The Lesson Process: The Serve: Part 1

Let me outline my views on making your serve a weapon.

This series of articles presents my approach to the tennis learning process. Previously we’ve looked at the forehand (Click Here) and the backhand (Click Here). Now let’s turn to the serve.

This series has been interesting to write because it has forced me to review much of what I’ve been doing on the court for the past 30 years as both a player and a teacher.

Like good players, good coaches need to review the fundamentals that make the game work. So let me present my views on what is probably the most difficult stroke to develop: the serve. Let me show you how to develop it into a weapon every time you go on court.

In this first article I’ll cover the critical issues of spin, grip, balance, pronation, body rotation, and the use of the arms in the wind up. Then in Part 2 we’ll move to consider the tossing motion, the contact point, serving rhythm, the advanced use of the legs, and then return to the hotly debated issue of “pronation.”

Spin and Grip

So let’s get started with what I consider the foundation issues in…