How to Improve Your Tennis Serve

Your tennis serve, like all skills on the court, is something that you can improve gradually over time with practice. You also need to be able to do this on a regular basis. A good tennis serve can help you win a game. In fact, it could be half of what makes up your game. The key is to increase your speed and accuracy whenever you're practicing your tennis serve.

One of the first things you should focus on is your toss. You need to be able to have a more or less accurate gauge on this. The higher your toss is, the more powerful your serve is likely to be. However, if you toss it too high, you may end up losing control. Besides, too much height is really not at all that necessary. Tossing the ball a few inches than your highest reach with the tennis racket should do the trick.

You also need to study your opponent. Find out what his weaker side is and use it to your advantage. You can serve the ball on his or her weaker side and do it in such a way that you can respond with a move that makes for a quick finish.

Involve your whole body when you serve. While it is primarily your arms doing the work, you can add more power to your service by adding in a few movements, especially from your lower body. Bending your knees can definitely add in more impact. Practice moving your whole body in a fluid motion as you hit the ball to serve.
You may also want to hit the service ball with a spin. You can catch your opponent off-guard and also take him a bit far from the court.

You may also want to practice serving the ball so that it comes close to the line. This ensures that your opponent will have a bit of a challenge returning your service back to you. Hitting it short may be safe but it will also take off a good advantage from your service.

It is still better to practice all these during a real live game so that you retain muscle memory and are able to do your moves more efficiently during succeeding games. You may not always get them right but the more opportunities you give yourself for learning, then the better you will get with your service.