How to Improve a Serve in Tennis

Having an effective serve is crucial in competitive tennis, since it's the shot that sets the tone for the point to follow. Improving your serve enhances your ability to dictate how the points in your service game are played.Many novice players equate improving their serve with simply hitting the ball harder. While increasing the speed of your serve can make it a more dangerous weapon on the court, it's important not to overlook other equally important facets of your service delivery when looking to improve its overall effectiveness.

Things You'll Need

• Tennis racket
• Practice balls

Instructions

1. Work on the placement. More important than the power of your serve is its placement. A 130 mph serve that lands somewhere near the baseline or rips into the net is of absolutely no use. It only puts more pressure on your second serve.A slower serve that nestles inside the corner of the service box and spins away from your opponent's racket may be less flashy, but it's far more effective. Even if it's not an ace or service winner, it may well give you the opportunity to come in and pick off an easy volley for a winner. Taking a little pace off your first serve in exchange for accuracy and a higher first serve percentage will definitely pay in the long run.

2. Watch your feet! Your front foot should be planted firmly for the whole service motion. If you're making slight adjustments during it, you run the risk of being off-balance when hitting the ball. As you begin to raise your tossing arm and begin the windup of the racket arm, your weight will be on your back foot and will transfer to the front foot as your serving motion progresses.

3. Watch the ball toss. It's important to try and keep your toss consistent. Unless you're trying for a kick serve, where the toss will be slightly behind you, make sure that the toss goes straight up in a direct line slightly in front of the area where your front foot is planted. Keep your eye on the ball, and don't make the mistake of altering the toss according to the direction you're trying to serve in. Consistency is key to finding a rhythm on your serve and the more parts of the entire service motion that are consistently executed, the better.

4. Bend those knees! Bending the knees as you wind up for the serve will enable you to generate more power as you uncoil upwards and into your service motion.

5. Reach up into the swing! Try to hit the ball at its highest point, making sure that you're reaching up into the shot. Since your legs are bent, you have the capacity to propel your body into the serve. Remember, the higher the ball is when you hit it, the more power you'll be able to create, and the better the angle will be for bringing the ball down into the court.

6. Turn those shoulders! The rotation of your shoulders into the service determines the direction and accuracy of the delivery, as well as supplying the power. Trying to create pace with your arm or wrist is a recipe for muscle strain and a wildly inconsistent serve.As you reach for the ball, your racket arm should be slightly lower than the tossing arm. As you swing to strike the ball, the rotation will bring the serving shoulder up and over, and along with the push from your legs will give you the necessary power and direction for the shot.

7. Follow through. Although the forward motion of the racquet will vary a little depending on whether it's a flat or a kick serve, the racket should continue to move in an arc across your body at the end of the swing as you readjust your feet in preparation for the service return.

Tips & Warnings

• Mix things up. A flat, powerfully hit ball down the middle can certainly be a weapon. If hit well, there will be no real spin to slow down the ball and it can be very difficult for the receiver to run down. But if it's the only serve in your repertoire, your opponent will soon learn to anticipate it, and it'll lose its effectiveness. Try adding a slice and a topspin kick serve to your service arsenal to keep your opponents on their toes during a match.

• Try to make the entire procedure smooth and fluid. If you're rushing certain movements, or performing them in a disjointed and jerky manner, the accuracy and velocity of the serve will be compromised.

• Take time to practice serves away from match play. If anything is wrong with your service motion, it's not likely to get fixed during a match when the pressure is on. Taking practice balls onto the court by yourself, on a regular basis, will help you get comfortable with your serve and improve its accuracy and consistency.

• Don't rush the service motion when following a serve to net. The serve, and the movement forward after contact should be one smooth movement. Often, an over-anxious serve and volley player will get ahead of themselves, stepping into the court as they're hitting the ball, rather than moving forward as part of the follow-through. This can lead to a miss-hit shot and probably a foot fault, to boot.

• Try not to grip the racket too tightly. If your wrist is too stiff, you'll have trouble snapping it as you serve the ball. This wrist snap, or pronation, helps the serve come down into the court. Without it, more of your serves will go long.