🚀Tennis Serve Practice Drills

How to do it

1. Warm up the toss. Toss ten balls without swinging and let them land. They should drop just in front of your front foot and slightly to the hitting side.
2. Serve from the trophy position. Start with the racquet already up behind you and hit easy serves, focusing on a relaxed swing up to the ball.
3. Add the full motion. Now use your full motion at about 70 percent speed, keeping the same toss and rhythm.
4. Serve to targets. Place targets wide, at the body and down the T. Serve ten balls to each and keep score.
5. Practice second serves. Finish every session with spin serves that clear the net comfortably. A reliable second serve wins more matches than a fast first one.

Key tips

• Practice serves when you are fresh, not only at the end of a session.
• Alternate deuce and ad sides like in a match.
• Count makes out of ten so you can see progress week to week.
• If the toss is off, catch it and start again instead of swinging at a bad toss.

FAQ

How many serves should I practice a day?

Quality beats quantity. One to two baskets (roughly 50 to 100 serves) a few times a week is plenty for most club players, with rest if your shoulder gets tired.

How can I practice my serve alone?

All you need is a basket of balls and an empty court. Work through toss practice, easy serves from the trophy position, full serves to targets and second serves. At home you can practice the toss and shadow swings.

What is the best drill for serve consistency?

Serving to big targets with a focus on rhythm and net clearance. Once you can make seven out of ten, shrink the target or add pace.