The 5 Keys to a Dramatically Improved Serve
Swing without Effort
Less is more. Loosen your fingers, relax your hand and arm, and let it go

Much like the golfer who hits the ball farther when not trying, most servers tense their grip and arm in order to hit the ball hard, but often produce just the opposite result. The key to an effortless service begins with a relaxed grip. In the report, the photo captures Pete during the service motion, as he prepares to launch up and into the hit – please take a very close look at this truly unusual picture.

There is a joke (if you believe in evolution) that monkeys used the last three fingers of their hand to swing from the vines, and their thumb and forefinger to eat their bananas. But truly the last three fingers are the “gripping fingers” and when tightly wound around the handle of the racquet these gripping fingers can and will make the grip overly tense.

The three finger service grip means that the thumb, forefinger and second finger are on the handle of the racquet, and the ring finger and pinkie are either open or off the racquet. Interestingly, Pancho Gonzalez was known to remove pinkie and or pinkie and ring finger off the racquet when needing a “big one” in a tight situation.

Effort check list
  • Experiment with varying degrees of tension in your fingers
  • Monitor differences in feel and rhythm
  • Note with an overly high toss and a loose grip it is difficult to restart the swing
  • Experiment with a four finger grip, a three finger grip – Can you hit one with just thumb and forefinger? If so, then you are on track.

 

Got something to say? (5 comments So Far)


  1. Marvin J. Teitelbaum

    I’d like to subscribe. Your first tip about loosening my serving grip makaes sense to me. I’ll ry it tomorrow on the court. Thanks.


  2. HUGH SMITH

    VERY INTERESTING…. I WILL TRY THIS TECHNIQUE TOMORROW.


  3. Daniel

    Now I get it, if you do it with a strong effort, your hole serve is ruined, effort makes you stressed, and makes your muscles go tense, thanks for that tip! ;-D


  4. harvey gold

    i love your detailed instructions…how to feel the movements….usually, I release the toss at the same time as bending the knees and going forward…looking forward to a different timing of release of toss and dropping the racquet head…also, more concentration on using fewer fingers to ease the tension and allow a faster snap at the top


  5. Bryan

    I like this, especially with the overhead motion. I feel that I don’t get “over” the ball on serve if my grip is using all four fingers and thumb.