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Developing the Ad Side Kick Serve into a Weapon

Brandon Fallon

How many times as players have we heard the coach or parent say, “go out and practice your serve.” My father said it to me, my coach said it to me, and I’ve said it to many of the players I work with. This is not bad advice, because we all need to practice hitting serves and trying to hit targets. But, developing a good serve takes more than just hitting basket after basket of serves; it takes drills that develop specific parts of the serve.

Click photo – The kick serve has become one of the most important serves in tennis and no one has a better one on the WTA tour than Samantha Stosur.

In this article, we will be looking at drills that specifically develop the out wide kick serve on the Ad side of the court. These drills will develop the hands, racquet head speed, control, and height to have an effective out wide kick serve.

What is the difference between a kick serve and a topspin serve?

Kick and Topspin serves are similar in many ways; they both bounce high off the court, have topspin on them, and the toss for both of them is on top of the head or arcing towards the left side of the body (unlike the slice or flat serve toss). The differences become more important when a player wants to develop a topspin or kick serve into a weapon.

When hit well, the spin on the kick serve makes the ball jump to the right after hitting the ground. A topspin serve travels end-over-end like a bicycle tire and will leap forward after the bounce.

The topspin serve should be hit deep in the box for maximum effect – not so with the kicker. When hit on the ad side, the idea is to hit it short so that it hits the side fence after the bounce. This makes it extremely difficult for the returner to run around it and hit an offensive forehand. For this reason, it is a very effective second serve.

The topspin serve is more of a power serve, where as the kicker is more about spin (racquet head speed), placement, and control.

The kick serve drills below teach a player with a good topspin serve how to develop it into a world class kick serve.

\The Out Wide Kick Serve

The out wide kick serve (AD side) is one of the most important serves in the “modern game.” Players like Andre Agassi, And more recently, Andy Murray and especially Novak Djokovic have turned the the service return into a real weapon because they have developed great hands. And Roger Federer is a master at blocking monster serves back into the court. But the problem is the footwork has lagged somewhat behind so that extremely wide serves are very effective. Simply put, returners have better hands than footwork. The kick serve can make your opponent move two or more feet to hit a return, and that spells trouble at any level of the game.

The kick serve drills below teach a player with a good topspin serve how to develop it into a world class kick serve. I used two of my players, one, a 13 year old boy, just starting to learn the kick serve and the other, a 17 year old girl, who has developed a world class kick serve. I really believe anyone with a good work ethic, the ability to throw a ball, flexibility, and time can develop a high level kick serve.

Palm Down Service Motion

Click photo – One of the most important aspects of a good kick is having a closed racquet face at the top of the swing. In this drill, I have my player starting at the top of his swing, so he can close his racquet and work on hitting a more effective kick serve to the outer third of the court. By starting at the top of the swing, the player can focus on keeping the palm down and getting more pronation in his service motion. Once a player has developed a good palm down serve the kick serve becomes much easier.

The Turn then Toss Drill

Click photo – In this drill, I make the player turn his shoulders and then toss the ball. I want him to be able to coil his body and then uncoil right before hitting so as to produce the most power, racquet head speed, and height possible. The main focus for the player is to get the tossing arm parallel to the baseline before tossing, which will allow him to toss on top of his head, so he can produce the most kick possible. 90% of ATP players and many of the WTA players turn their shoulders before they toss, but it is especially true for players with a good kick like Stosur and Nadal.

Over the Rope Kick Drill

Click photo – In this drill, the coach or player will setup a rope 10 to 12 feet above the ground in front of or on the baseline. The rope is designed to be a barrier for the kick serve, so the player must hit over the rope and into the box.

The drill teaches the player how to develop a high kick serve as well as develop enough spin to get the ball to drop into the box. Start the racquet above the head and stop the racquet after swinging above the head. So, basically the racquet is going from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock. This is to develop the hands first. Start with normal serves without full racquet head speed then move to full serves over the rope. This will take weeks of practice to hit with kick and control.

Inside the Target Kick Drill

Click photo – In this drill the player must hit a kick serve into a basket or trash can. The idea is to make sure the serve goes up first and lands short in the court. Like I mentioned above, I want my players to hit the kick serve short in the box and go for an angle more than power. The player will hit serves until they can get five serves into the target.

Inside the Target from Different Distances

Click photo – In this part of the drill, we will develop feel by making the player start from different distances to hit the kick into the basket. Step one; the player is four to six feet inside the court hitting at the short angel target. Step two, the player must hit from four to six feet behind the baseline into the same target. This develops distance control, one of the most over looked skills in serve development.

Speed/Feel Drill Set

Click photo – In this racquet head speed drill the player must stand close to the service line and accelerate as fast as possible while hitting the serve into the AD side service box. The main goal is to develop faster racquet head speed, so the player does not have to get the balls in the box. The player should focus on being loose and quick.

20 In a row drill (all control)

Click photo – In this drill the player must get twenty serves in row into the backhand half of the AD side of the court. This is a high level drill, so most players start at 7 to 10.  Twenty is a good number, because a player will hit around 20 or more second serves a match.

Conclusion

Developing a high level kick (on the ad side) is the key to spreading the court and controlling the point from shot one, the serve. This is a serve that everyone can master because it is not about strength, power, and talent, but more about developing hands, racquet head speed, and control. These drills can be practiced in one session or individually, but if a player wants to develop a high level kick these are the drills that turn a topspin serve into a kick.

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