The Tennis Serve is considered the most important shot in the game! It is also complicated and therefore should get a lot of attention in your practice sessions!
Here we will take a quick look at some of the best service motions in the game and then I will show you some drills that can help improve your serve!
Like with any tennis stroke there are physical laws at play and therefore the best service motions in the world have many fundamental things in common.
Check out this comparison of Federer and Sampras and think about what the motions have in common!
Pete and Roger both have incredibly effective serves. Pete’s serve is often considered the best in the history of the game. Studies have shown that it is the combination of speed and spin that distinguish his serve from many others.
Both Pete and Roger have service motions that make it very hard to read where the serve is going!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the video on Youtube but the BBC showed a clip last year at Wimbledon where they put two of Roger?s serves over another, one being a first serve down the middle and the other a first serve out wide.
What the clip showed was that the only difference in the motion was the racket angle right before contact and through contact. All the other body positions were identical and that is what makes Roger?s serve so hard to read and return!
Here are some commonalities of great servers:
- A fluid continuous motion
- A deep racket drop position
- A ball toss way out into the court
- A loose arm
- Upper body coiling
Have a look at the video again and see if you can notice these commonalities!
Tennis Serve Drills
Drill #1: Serve From Behind The Baseline
Drill #2: Use Air Targets When Serving
Drill #3: Service Line Bounce Drill
Drill #4: Make Your Serve Unreadable
I hope these drills help you on your way to a better serve!
Any great tennis stroke is based on good mechanics. In my upcoming technique video series I will show step by step how anybody can develop a great serve!
OTI Serve Transformation Clinic
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This blog is about my thoughts on Professional Tennis, tennis instruction and other tennis-related subjects. The idea is to share my thoughts with you in a less formal way than on the website!
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