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1.
Increasing reliability of the first serve.
A
big first serve that rarely goes in is not much of a weapon.
To make your first serve more accurate divide the service
square into three equal sized areas from the service line
to the net. Now serve wide to the forehand side, then the
middle, then serve down the center line. Serve successfully
into each area before going on to the next. Initially give
yourself two serves per area and then only one serve. Once
you can complete a series of two consecutive successes to
each area, you have reached your goal.
2.
How much pace do I generate?
If
your serve lands in the service court, but the ball does not
carry to the back fence, you need to increase your racket
head speed. One trick is to bounce the ball hard into the
ground with your racket and see how high it ricochets into
the air. Pronate your forearm as fast as you can, and if the
ball stays in the air for 3 seconds before it hits the ground,
your racket head speed is acceptable. (Photos 2,3,4)
3.
How effective is my kick serve?
Test
to see whether your kick serve can hit close to the singles
side line on the ad side and then rebound outside of the doubles
side line. If the ball does not carry that far, have your
racket brush upwards and sideways past the right upper quarter
of the ball. This will give it more of a wide kick.
4.
How effective is my slice serve?
If
your serve does not carry wide of the doubles side line on
the deuce side after hitting the singles side line, you are
not getting enough side spin. Hit the ball at the 3 o'clock
mark and then pronate your forearm sharply through the hit.
Now you should be able to move your opponent way off the court.
5.
How effective is the depth consistency of my serve?
If
your serve varies greatly in depth, it is most likely that
your toss is not reliable enough for consistency. Try to lift
the ball up into the air with almost no rotation. You may
also want to experiment with the abbreviated backswing technique,
made popular by Patrick Rafter. (Photos 5,6) This abbreviated
backswing technique simplifies the racket preparation and
ball toss because the hands stay close together at the beginning
of the serve and then lift simultaneously. The only drawback
of the serve is when you don't rotate your right shoulder
at the end of the racket preparation; you put stress on your
rotator cuff.
6.
How effective am I at hiding the direction of my serve?
If
your opponents seem to read your serve like a book, you are
likely giving away your intended direction by your toss. A
good way to solve this problem is to use a semicircular toss.
Now your opponent has almost no clue whether you are going
to hit a flat, slice, or topspin serve. (Photos 7,8)
7.
How does my serve hold up under pressure situations?
Many
players serve well until the score becomes critical and then
they fall apart. They get so jittery that their usual reliable
serve loses all directional control. To overcome this from
happening to you, clear you mind. Stop thinking of the point
but focus all the attention only on centering the desired
serve.
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