The two parts of the serve are the toss and the swing, but often the height of the toss disrupts the rhythm. When trying to “serve tall,” that phrase influences the toss rather than the hit. For when the toss is too high (unfortunately way too common) the swing comes to a dead stop while waiting for the ball.
Try the following drill – Position at the baseline or mid court. Mimic an entire service motion from start to finish without the ball. Somewhat like a dress rehearsal, this exercise allows you to groove the serve, feel the legs, hips, torso, shoulders and arms, all without ever hitting the ball. Many times this rehearsal magnifies problems in balance or tempo.
Once you have the knack, begin a quiet counting of the beat. Find a musical tempo, where you can count one-two-three. More or less…
- ONE – turn away from the net
- TWO – toss, TWO and ONE HALF-knee bend and racquet drop, and
- THREE – turn and extend up and into the hit.
With practice, the tempo and three count beat will become habitual.
Got something to say? (3 comments So Far)
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John Gunkler
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I think the timing and rhythm makes up a big part of the serve, and new I really understand why.
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jim
Jason – I will copy our support team – I am not sure of the answer (I know more about tennis than technology)
Jim
If you can coordinate toss height, and be perfectly consistent every time, I agree that the serve motion will be smooth. However, in my 57 years in tennis, what I have seen is (1) few club players are that consistent with their tosses; and (2) the biggest problem is not getting the toss high enough. I’m more than willing to sacrifice a smooth motion in order to assure that the hitting point is high enough — and, considering the professionals you mention hit the serve quite hard, it seems you don’t have to sacrifice serve speed, spin, or placement even if you have a slight hitch in your swing.