Advanced Tennis: Sampras Serve The Tossing Motion: Page 2

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Pete’s starting stance with the racket out front and square to the net.

As with other the other elements in his motion, Sampras, unlike a player like Tanner, serves as a great model for developing or improving the tossing motion.
His toss is a model of simplicity and consistency.

After developing the basics of Pete’s tossing motion, every player can experiment to find the exact tossing height that best suits his or her personal serving rhythm.

Sampras starts with his tossing arm and racket in front and to his right side. The tip of his racket is pointing directly at the net. His tossing hand is at about
the throat of the racket, with the ball touching the frame.

This position allows the motion to start in the simplest possible way, with no extraneous movement. The ball is cradled on the finger tips, with the palm of the hand facing the frame of the racket. Both arms are comfortably relaxed.

The tossing arm straightens out as it falls to the inside of the leg. The arm stays straight and moves as unit from the shoulder to full extension. Note the arm stays in this extended and stretched position…