Mastering the slice serve in tennis is a task that takes patience and perseverance. A well executed slice serve will crowd out opponents while its side spin makes it more difficult for them to control when returning it.
Beginning by practicing far away from the centerline to develop your wide slice, gradually making your way closer to it as your comfort increases.
Toss
The slice serve is an effective way of creating sidespin on the ball and rendering your opponent’s return difficult. They will need to take many steps just to be in position to swing at it; this may result in errors being committed upon returning, opening up court space for you if hit well by you! Unlike kick serves, learning the slice serves is relatively straightforward and it can become a powerful weapon in your arsenal.
One of the key components to hitting a slice is proper ball toss. Current advice recommends raising one arm parallel with the baseline when tossing, however many players find this challenging due to it resulting in their shoulder dropping early during service motion, diminishing accuracy and power generation.
As part of a slice, its spin will cause the ball to remain low after it bounces, making it harder for your opponent to control when returning the shot in doubles – an advantage especially useful for taller players who struggle more returning it high after it hits.
When practicing your slice, start off by serving from far away from the centerline. This will give you more room to work with and familiarize yourself with tossing process. As soon as you feel more comfortable tossing the ball backwards and forwards, begin moving closer toward centerline for practice only – not match play – this allows opponents to anticipate where ball will come back from easily. Instead, focus on getting your follow through right and making sure racquet comes completely around with each swing of racquet when leaving your hand.
Contact
As with any skill in tennis, mastering the slice serve requires time and practice – however it will prove well worth your while once it’s been accomplished as it can open up your tennis court and give opponents something extra challenging when trying to return it.
To hit an effective wide slice serve, it is key to begin by starting by standing further from the center T than you normally would when serving straight. This will make it easier to bring your body around the ball and hit an out wide serve. As soon as this technique has become second nature, work your way closer towards serving straight as well.
An important key when hitting a wide slice is not swinging too hard, as too much force may result in lost control and ineffective slices.
Last but not least is to pay attention to your follow through. Just as crucial as initial contact between ball and racquet is its completion. Keep your arm down around your body while using wrist to slightly turn angle of racquet towards center.
What separates a slice serve from traditional serves is its sidespin, which causes it to curve low after it bounces and stay there after landing – this makes it harder for your opponent to return, especially on surfaces such as grass that don’t bounce very high.
A good slice serve can also put pressure on your opponent, forcing them to bend over and use their legs in order to hit back at it, creating an immense advantage – especially in doubles play!
Follow Through
As opposed to its more complex counterpart, the kick serve, most players find the slice serve a much easier serve to hit. Its sidespin draws opponents out wide to either deuce court (right handed players) or ad court (left-handed players). Furthermore, hitting this serve creates a low bounce and makes it hard for your opponent to return it effectively.
One key consideration in learning how to serve with slices is that mastery takes time. While you might not see immediate results, with dedication and practice the results will more than make up for their worth in the end.
If you want to improve your tennis serve, there are various drills and exercises that will help. One such drill is called “Magic Chair”, in which a chair near the net serves as your serving surface – this allows you to shorten your grip on the racket while focusing on carve angles that contribute to wide tennis slice serves.
Serve challenges can also be an enjoyable way to build up accuracy and consistency with the serve. Simply taking part with friends provides a good way of testing this out! The goal should be seeing how many serves can be hit closer and closer to the T while simultaneously improving accuracy and consistency with each serve you make.
If you want a powerful serve that can take your game to the next level, look no further than the slice serve. This underrated serve can be an absolute game-changer when used effectively; with proper dedication and practice you’ll soon be using this serve to crowd out opponents, jam them into their body, and make it difficult for them to hit solid returns. So what are you waiting for? Get practicing your slice serve today; this will be one of the fastest ways for improving your tennis skills.
Finish
The slice serve is an effective weapon for players of any skill level. When executed well, it can force opponents out of position and make it more challenging to return your serve – as well as being great on certain court surfaces like grass.
Key to a good slice serve is its sidespin, which causes the ball to move from right-to-left after it bounces, making it more difficult to aim high on this kind of serve.
Follow through is another key aspect of serving a slice; many players overlook its significance as much as toss and contact point. Allowing your body to relax after every shot will allow more power on future shots.
As you try out your new serve, it can be easy to overhit in order to create more spin on the ball. But this can easily be remedied through practice; just focus on hitting it at lower height and you should see an increase in performance soon enough.
Slice serves are an invaluable asset for any player, but especially useful for those struggling to establish more power in their serves. By adding one to your repertoire, it can help open up the court and stretch out opponents backhands.
As a great way to test out your slice serve, hitting wide into either the deuce court for righties, or the ad court if you are left handed, will allow you to disorient and get your opponent off of court, creating the opportunity for your next shot to attack more effectively.
The slice serve is an extremely flexible serve that can be utilized on all court surfaces with great effect. While mastering it may be challenging, taking time and practice with this serve will only enhance your game and give you an edge on the tennis court. With practice comes perfection! With this serve added to your arsenal it will undoubtedly give your tennis game a significant edge!