Common Serving Mistakes and How to Fix Them

The serve in tennis has become the most important stroke for both men and women. Originally the serve's only function was to begin a point. Now, for many players, it is the most potent weapon in their game. Today's serve is designed specially to obtain three distinct outcomes: win the point outright, force an error, or put your opponent on the defensive. Many hours of practice go into developing a player's serve. Through trial and error and thousands of hit balls, a player will grow into their serve. Along the way there are several things that can go wrong with the serve. Keep in mind that the serve is the most complicated stroke in tennis. The following article lists some of the more common mistakes with the serve and their corresponding fixes.

The biggest and most common mistake players find with their serve is inconsistency. It comes as no surprise that if you cannot rely on your serve to go in, you are going to have a very difficult time winning matches or even just having fun! A few indicators that you have an inconsistent serve are 1) a low percentage of serves going in and 2) a wide variety of mistakes (ie. serves going long, wide, and in the net). The most likely cause of these mistakes is the ball toss. If a player's ball toss is very inconsistent and the player has to chase after the toss, logically that player's serve will also be highly inconsistent.

The most obvious fix for this type of problem is to practice the ball toss. Practice tossing ball in the air (as if to serve) and try to catch the toss ten times in a row without moving your body. For example if you have to take a step in any direction to catch the ball, then it is not a good ball toss. This simple practice technique should clear up most inconsistency issues a player has. Having a solid, reliable ball toss will lead to a solid, reliable serve.

Another common serving ailment is serving into the net. This is most commonly the result of a low ball toss or letting the ball toss drop to low. Another common cause is the server drops or pulls their tossing arm shoulder and/or head down to early. All of these situations cause the ball to drop below the point of where it can actually make it over the net. A simple fix for all of these errors is to keep the tossing arm up longer. Try tossing the ball and then pointing at it with your tossing arm. Just remember to move your arm out of the way when you finally swing at the ball!

Getting the serve into the service square can be tricky and sometimes serves will sail long. The most likely culprit to serving long can once again be found in the ball toss. For players trying to hit the serve hard and flat, if the ball toss is too far behind them (ie. directly over their head) this creates a difficulty in hitting the proper angle to drive the ball down into the service square. A great fix for this is to move from the baseline and practice serving from the service line! This allows a player to focus on technique. Once a player is comfortable and confident with their technique they can move back to the baseline and resume serving.

Another point of contention for players is not being able to place the serve where they want it. This lack of accuracy causes issues for both singles and doubles players. It is hard to implement a game plan or strategy without knowing where the serve is going to land. The only real way to overcome a lack of accuracy is to practice, practice, and practice! Place some plastic cones or tennis ball cans around the service square as targets. Again start serving at the service line to get a feel for the proper technique used for hitting different areas of the service box. When comfortable, move back to the baseline and resume serving at the target. One last helpful hint is to be sure and drive the racquet head towards a given selected target. This should definitely help with directing the ball and thus increasing your accuracy.

The most important aspect of the serve, in many players' minds, is power. Most players always want to know how to generate more power on their serve. Over the last 20 years the biggest complaint I have heard about serves is their lack of power. Well there is no big secret to how to generate more power on the serve. A player must swing the racquet faster. Keep in mind that adding power to the serve or any stroke also increases the possibility of error. So learn proper serving technique first and foremost before swinging as hard as you can! Having the proper technique on the service motion will guarantee a player getting the most power out of their serve will minimize the risk of injury.

Remember the serve is no longer just to start the point. There are many variables that go into a serve that can cause errors. Serving is like milk, it can spoil. So be sure to practice your serve each day for at least 15 minutes to keep it fresh and effective.