and that you would even put your tennis ego aside and accept the people laughing at your "dinky" serve, just to get that serve in.
It also demonstrates the lack of understanding that the first serve must go in at a very high percentage in order to protect the "big weakness". Also, that the second serve´s arm speed should be fairly similar to that of the first serve, but it´s the addition of spin to the ball that will slow it down in the air, help keep the ball in the court, and not to mention make life a little more difficult for the returner when it bounces in the court...which brings me to my next point...

Types of Serve:

There are three basic types of serve, flat, slice, and topspin. There are variations and combinations of each of them, but for the sake of this article, I will limit it to these 3. Learning all 3 will greatly improve your serving game. I would recommend starting with the flat serve, then learning the slice as that is a similar motion the flat serve, and finally the topspin, which requires a slightly different arm motion and state of mind.

Checkpoint #1: "toss vs wrist"
It is important to toss the ball well enough to be able to make contact with it above your hairline, without having to move your left foot to achieve that goal. That is the last I will ever write (or teach) about the toss. If you are able to do that, (and even the most un-coordinated people are able to achieve that 8-9 out of 10 times), then there is hope for your serve!
Though a perfect toss would undoubtedly make the serve a much easier stroke, the quest for that dream will drive most tennis players mad for years, if not decades for the following reasons:
- A perfect toss requires throwing a ball up in the air with a hand that you don´t naturally throw with.
- A prefect toss achieved "indoors" on the practice court will be seriously affected nerves and/or fatigue in a match
- A perfect toss achieved "indoors" on the practice court will be seriously tested when the sun happens to be right where you like to toss your ball, or when the wind blows your toss away from that perfect spot you so desire.

So if a better toss isn´t the answer, then how can you hit your serve better? Simple, better use of your wrist! The first step to allow you to use your wrist on the serve, is to make sure the wrist is loose enough prior to hitting the serve. Once it is loose, then you can use the analogy of trying to hammer a nail into the wall as you hit the ball. The "hammering motion" requires wrist motion that will allow your wrist to be active during impact. (try hammering a nail only using your upper arm...you will see its quite difficult).

Checkpoint #2: "Hit Up vs. Snap Down"
Ok, so if the toss isn´t the secret to a great serve, then what is? In terms of consistency these 4 words, "Hit Up vs. Snap Down" are the keys to getting the ball in. When a serve goes into the net, your focus on the next serve should be on the "hit-up" part of the serving motion. When you hit the serve long, your focus should shift on the "snap down" part of the motion. Your motion will always be composed of both these movements, but it´s the excess focus on one or the other that will help correct the mistake you just made.

One last thing on this. You must compare apples with apples, and oranges with oranges, when trying to make these adjustments. If you have a hard flat serve as you first serve, and a softer spin serve as your second then, you must make the adjustment according to the result of the last time you hit that particular serve. (ie. If you hit your first serve long and the second serve in the net, the next time you hit a first serve you must focus on the "hit-up" motion to correct the mistake that happened the last time you tried to hit a FIRST serve, and not just the last time you hit ANY serve...).

Thank You. We will look at ways of avoiding injury both before, and during your tennis game.

Karl Vukobrat
Tennis Professional with Peter Burwash International.