TennisOne - Launch Your Serve Better

Of all strokes, the serve can be the most dominant. Perhaps the most critical part of the service motion is the launch position. A great launch can win a point easily; but a weak launch can give a point away. The launch position occurs as the racquet drops farthest behind the back with the elbow high and the back arched. The legs straighten into a powerful upwards drive yet the racquet remains in the slot behind the back. The slot is the vertical position of the racquet. This delayed racquet action catapults the racquet up and into the ball.

In this article, we are going to examine some of the salient features of the launch position and how it is critical for a powerful serve. After examining the mechanics of the launch position, we’ll look at some exercises you can do to improve your serve.

You might have heard that it is important to get a high elbow on the serve. In Figure 1, both Andy Murray and Elena Dementieva have their elbows slightly above the shoulder (green) line. It might appear that the player intentionally raises the elbow but it is actually the entire shoulder that is raised and tilted. Dementieva’s elbow is actually in line with the shoulder (her elbow is chin high). Murray’s shoulders are more tilted but the elbow (blue) is clearly about 10-15 degrees above the shoulder line (green).

Biomechanists describe the elevation of the racquet shoulder, as a cartwheel or shoulder-over-shoulder motion. The tossing arm has lowered pulling down the tossing shoulder, allowing the racquet, shoulder, and arm to accelerate upwards. This shoulder-over-shoulder motion gives the appearance of a high elbow. In reality, the elbow is typically only a few degrees higher (5-15 degrees) than the shoulder or clavicle line.

In Figure 2, we see Roger Federer’s shoulder line from the launch position to contact and finally at the finish. Again, in the launch and at contact his elbow (blue line) is about 10-15 degrees above the shoulder line (green). You can see the shoulder tilt of about 60 degrees where the racquet arm and shoulder are higher than the non-dominant side. The shoulder tilt is assisted by strong core muscles as Federer stretches the right side of his body.

I find it awkward to intentionally raise the elbow high above the shoulder. Rather than thinking high elbow, I suggest you think shoulder down, shoulder up. Or think tossing arm down, racquet arm up. If you keep the elbow basically in line with the shoulder (green line) at the launch and contact point, you should achieve a very good motion.

The term “slot” refers to the position of the racquet before contact. Specifically the racquet butt faces the ball just before contact and the length of the racquet is in line with the trajectory of the ball. The racquet direction in the slot is 90 degrees perpendicular to that at the contact point. Although you may not realize it, the forehand and backhand groundstrokes – shown in Figure 3 – also have slots. To generate pace on any stroke, you must develop racquet head speed. To accelerate and gain racquet head speed, the racquet must fall into a slot where the racquet head tip trails the butt of the racquet. Only then can the racquet head catapult ahead of the butt at contact and follow through. So, for any big shot (serve, forehand, or backhand), the slot is a commonality.

As you can see in Figure 3, Ernests Gulbis and Fernando Gonzalez have their racquets in the slot position. In the modern forehand, the elbow may be even with or slightly ahead of the wrist as the racquet goes through the slot. Gulbis’ elbow is slightly ahead of the wrist, much the same way Dinara Safina leads with the elbow on the serve.

Many modern forehands almost resemble throwing a ball sidearm. Compare this forehand motion with some baseball pitchers who use submarine sidearm motions. Finally, we also see Fernando Gonzalez with the elbow slightly leading the hand in the slot. At contact, the hand and racquet will accelerate ahead of the elbow which straightens out.

Returning to Figure 2, we can now appreciate the acceleration of Federer’s racquet from the slot, to the contact and finally in the follow through. Most touring pros reach maximum racquet head speed as the racquet accelerates upwards just before contact. At this split second, a combination of elbow extension (i.e., the arm straightens out), forearm pronation, and wrist flexion catapults the racquet through the ball.

In Figure 4, we see Andy Murray, David Nalbandian, and Roger Federer in the launch position. They are at slightly different moments with Murray being at the earliest in time. Note his knees are still flexed. If the body is to add power, it must accelerate upwards into the ball. That requires that the flexed legs straighten out as Nalbandian has done. David has lifted off the ground as his legs straighten and drive upwards. Federer’s body is even straighter (as it is a split second later) and already he has started to turn his hips and shoulders into the court. His racquet has traveled from left to right but still remains behind the right backside.

The straightening of the body occurs before the racquet comes out of the launch position. Great servers achieve this position but many club players tend to swing with the arms first, ahead of the body. If the arm moves too early, the body doesn’t build up enough energy for a powerful serve. In a recent series of TennisOne articles, Doug King likened this accumulation of energy to a wave. Instead, with many club players, just the arm supplies the energy.

Another way of looking at the body extension is that you want to fire the hips upwards while holding back the racquet. You want to keep the racquet in the slot until you get optimal upwards force generated by the lower body. If you note, Murray’s legs have not yet fired upwards whereas Federer has achieved maximum straightening. From here, Roger will let his arm catapult up and forward.

Most WTA touring pros will tend to serve flatter or with less spin than their male ATP counterparts. Typically, this might involve more rotation of the hips before the racquet accelerates out of the launch position. In Figure 5, note Venus Williams (center), who possesses the fastest serve on the WTA Tour, but also has a tendency to be erratic with her second serve.

You can see her hips turned more as she is later in the slot than Ana Ivanovic (left). Since her hips are more open to the net, her racquet will swing in a nearly direct line with the ball path. If Venus wanted to increase spin, she would keep her hips and feet more sideways which would allow her racquet to come over the ball rather than through the ball.

In a previous article (The Rhythm and Toss in the Service Motion), I indicated that WTA pros tend to use a full backswing and a pinpoint stance (bringing the feet together early in the serve). ATP pros tend to bring the racquet up earlier in the motion and use the platform stance (back foot stays back). Keep in mind this is a generality. For example, Justine Henin and Amelie Mauresmo used abbreviated backswings and platform stances. Many WTA pros use the pinpoint stance and tend to rotate their hips earlier in the launch (aka Venus) to get more velocity at the expense of spin.

Kick serves are more demanding on core muscles which might explain why fewer WTA pros rely on kick serves than ATP pros. Strength particularly in the core allows the body to remain longer in the sideways cartwheel shoulder-over-shoulder position. That position in turn facilitates more spin in a kick serve.

On the WTA Tour, many of the top players are tall with tremendous leverage and power. So they may favor fast, relatively flat serves. On the other hand, being tall may limit agility. In long points, agility and consistency matter more than power. Hence, if she has a height advantage, the aspiring pro is often trained to maximize her power game for offensive, shorter points.

I think we will still see superb smaller athletes similar to Justine Henin or Martina Hingis who use speed and an all-court game to counter the bigger bashers. For junior players under twelve, it is very important to develop an all-court game since they are still growing. If the all-court junior becomes vertically-challenged at 16-18 years old, he or she can still do well with the all-court game.

However, let’s bounce our discussion back to the average club player. The launch position is important to maximize power. The following exercises focus on building great rhythm and power in the context of the launch position. These exercises are most suitable for anyone looking to add more pace rather than spin to the ball.

Yes, you hear this again and again. There are plenty of great tips, clips and articles on TennisOne.com showing the continental grip to explore on your own. Many club players use a forehand grip on the serve. They feel it gives them more power and better contact. That is true for a beginner but it can take only a few months to learn how to use a continental grip if you practice enough.

Why discuss it here? Well, a forehand grip doesn’t allow your racquet to fall behind the back into the slot. Rather, with the forehand grip, the palm and racquet face opens to the sky. The wrist cannot extend farther back and the racquet only drops slightly below the shoulder. With the continental grip, wrist extension doesn’t become a limiting factor when the racquet drops back.

I added the word “relaxed” since the forehand grip tends to tighten the wrist extensors. To start, most people hold the racquet too tightly during the serve which limits the racquet drop in the launch position. In addition, a relaxed grip promotes excellent racquet head speed. There should be only enough tension in your hand so that you don’t let go of the racquet and control it at contact. I once heard a Stan Smith tip that goes like this: imagine you saved an injured little bird from a cat. The bird’s wings are broken so it can’t fly and you can’t hold it tight. A curious cat follows you around so you can’t let go of the bird either. Of course, the rest is up to you to visualize how tightly you’d hold the grip.

This is an old trick that helps if you have a hitch in the backswing, and/or have problems with the launch. Put two balls into a tube or crew sock. Tie a knot in the sock to prevent the balls from falling out.

Now grab the end of the sock and swing it like a racquet. The extra weight will help you develop a nice rhythm. If the balls in the sock hit you in the back, you don’t have a steady rhythm. If the balls in the sock don’t hit your back, chances are your rhythm is smooth and continuous.

Some people develop what seem to be great launch positions but they spend too much time in that position perhaps because they were told to try to scratch the back. However, if the racquet remains deep behind the back a split second too long just hanging there it can lose acceleration up into the ball. You might have seen some of your friends with this timing problem. So using the two balls in the sock is better then one in the net so to speak.

Think of yourself as a gunslinger from the old American West. You can win the duel with another gunslinger if you fire from the hips before you pull out the six-shooter. If you try to pull out the gun entirely and raise it, you will probably lose the showdown. The tennis analogy is to think of driving (or firing) from the hips with the racquet still in the slot (or holster). Then after you straighten out the legs, the racquet leaves the slot and you can sling the racquet.

Let’s look at a clip of James Blake serving. I picked James Blake because you can clearly see how he separately fires the hips, and then the racquet. Keep in mind that some pros restrain the hips to add more topspin or kick.

Blake has a relatively simple stroke. Note his racquet is still in the backswing as he begins to straighten out the legs. When he achieves the launch position, his right hip is actually rotated about 50 degrees towards the court.

The hip rotation acts as a link in a chain reaction where it precedes the racquet acceleration up into the ball. Finally at contact his hips face the net. The opening of the hips allows maximum power although it reduces the amount of spin he can impart on the ball. This serve is powerful but relatively flat and can be less consistent than a spin serve. In addition, the toss has to be well into the court. A toss over your head or slightly in front won’t allow you to properly rotate your hips and deliver your most powerful serve.

Here’s how you can practice this motion. Stand in the launch position and think of the serve as having two parts. First, turn the hips into the court while keeping the racquet behind your back. Your hip position should look more like Venus Williams than Ana Ivanovic in Figure 5. As we mention, Venus turns her hips early into the ball but keeps her racquet head back in the slot. That way, she maximizes pace. Turn the hips, and then swing the racquet up. You might do this slowly at first which isn’t really good for your timing. Repeat the process, going faster until you get good acceleration.

Many club players get a bit anxious then use the hand and arm to hit the ball instead of initializing the upwards motion with the legs and hips. Instead, try to feel the legs and hips ignite your motion up and into the ball. If you get tense, you will use your arms more and you won’t achieve the steep racquet drop in the launch position. If you relax, the racquet should drop into the slot behind your dominant-side shoulder (right shoulder for most of you). Like with using the continental grip, the key here is to relax.

Summary

Achieving a great launch position is one of the hardest things to do in tennis. But we all like challenges and if there isn’t something you can do better, you can’t get better!

Keep in mind that there are three important things to do to get a great launch position:

Practice these tips and experience learning and growing. Only then can you improve your service mechanics.

Doug Eng EdD PhD coaches men's tennis at Tufts University. During the summer, he directs at the Tennis Camps at Harvard. He has received divisional Pro of the Year honors from the PTR and USPTA and several national award.

Doug completed the USTA High Performance Coaches program and frequently runs educational and training programs for coaches. Doug also writes and speaks on tennis and sport science.