How to Hit a Left-Handed Spin Serve in Tennis


1) For lefties only! Before using this serve in a real game, it's best to practice, practice, practice. Start by shaking hands with the racket. Now turn the grip one quarter turn to the right so your first finger knuckle is on the top of the grip.

2) As you step up to the baseline with the ad court service box as your target, close your stance by facing a bit more to the left. Your back will almost be facing your opponent.

3) Toss the ball way out to the left and hit the ball as if you are peeling the skin off the orange. There should be a "fffuut" sound, not a solid hit sound like a flat serve. It should feel like you are hitting only the outside of the ball, not the whole thing.


4) As it crosses the net, and then bounces, the ball should take a sharp, right-hand bounce away from the tennis court and off to the sidelines. The opponent will have trouble tracking this ball, since it will take a "funny bounce".

5) Be ready just in case it comes back over the net. You will have the whole court open, so your next likely shot will be to the open court. Making that "easy" shot is more difficult than one thinks.

Tips
1) Start close to the net, to get the feel of the carving around the outside of the ball.
2) 
Take a bucket of balls out to the practice court to work on this "secret weapon" us lefties have.
3) This left handed serve is best used in situations when you absolutely need the point, say at Ad In or Ad Out. It works best in the Ad service box (left court as you are facing the net).

Warnings
It really won't have the same effect for righties, since their spin will move towards a fellow righties forehand, in the deuce box, plus there are fewer lefties, so players don't see the lefty spin all the time.