The Lesson Process:
The Serve: Part 1

Kerry Mitchell

This series of articles presents my approach to the tennis learning process. Previously we've looked at the forehand (Click Here) and the backhand (Click Here). Now let's turn to the serve.

This series has been interesting to write because it has forced me to review much of what I've been doing on the court for the past 30 years as both a player and a teacher.

Like good players, good coaches need to review the fundamentals that make the game work. So let me present my views on what is probably the most difficult stroke to develop: the serve. Let me show you how to develop it into a weapon every time you go on court.

In this first article I'll cover the critical issues of spin, grip, balance, pronation, body rotation, and the use of the arms in the wind up. Then in Part 2 we'll move to consider the tossing motion, the contact point, serving rhythm, the advanced use of the legs, and then return to the hotly debated issue of "pronation."

Spin and Grip

So let's get started with what I consider the foundation issues in serving: spin and grip. Without doubt the key to developing a great serve is the ability to hit with spin, and particularly, the right mix of topspin and sidespin.

The serve grip I recommend: the Continental, or a 2 / 1 Tennisplayer style.

This ability to develop spin is dependent on grip. Grip is absolutely critical - and unlike the forehand or even the backhand, there is very little room for variation.

I believe that for the fast majority of players, the right serving grip is what I call the Continental. In Tennisplayer.net terminology, this would be considered a "2 / 1."

This means the knuckle of the index finger is on the second bevel from the top, with the heel pad on the top bevel, ie, the top of the frame. (For more on grip terminology, Click Here.)

Many players have learned to hit the ball quite hard using a forehand grip and even brag about their radar gun speeds. What they don't realize is their grip changes the shape of the swing and the arm rotation through the contact, making the true mastery of spin impossible. These are the players who almost never get that "big" serve in the court when it really matters.

When I was learning myself, I could not afford lessons, so I learned from watching as much tennis on television as I possibly could. I was struck by the use of spin on the first serve, but especially on the second.

Being the intense player that I was, I was determined to master spin. So for literally two years I hit heavy spin on both the first and second deliveries. I may not have gotten that many free points, but I rarely double faulted.

At the end of two years I had developed both control and accuracy. I was able to place the ball in every corner. I had little fear of missing and this gave me confidence to really be aggressive with my swing.

Eventually I went to work on a "flatter" first serve, knowing that if I missed it I could be very confident and aggressive with the second ball. Following this path has more than paid off in the long run as my serve is a weapon every time I step on the court.

So in these two articles I want outline the process that will allow you to do the same - whether you are retooling your current motion or starting from the ground up.

Why Difficult?

I said the serve is the most difficult stroke to master and there are many reasons. The biggest problem is lack of practice time. The average player spends most of his practice hitting groundstrokes.

The same is true in matches. The point begins with either a first or second serve, but then most of the subsequent hits are groundstrokes.

The second problem is the learning process itself. More so than any other stroke, a bad start on the serve creates major issues later on down the road.

A great many instructors, in an attempt to get their students competing as quickly as possible, will focus on having players just get the ball into the service box, particularly on the second serve. They allow players to use their forehand grip because they know shifting to a true serving grip will make serving far more difficult initially.

The instructor figures that if a player can get the serve in the box, then he or she is on the way to competing in a real match. The problem with this approach is that changing these bad initial habits is very difficult as long as the player remains involved in league or tournament competition.

Trying to make changes for these players later on causes a loss of confidence. This is turn causes players to revert back to their old style under pressure, stagnating or reversing the process of improvement. The reality is that early "success" can create permanent long term limitations.

In a perfect world I would prefer my beginners not play competitively for at least 8 or 10 months. The same is true for more advanced players who need to change.

That time interval allows players to practice the correct serve motion with little pressure. Double faults have less consequence in practice games or sets. This increases the likelihood that the player will stick with the concepts he is learning.

Grip

For the vast majority of players, there is only one grip for the serve, the continental. Learning the continental grip is the key to serving with spin and learning control.

It's the foundation for developing a confident delivery. Confidence means the ability to hit the right amount of spin at the right time on both the first and second serves.

How does the wrong grip affect the swing? The wrong grip forces the player to face the net to get the ball in. This means little or no rotation of the hips or shoulders.

The full drop position is also impossible to achieve. What drop there is comes mostly from the wrist and the elbow. Furthermore, the upper arm never really rotates fully in the swing. We know from Brian Gordon's studies that this is the major source of racket head speed in the motion. (Click Here.)

Side Spin

The side spin a player creates with a forehand grip can aid in control, but side spin has its limitations and is less and less helpful as velocity increases. In fact, sidespin actually limits velocity because of the shape of swing. In order to create side spin, the direction of the swing moves towards the side fence too much and not towards the target (upward and towards the net).

But there a second problem. Although players with forehand grips can generate considerable sidespin, the deficiencies in their motions make it impossible to add topspin. This in turn makes it impossible to serve with velocity on a consistent basis. For the same reason, an aggressive second serve is impossible to achieve.

There are a few players at higher levels who have modified this basic grip, moving to a stronger grip verging on an eastern backhand, for example, Rafael Nadal.

This modification adds even more spin when serving at higher velocities. This is a possible modification for advanced players, but for the average club it is not necessary or even advised. Mastering the continental is an achievement that will allow players to do serve well up to and including the highest levels of the game.

I believe the ability to create spin and thus control is where the focus should lie when developing the serve. Topspin is the more difficult component to develop, and the most precious.

As John's work has shown, there is no such thing as a pure topspin serve. The majority of the spin on alls serves is actually sidespin. Even Pete Sampras's "heavy" first serve was hit predominantly with sidespin with about a 30% topspin component. (Click Here.) The right grip is critical for adding this precious topspin component.

Topspin is even more crucial to developing an effective second serve. The difference between a first and second serve is the amount of rotation on the ball and the higher topspin component. A second serve may have actually have twice the number of RPM's as the first serve, or even more.

Pronation

Almost all players have heard the concept of "pronation." There is a technical discussion of the biomechanical definition of the term--versus the common coaching usage-- in John Yandell's recent article. (Click Here.)

As I use the term, pronation refers to the arm and wrist rotation through the contact zone. This rotation is key to all aspects of the serve - spin, power and placement. It usually happens naturally when the correct grip is used.

Balance

Balance is another core aspect of serving, and one that is often overlooked by players and, at times, by instructors. As with all good stroke production, good serving requires good balance.

Often players try to add advanced elements to the serve too early in the process, losing balance in the process.

What is good balance on the serve? It means keeping most of the weight between the feet and not leaning or bending excessively at the waist, either forwards or backwards.

Jumping or uncoiling the legs into the motion is the obvious example of how lower level players get ahead of themselves. They get into the air and lose control of their center of gravity leaning forward, backwards, or even to the sides.

The increased use of the legs is a key element in adding racket speed to the serve. But often times it is stressed too early in the learning process.

The way to create balance initially is to take the launching from the legs out of the picture. If a player has good balance he should be able to execute the swing without moving the feet in any manner.

When this is done correctly, the center of gravity remains between the feet throughout the swing. This includes the followthrough, so that the player finishes with the front foot basically flat on the court and the rear foot up on the toes.

I have found that practicing serving this way often improves the racket drop motion as well. This increased drop allows the player to increase the acceleration of the arm and the racket, because the player is no longer distracted. What I often say to my students is, if your body moves too much then your arm won't.

Even for established players, practicing the serve without using the legs can reaffirm the feeling of good balance, and well as the role of the arm in accelerating the racket.

Body Rotation

As with every stroke in tennis, body rotation is a huge key to maximum power and control. Hip and shoulder rotation contribute to proper racket drop technique, which in turn causes maximum arm speed and thus maximum racket head speed. The greater the rotation the greater potential for power and spin.

A lot of this body rotation happens automatically if the player simply starts standing sideways to the net with the feet. Far too many lower level players have poor alignment at the start of the motion, when this factor is very simple and easy to achieve.

At the tour level the rotation of the hips and shoulders can be much more extreme, reaching close to parallel to the baseline. John McEnroe was of course the extreme example, but a player like Sampras approached the same level of turn. Players like Federer and even Nadal also have very substantial turns.

For the beginner to intermediate player additional rotation can be a long term goal. But it is not something that should be attempted early in development.

Just starting perpendicular to the net can sometimes be a challenge for players who have been serving with a incorrect grip for some time. But once mastered it will integrate proper body rotation into the motion. This is where I have players start.

Alignment at Contact

If you have read my article on true alignment (Click Here) then you'll know that I believe the physical position of the body at contact is what makes everything work in all the strokes. And this is equally true on the serve.

Although the exact angle of the torso varies in the deuce and ad court, at the contact the shoulders and hips should still be somewhat closed to the baseline. Typically, the shoulders come around further in the deuce court and are slightly more closed in the ad. As we noted, too often at the beginning or intermediate level the player's shoulders at contact are parallel to or facing the net. This robs them of power and spin.

The position of the ball at contact is just slightly in front of the body plane which allows the shoulders to finish and continue to rotate after the contact. The shoulders should finish basically parallel to the baseline rather than being in this position at contact.

Advanced Stance

Once the player is comfortable with turning somewhat with the sideways stance, you can experiment with a more advanced stance. You see the players with the biggest turns all shift the position of the rear foot, offsetting it to the left behind them.

Usually they also turn the toes of the rear foot away from the baseline at an angle of about 45 degrees. Now as they move into the wind up the body turns naturally along a line between the feet.

Obviously when you turn further away in the windup, you will naturally turn back further in the forward motion. In conjunction with Brian Gordon, John Yandell has study the amount and timing the turn in the serve of the great Pete Sampras. (Click Here.)

This is an element most accomplished servers can established to at least some degree. But one important factor is to make sure the extra rotation doesn't affect your alignment, which is the critical angle of the body to baseline at contact.

Arms

The arms have to work together to develop a great serve. At the start of the motion, I believe the arms should move in unison. This is true whether they rise straight up like Rodick or Monfils, or they rise more traditionally like Federer.

I believe there is a connection here with balance. If the arms rise at different rates I believe it can cause players to lean either too far forward or too far backward.

It's true that advanced players are often successful with a staggered rhythm style as Doug Eng has pointing out in his articles. (Click Here). But I agree with Doug that for the average player, a staggered motion is usually a mistake. I prefer the arms to work together and move at the same speed.

Even practicing the toss, both arms should go up together. Too often the beginner and intermediate player will practice the toss in isolation, losing the feeling of integrating the movement of both arms.

The body rotation should be part of all practice motions as well. Practice making the elements in your motion work together the way you want them to work together when you are serving points in matches. Take the time to get your concepts of these elements correct and be able to execute them without the ball. That's something that's key for all the components we are looking at in these articles.

So that's it for Part 1. Next we'll turn the rest of the factors in the motion and how to pull them all together mentally in pursuit of that service weapon. Have fun!