Each player can select one of three types of serves. The first option is a low flat serve that comes close to the net with minimal margin for error.
The second type is the slice serve, providing side-to-side spin. Finally, kick serves provide heavy topspin to attack any returners.
Flat Serve
The flat serve is the foundational form of tennis service. While its lack of spin can make it less effective when hit correctly, its power can still make an impressionful impactful statement when executed perfectly. Its goal is to place diagonally into your opponent’s service box; so master this element first before adding variations such as different spins or contact points. Once perfected, try switching things up by including new variations to add variety into your serve!
The “platform” flat serve is one of the most widely-used types of serves, employing a platform stance and flat foot strike to generate maximum power into each serve. To execute an excellent platform serve, keep feet shoulder width apart with ball resting against front foot when tossing into air; make sure wrist is pronated for maximum force; aim for hitting ball off “sweet spot” of racket face above grip to maximize success!
Professional players frequently employ different flat serves to hide their style and confuse opponents. For instance, some will show their opponents an obvious toss for a slice serve before suddenly altering it at a crucial moment; doing so allows them to make them think they have one serve down before surprising them with another serve later on in the point.
Serving is something many players struggle with, as is launching the ball into the air to serve. To do this effectively it’s important to keep both hands at eye level so the ball doesn’t slip from your grasp when it passes above you; additionally you should bounce the ball several times in your hand prior to throwing it up in the air.
Finally, it is essential to establish a consistent ritual when tossing the ball up. Some people prefer clenching their fist before tossing, while others will combine their racket and ball-tossing hands when beginning their toss.
Slice Serve
The slice serve is an advanced tennis serving technique that takes practice to master. It’s great for players looking to catch opponents off guard and throw them off when returning the ball, as well as adding topspin to their serving style if they struggle with consistency when hitting flat serves.
A slice server differs from topspin serve in that the ball receives sideways spin, causing it to curve from right to left when hitting the ground. This type of spin makes the ball difficult for shorter players who may struggle getting their hands high enough after it bounces to return it successfully.
When practicing the slice serve, it is key to focus on getting an effective angle and rotation when hitting it. If you add enough spin to your serve, your opponent may have trouble controlling their return which increases your odds of winning the point.
Another key element of a slice serve is how it’s thrown. Many players make the mistake of tossing too high when trying this serve, leading them to struggle hitting it cleanly since the ball will land above their heads and they won’t have an easy time swinging down on it to hit straight back at their opponent.
When practicing your slice serve, a “magic chair” drill should be utilized. This drill involves setting up a chair near the net and sitting down while serving, shortening your grip on your racket to try hitting over without falling off of it – this helps build accuracy as well as timing in your swing. Once mastered, more challenging versions can be added by moving further from the net while trying to hit it over that chair instead.
Kick/Topspin Serve
The kick serve (commonly referred to as topspin) is an ideal second serve technique used by players at all levels. This serve is highly reliable and allows them to exert significant control, hitting high above the net before diving back down into their opponent’s service box for return – making it hard for their opponent to return their serve!
Kick serves can be challenging to perfect. One major hurdle lies in that most people cannot generate enough topspin to kick the ball sharply off the ground due to improper hip and shoulder rotation; as soon as throwing motion occurs, upper body leads instead of hitting shoulder which opens shoulder plane and prevents kick action necessary for topspin serve.
People often overdo their topspin generation on kick serves because they believe more topspin will lead to higher bounce-back off of the court. Unfortunately, this is not accurate; rather, ball height rises proportionately with speed v and angle th as soon as it crosses baselines.
If a player serves with plenty of topspin, the ball will travel faster uphill compared to when served without spin – this is because more rotation must take place between strokes in order to produce equal topspin output as it rises.
Additionally, as the kick serve is a slower serve than its fast counterpart, opponents have more time to react than with fast serves. Therefore, its use can help control and exploit an opponent’s weaknesses – for instance if your opponent has taller reach, use a kick serve that goes high above the net so as to be out of their striking zone.
Platform Serve
As its name implies, this serve stance is distinguished by a player standing with both feet in an even platform position during their entire service motion. This differs from pinpoint stance wherein one foot moves closer to the other as they coil and push off into their swing.
Platform serves can offer certain advantages to players who do not seek to generate an excessive amount of power in their serve. Since both feet remain stationary throughout the service motion, this could make it easier to maintain balance and control body movements more effectively. Furthermore, due to the platform stance’s positioning it may also facilitate using all leg strength during swing up/pronation phases of their serve motion.
On the other hand, one could argue that there are some downsides to adopting such a stance. For instance, by keeping the back foot far enough from the front foot throughout service motion, it may be more challenging to transfer weight forward and fully engage your legs. Furthermore, power generation from such an stance may take longer due to less momentum building up in the back foot upon contact with the ball.
Another drawback of using the platform stance is its potential to lead to more inconsistent contact with the ball, since it takes more time and balance to swing into trophy position with this stance. Furthermore, players who struggle with foot faulting might find they commit more of these errors when using this serve stance.
Due to these reasons, novice tennis players are advised to use a pinpoint serve stance rather than platform serve stance when starting out on their serve journey. As for more experienced tennis players with good balance and body control who want to switch things up a bit can use either option as long as their focus remains on improving quality of serve by understanding different parts of swing individually and working on them independently.