top of page
Search
  • Writer's pictureNJTL of Trenton

How to Improve Your Serve

As a tennis player, the serve is arguably the most crucial aspect in a tennis match. After all, the serve is similar to a pitch in baseball because they both initially start the game. Because of its importance, it can be difficult to enhance and improve on your serve in tennis. Luckily, there are a few tips that you should know in order to boost your chances of developing a better serve technique.


Focus Attention on the Ball


When you are serving, it is always imperative that you concentrate on the ball to identify how you will hit it. This is especially true when you are about to receive the ball and want to make an excellent return. As you toss the ball high up in the air, make sure you do not keep your eyes off of it. The reason why is because you want to ensure that the ball makes contact the center of your racquet for maximum efficiency. If you lose sight of the ball, there is a risk that you will not be able to fully complete your serve, and remember you only have two attempts during each point of a game.


Practice Swinging Your Racquet (Without Using a Ball)


Aside from focusing attention on the tennis ball, you also need to have the correct motion in terms of swinging the racquet so it can make contact with the ball (and hopefully make the ball go over the net). To achieve this, pretend you are tossing the ball in the air and follow through with your racquet as if you were actually hitting the ball. A huge benefactor in this step is to ensure your feet are correctly positioned and move as you follow through with your swing. An easy way to perform this step is to extend your arm out as high as you can so the ball can easily make contact with the racquet. Once there is contact, complete the swing and you should be on the road to enhancing your serve.


Combine Both Steps and Consistently Practice Serving


As soon as you are done with the first two steps, you will want to combine both of them so you can get used to performing a full serve. As they always say, practice makes perfect. Of course, this is not a skill that can be mastered in a day or two, but rather it will require a lot of dedication and patience before you can serve like the pros.

National Junior Tennis and Learning of Trenton creates opportunities for success by enriching the lives of under-resourced youth through innovative tennis, education, and mentoring programs. To learn more about our organization and the programs we offer, contact us today!


Tennis Player preparing a serve.

2 views0 comments
bottom of page