My favorite serve, in terms of reliability, is by far the slice/side-spin serve.
The slice, especially when used on the second serve, offers several advantages:
It allows you to keep the ball low, making it difficult for the returner to attack.
The spin applied to the ball slows it down in the air, ensuring greater consistency.
Additionally, if you decide to move up to the net after serving, the slice makes it challenging for your opponent to return the ball at your feet.
These benefits make the slice serve an excellent choice, not to mention how easy it is to learn and execute.
I strongly recommend trying, learning, or improving your slice serve. To assist you in this process, I have created a video program demonstrating various progression drills. These drills will help you master the slice serve quickly and effectively. Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate player, these video drills will teach you the essential techniques for hitting a reliable slice serve in a very short time.
It’s always entertaining to watch players so enthusiastic to play tennis that they immediately jump into a match without taking the time to warm up properly. However, to enjoy this sport for a longer period, especially competitively, it’s essential to warm up properly.
Here are some guidelines that can help you start the match on the right foot:
Take it Easy: Avoid hitting hard, putting the ball away, or running too much in the warm-up. Instead, focus on feeling the ball and getting your body loose.
Observe Your Opponent: Try to spot any weaknesses in your opponent’s technique that you can exploit during the match.
Keep Your Special Shots a Secret: If you have any “special shots” that you’re very confident with, don’t show them off during the warm-up.
Stay Focused: Avoid letting any emotions come out in the warm-up. Remember, this is not the actual match.
Avoid Conversations: Do not initiate conversations with your opponents before, during, or after the warm-up other than the usual match-related information. Talking is for after the match is over!
I would like to elaborate on the last point, which is based on a true story. Once, during a warm-up, my opponent complimented my forehand groundstroke, and it made me overly conscious of not showing it off during the match. As a result, I felt more tense and began to question my abilities. So, it’s crucial to avoid letting compliments or remarks from your opponents distract you from the match ahead.
To wrap it up, the love for competition is so big that many players overlook the importance of warming up correctly. But, by following these simple guidelines, you can set yourself up for a better start to the match,improve your game, and enjoy the sport for a more extended period.
Many variables must go together in putting the ball in play against your opponent’s serve, but in this short article, we’ll only focus on preparation and footwork. If you get these two right, the rest should follow.
Serve Return Preparation – Get the most comfortable ready position grip – the one that allows you to switch quickly between forehand and backhand (I am not going to advise you in this regard because you will have to find what grip works best for you). – Bodyweight should be evenly distributed on the balls of your feet. – Pay attention to your opponent and try to figure out (based on their toss and racquet path) what kind of serve (spin-wise) they intend to deliver. – Position yourself in a place that is halfway between your opponent’s possible angles, or open up your strong side to invite the server to deliver toward it (this could be a tricky one and you should be ready to quickly cover it if the serve goes there).
Serve Return Footwork and Body Balance – As the server begins tossing the ball, you should make a “comfortable” step forward followed by a split step. This initial step-up will get the body moving into the incoming ball and the split step will get you balanced and ready to spring into the direction of the serve. – Right after the split step, you should load the foot closer to the trajectory of the incoming ball, even stepping into it with the other foot to cover the distance.
There is so much more (mentally and physically) that goes into a successful return of serve but for now, go out on the tennis court and practice these tips.
Tossing the ball to serve shouldn’t be hard. I’m not saying that I always do it perfectly but I’ve discovered that one of the easiest ways for a good serve toss is to focus on the outcome: how you want the ball to leave your hand.
Oftentimes, we think about the wrist, fingers, tension in the hand, but we should actually visualize instead what we want to accomplish.
This little powerful tip has worked magic for me: the arm relaxes, the grip on the ball is light, and the hand opens so that the fingers do not affect the release of it.
Try it next time you practice your serve or when you’re in a tight match situation – push the ball up with almost no rotation. You might just fix your inconsistent serve toss forever.
Below I’ve highlighted a few points that will not only give you more spin, but also a better understanding of what it takes to make your serve consistent and harder to return.
But first… why do you need spin on your serve?
The more rotation your outgoing ball has, the more air pressure is created on top of it that pushes it down. This allows you to swing harder and higher, knowing that the ball will come into the court due to the spin effect.
Your ball’s rotation also makes it more difficult for your opponents to control their return.
Understanding and creating the “slice” effect on your serve:
– I’ve always pictured the ball as the face of a clock (see graphic). In this case, to impart the slice on your serve, you should swing at the back of the ball from just above 8 o’clock towards under 2 o’clock. That will send your ball spinning more sideways and as a result, it will stay low right after the bounce.
– To be able to brush for slice, you should toss the ball slightly more towards your dominant side (right if you are right-handed). This should allow you to swing up and away from yourself.
Understanding and creating the “kick” effect on your serve:
– If the ball would be seen as the face of a clock, to hit a kick serve you should swing from 7 toward 1 o’clock on the back of it. The result will be a ball rotating almost like a wheel as it travels through the air.
– For brushing the back of the ball in a low to high trajectory, the server must toss it just over the head and slightly above the non-dominant shoulder.
The toss for the kick serve is higher than the one of a slice serve. It gives the player more time to bend the knees and push up into the ball, which is hit on the downfall.
Both serves are important to learn for any player:
The slice is great for pushing the returner wide (if hit close to the sideline on the deuce side) or jamming the player (make it curve into the body). It is also good for serve-and-volley because the low bounce of the slice serve will prevent the returner from hitting down at the approaching player’s feet.
The kick serve can be effective on clay courts, attacking the opponent’s weak wing or pulling the player wide on the ad side (if the server is right-handed – the opposite should be for left-handed players). Some serve-and-volley players use the kick to give them more time to get up to the net, but it should be used with caution because the high bounce of it can allow the returner to hit it back short at approaching the player’s feet.
Use the picture of a clock when practicing your serves to create great spin effects and make it more difficult for your opponents to return your serves.
One of my fellow coaches recently shared a story with me.
He told me how he is teaching a young man, whose serve is great during his lessons when there is no receiver at the other end. During the tennis matches though, when there is the pressure of having somebody return the serve, his student often chokes (misses a lot). He wanted to know what he could do to help him…
My advice (which I’m hoping you will find useful too) was the following:
His student is probably too concerned with what the opponent’s reply will be. He’s anxious about the return and therefore he cannot relax when serving. Therefore, he must be taught to focus (when serving) on things like breathing, spin, and visualization (seeing the ball go to a certain spot inside the service box, etc.) – this would help him take his mind off of his opponent.
He should also have somebody return his serve (e.g. his coach, or practice partner) most of the time he practices it. Of course, his coach will have to stay next to him and correct the serve technique most of the time, but they should change it up sometimes. For example, the student can hit 20 serves with the coach next to him, then 20 serves with the coach returning the serves – in that case, the student should be doing it until the coach/practice partner returns 20 balls; and so on. My overall point is that every time someone works on their serve, they should do some pressure practice of it too.
One of my students recently asked me: “What are my options when my opponent attacks at the net?”
The answer is not an easy one because it depends on many variables that must be taken into consideration: – your position on the court – are you on the run, stretching to the ball, or in balance? – is the ball coming to your stronger or weaker side?
As general rules, aside from the before-mentioned situations, you should remember the following:
1. Try to pass with a topspin cross-court shot aimed at the corner of the service line. The topspin and shallow trajectory of the ball will make it difficult for the net player to pick it up.
2. A lob is always very effective if executed properly: over the attacker’s weak side (e.g. backhand) or deep cross-court.
3. The down-the-line shot can pass the net player a lot quicker, but it could be risky because of the higher net, less margin for an error, and, besides, if your opponent gets the racquet behind the ball, they’ll have a nice opening for a cross-court put-away.
In my opinion, to keep things simple, I’d try to stick with the first two options as my overall tactics when my opponent attacks at the net. You should though vary and surprise your opponent with a different tactic once in a while to keep them from finding you predictable.
