Perfecting the Service Motion

CSU Bakersfield Women's Head Coach Dan McCain

Over the years, the game of tennis has evolved considerably. Every year that passes, players have better technology, better fitness, and better knowledge of the game as the world learns from the pros of the past.

No longer do pros survive on tour with one great weapon – they must be at the very least efficient in all areas of the game just to be able to compete. And regardless of your level of play, as the game continues to evolve, you must grow with the times and develop your style and technique if you want to continue to compete successfully.

As the game becomes more and more about power with vastly improving racquet technology (among other factors), correspondingly, the serve rises even more in importance. While the serve in men's tennis has always been considered the most important shot in the game, we can say that also about women's tennis as their field of play grows to higher levels and deeper talent pools. By possessing an effective serve, many players can successfully compete in today’s game. In this article we will address the ideal technique for this shot to help you gain this effective weapon too.

By covering some elements of technique that many of the best pros have in common – the grip, the toss, the shoulder turn, the feet, the throwing motion, and the legs, we can see how these elements can all work in concert to establish an ideal service motion.

On the club courts we see a wide variety of service grips, however, 100% of the best players in the world use the continental grip.

The Grip

On the club courts we see a wide variety of interesting service grips and players go through all sorts of contortions to make these grips work.  However, there is no debate among coaches or players on the pro tour – 100% of the best players in the world use the continental grip on the serve, and you should too. The continental grip makes a wide variety of spins, speeds, as well as a wrist snap and pronation possible. Other grips such as eastern or semi-western limit one's ability to create spins and inhibit the wrist movement during contact.

Why is spin necessary? Well, just like hitting topspin on a forehand, the right kind of spin causes the ball to drop more quickly, allowing players to hit harder, with more pace, and still keep the ball in play. The same is true for the serve. Hitting spin causes the serve to drop faster, downward into the court . Spin enhances the action of gravity in that a ball’s movement with spin can make it drop faster than the same serve hit without spin at the same velocity.  Even Andy Roddick’s monster serves can still drop into the service box when enough spin is applied. Understand there is going to be a balance between velocity and spin on any serve. Too flat, the ball can’t or won’t arc down enough to land in the service box at high velocities. Highspeed videos have shown that even so-called “flat serves” the pros hit have significant amount of spin.

Depending on the applied axis of spin, it also causes the ball to slide low and to the left on a slice serve (for right-handers), or kick up high and to the right on a kick serve, oftentimes making life more difficult for the returner. The continental grip is a more optimal grip for players to brush up and across the ball for a kick serve and brush to the side of the ball for a slice serve.

The eastern grip can force players to use more of an open posture with their shoulders to be able to control the shot, taking away one's ability to use the shoulder turn as part of the throwing motion of the serve. We often see players with these grips turning their shoulders very little (much less than pros do), making the serve more of an all-arm shot.

Because the wrong grip can negatively affect the shoulder turn, consequently the contact point will also be compromised. Players who turn their shoulders very little tend to have a much lower contact point which can further compromise consistency.

The Stance

Typically, for a right-handed player, the left foot lines up parallel to the baseline, an inch or so behind it, and a foot or two to the side of the middle hash mark for a serve in singles. In doubles, the position can vary much more, with players using virtually any position from the doubles side line to near the middle hash mark.

Depending on whether you choose to use the pinpoint or platform stance, the right toes will be either a few feet to the right of the left heel, or a few inches. By placing the feet in this position, the server automatically begins in a sideways posture, thus mimicking the start of the shoulder turn that a baseball pitcher uses. Because the serve has many similar technical and mechanical elements as the throwing motion, a good throwing motion will mimic the positions that we are talking about in the serve.

In regards to how the feet work throughout the entire service technique, Carlos Moya and Patrick Rafter are good examples of the pinpoint method, while Roger Federer and Pete Sampras use the platform stance. The choice of stance seems to be more idiosyncratic among top players with little distinct advantage being clearly observed.

The Toss

The best servers in the world hold the ball comfortably in their left hand fingertips,  with the palm up. Players that hold the ball in their palm instead of the fingertips lose control of their toss more often because this method lends itself to the likelihood of flipping the wrist to toss the ball up (often with spin) instead of keeping the wrist straight and tossing the ball up with little or no spin.

Both hands begin together held at or a little above waist level, which allows for a good starting point for a "down together and up together" service motion – where both the right hand with the racquet and the left hand with the ball move downward toward the ground in unison before moving upward together.

Federer, Safin, Davydenko, Agassi, Graf, Navratilova, Gustavo Kuerton, and Andy Murray all execute their service motions this way, so it's worth considering.

These pros (most all others too) use this method because, when both hands come up together as the player releases the toss up in the air and the right hand holding the racquet moves near the right ear, they have an easier time swinging up after the ball and an easier time contacting the ball at the highest point to which the player can reach.

Hitting the ball at the peak height gives the server a chance to strike the ball at the highest point possible that one can reach, making the player literally as tall as they can be during the shot. We all know taller players have an easier time for the most part than shorter players serving, right? Well, when both hands come up in unison during the motion, reaching up to hit the ball at the peak becomes easier and more natural, than, say, for example, a player who reaches up with his (or her) left hand first during the service motion, and then brings the right hand up much later.

Also, and perhaps just as importantly, the down together up together method allows players to move through their service motion with good rhythm. The overall flow and smoothness of movement throughout the service motion is a vital key to generating maximum racquet speed and comfort throughout the shot, and the down together and up together method contributes to this rhythm of achieving one long, continuous, free-flowing motion with the racquet and arms. Other methods can at times contribute to the stopping of motion at different places in the throwing action, which decreases one's ability to generate racquet speed.

Some pros, like Andy Roddick and Gail Monfils, use an abbreviated service motion, however, they still use the down together up together service motion, but in their own unique way. Instead of both hands going downward the traditional way, the hands move slightly outward before both hands reach up. Instead of swinging the racquet with their right hands behind the hip and then up, these players reach straight up with the right hand from the starting position,  going straight up to the right ear as the left hand reaches up to toss the ball. Even though both hands do not drop, they still reach upward at the same time. This gives Roddick and Monfils fluidity and rhythm, and a good chance to reach up as high as possible to strike the ball. And though their actual swing size is smaller, because they reach with both hands up simultaneously, and the right hand gets close to the right ear before accelerating upward, they can each generate a great deal of power because they establish a good rhythm and a good throwing motion.

This type of service motion has proven very effective for Roddick, Monfils and others who use it. However, they still adhere to the concepts that we are discussing, which is to reach up simultaneously with both hands. As the right hand reaches up to the right ear, the left hand reaches up to toss the ball at the same time, thus giving them a good opportunity to swing upward to hit the ball at its peak height, and also giving them both a good opportunity to create a rhythm with their motion.

The Throwing Motion

Certainly one must think of the throwing motion in the serve as similar to how a baseball pitcher throws.  In relation to how the right hand (holding the ball) swings back behind the right shoulder before bringing the right hand up near the right ear, the right hand then moves from the right ear upward and slightly to the right over and above the right shoulder as it propels forward to release the ball.

As all of this takes place, the shoulders of a baseball pitcher turn sideways as the right hand reaches back, and the shoulders open up upon releasing the ball with the chest facing the throwing target.

This throwing motion is very useful for tennis players learning the serve. Typically, the better the throwing motion, the better the serve. So when you are learning to serve (or learning to serve better) throwing around a baseball or football during warm up is a great way to improve your technique. Think of serving as throwing a baseball – uphill.

The Shoulder Turn

So after beginning with both hands and feet as described above, the left hand (holding the ball with the palm facing upward to the sky) falls smoothly downward, touching the inner left thigh before reaching upward and parallel along the baseline to toss the ball.  Andy Murray does this to perfection and his shoulder turn is natural and significant.

By reaching along the baseline as one reaches up to toss the ball, players are ensured a good (or at least much better) shoulder turn during the service motion. By contrast, reaching with the left tossing hand toward the middle line of the service box encourages an open posture that inhibits the shoulder turn, thus compromising power and accuracy.

This shoulder turn is a major part of the service technique. All of the pros mentioned above that employ this "down together up together" method turn their shoulder so much that part of the player's back (specifically the right shoulder blade) is visible to the returner. This allows the server the chance to really coil up the shoulders and hips to explode up and into the ball as he opens up.  Also, with the shoulders turning in this way, players have a much easier time reaching up high to strike the ball, whereas reaching up high becomes increasingly difficult with more of an open body posture.

While the left hand falls downward toward the inner right thigh, the right hand can move the racquet downward in concert with the left hand. Then, as the left hand moves upward and along the baseline – reaching up to toss the ball, the right hand can swing the racquet back behind the right hip and up behind the right shoulder.

The wrist should be held relatively straight during this initial motion. if the wrist is bent downward too much, then the throwing motion can easily be compromised because it becomes difficult for the right hand to move near the right ear before propelling the racquet upward to strike the ball. Players that overly bend the right wrist downward either reach up too high above the ear or too low below the right ear before swinging upward at the ball, which takes away a substantial amount of racquet speed potential.  

The same often occurs when the wrist is cocked up during the throwing motion, but even more importantly, the racquet face will be facing way to the right on contact if the wrist remains cocked up, inhibiting accuracy and control of the shot. Players who do this have to make a last-second adjustment to straighten their wrist, and consequently the racquet face, in order to control the direction of the serve. Cocking the wrist up can make it more difficult to hit spin in much the same way having an eastern (or worse, semi-western or western) grip does.

The Pause or Slow Down

As both hands move up near or above the shoulders during the service motion, this is the time when a slight pause can foster greater racquet speed and thus greater spins and power. This pause, involves slowing the racquet movement down (not stopping) as the right hand moves from behind the right shoulder toward the right ear before swinging upward to the ball. Steffi Graf had the most dramatic pause among pros who use this down together up together method, but every player pauses to some degree. Graf's pause, like the other pros, enabled her to coil and explode upward to the ball with faster acceleration than if she had otherwise continued her service motion by moving her hands and racquet at the pace throughout.

During the pause, the shoulders should provide a sideways posture for the server. Federer, during his pause, turns his shoulders enough to where his back (or right) shoulder blade is visible to his opponent. 

The Knee Bend

A good pause also includes bending the knees as the racquet slows in momentum before both feet push off the ground. This jump occurs as the player propels the racquet from the right ear position upward towards the contact point. The legs bend during the pause and then spring up as the racquet springs up to hit the ball. Of course the legs springing upward add another power source to the service motion. After the legs spring upward, the player should land on his or her left foot so as to further foster a good shoulder turn. Landing on the right foot would cause a player to open up the shoulders to early and consequently hurt one's ability to swing upward at the ball after the toss.

At this point, both hands have moved downward and upward together. The left hand has released the ball (releasing it above shoulder height), tossing it up a few feet in the air, and the right hand is throwing the racquet at the ball to strike it. Upon contact, the player will either snap the wrist or pronate, depending on the choice to hit a kick or topspin serve, a slice serve or a flat serve. While the details or wrist movement on contact is an extensive conversation in itself, the above description can act as an overview to the way pros with the best serves in the world operate today.

After contact, the player will follow through with the right hand, bringing the racquet underneath the left arm with the right shoulder pointing toward the ground at the end of the follow through. To do this, one must first (upon landing on the left foot) open up the shoulders, with the chest facing toward the net.  During this follow through, when the player lands on the ground with the left foot the right leg bends and brings the right heel up to face the sky as a counter- balance.

Conclusion

As we can see, the ideal service motion contains a few important elements.  From start to finish, the serve mimics a baseball pitcher's shoulder rotation and throwing motion, and includes specific footwork and wrist movements.

A good throwing motion comprised of the "down together up together" movement of the hands includes a continental grip, a pause, a good shoulder turn, proper footwork, wrist action on contact, and a good follow through.

Each of these steps in the process are relatively easy to execute, and putting them all together can give you the opportunity to serve big and serve well.  With an awareness of each of these elements of technique, you too can develop a good rhythm in your service motion. Most of us will never serve upwards of 130mph like the pros, but if we emulate their technique, we can all get the most out of our potential.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Dan McCain's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.