Serve

A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. The serve is usually initiated by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net. It may be performed underhand or overhead. The serve is the only shot where a player can take his time to set up, instead of having to react to an opponent's shot.

The serve is one of the more difficult shots for a novice, but once mastered it can be a considerable advantage. Advanced players can hit the serve in many different ways and often use it as an offensive weapon to gain an advantage in the point or to win it outright. Because of this, professional players win most of their service games, and breaking serve plays a crucial role in a match.

coming soon : more on Serving

Supercharge Your Practice

Have you ever felt that you could really improve if only you could find better practice partners, yet the reality is that you’re stuck hitting against the same couple of players all the time? You’re not alone. But there’s an easy way to take your practice to another level even if you can’t bring in new blood: Play two on one.

This was a staple of the Australian Davis Cup team back in the 1950s and 1960s when the Harry Hopman-trained squad was dominating the rest of the world. Two-on-one hitting supercharges your practice because it simulates playing against a stronger opponent. Balls that one player might not reach are easily handled by two, and rallies tend to last longer and be more intense.

In fact, one hour of two-on-one drilling, with each player taking two 10-minute turns on the solo side, can be more intense than two hours of regular hitting. The next time you’re looking for a serious on-court workout, or can’t line up a fourth for doubles, consider hitting two-against-one.

The Backhand Shot

SHOULDERS » Safin accompanies his racquet take-back with a significant shoulder turn. His front shoulder is even with his chin, and you can see a good portion of his back. This will get a great deal of upper-body rotation into the shot and help him generate huge power when he wants it.

ARMS » As he prepares his racquet, Safin’s elbows are bent and they hug his body. This is going to create a longer and more powerful swing than if his arms were completely straight. In today’s game, the bent elbow is a widely used style, and in my opinion a good option.

LEGS » Safin closes off his stance to hit this particular backhand, but he can hit this stroke with his feet in any alignment. Again, the key for a potent two-hander is good shoulder rotation, and Safin can do that whether his stance is open, or, as in this case, closed.

RACQUET HEAD » Although Safin’s racquet is not much farther away from the ball than Connors’, look how much higher it is. Yet Safin will still have time to drop the racquet below the ball and brush up. This makes for a longer and faster swing that will produce pace as well as spin for safety.

WRISTS » Along with a bend in the elbows, Safin also has some flex in his wrists. This will allow him to drop the head of the racquet below the level of the ball and snap up from low to high, creating significant topspin. Safin can still hit with power and control but can also create sharper angles than if he were to hit primarily flat.

Open Stance Forehand

PREPRATION

RACQUET: Moya brings his racquet back above head level. Starting his swing from this point will enable him to generate plenty of racquethead speed. In order to take such a large swing you need time to measure the
ball.

GRIP: Like many claycourt players, Moya uses an extreme Western grip on his forehand. This closes the racquet face, which allows a player to drop the frame below the ball and brush up for heavy topspin.

RIGHT ARM: Moya’s hitting arm is almost completely straight and extended away from his body. This is good for power but problematic unless you have superb timing. The average player would be wise to bend the arm a little, keeping the elbow closer to the body.

LEFT ARM: What you do with your nonhitting arm is important on a forehand. Here you see Moya bringing it over to the hitting side, which naturally rotates his upper body (his chin is over his left shoulder) and counterbalances his racquet arm.

RIGHT LEG: By loading up and hitting off his back leg, Moya is using open-stance footwork. He has started to flex his right knee and will probably bend it a little more to further load his weight onto that leg and explode up and through the shot.

RIGHT FOOT: The toes on Moya’s right foot are pointing to the side, which facilitates his hip turn. If the plant foot is more perpendicular to the net, it’s much more difficult to get that rotation.

CONTACT

HEAD: A trademark of a top-notch ball striker is the ability to keep the head still at impact. Here Moya’s face is relaxed and expressionless. If your head is jerking around when you swing, it can affect your balance and your ability to make solid contact.

RACQUET: This is a splitsecond after contact and the racquet head is already above the ball. Moya definitely came from below the ball and brushed up the bottom part of it to get some serious topspin.

RIGHT WRIST: Notice how the wrist is laid back and the hitting elbow is tucked in close to the body. That’s the perfect leverage position from which to rock the ball on the forehand.
HIPS: After coiling his body so well in the previous photo, Moya really unwinds into the shot. This rotation creates tremendous power and helps get the racquet, which Moya brought so far back, to contact on time.

RIGHT LEG: Even though he is hitting from an open stance, Moya still has plenty of forward momentum. He takes all of the weight he loaded onto his right leg in the first photo and launches himself up (he’s off the ground) and into (his right foot is now pointed forward) the shot.

Measuring Your Correct Grip Size

The right grip size makes a huge difference in how a racquet performs. If you're not sure of your grip size, here are two simple ways to measure:

Holding an eastern forehand grip (the palm is placed against the same bevel as the string face), you should be able to fit the index finger of your non-hitting hand in the space between your ring finger and palm. If there isn't enough room for your index finger, the grip is too small. If there is space between your finger and palm, the grip is too big. A too-small grip requires more muscle strength to keep the racquet from twisting in your hand. Prolonged use of a grip that's too small can contribute to tennis elbow problems. A grip that's too large inhibits wrist snap on serves, makes changing grips more difficult and also requires more muscle strength. Prolonged use of a grip that's too big can also contribute to tennis elbow problems.

If you don't have a racquet handy, you can also measure your grip size using a ruler. With your hand open and fingers extended close together, align the ruler with the bottom lateral crease of your palm and measure to the tip of your ring finger.

Keep in mind, it's easier to increase handle size on most racquets. In fact, the majority of today's lightweight racquets' handles cannot be reduced in size. If you're between grip sizes, go with the smaller size and add an overgrip to arrive at the ideal fit. A typical overgrip will increase a grip by 1/16 inch. You can also increase grip size using a heat-shrink sleeve. One heat shrink sleeve will increase grip size by 1/8 inch. Both methods will increase overall racquet weight slightly (7-16 grams) but the benefits of a correct grip size far "outweigh" the disadvantages of this added mass.

We also recommend you replace your grip regularly. A fresh, properly wrapped grip provides you with better racquet control and increased confidence.

Coming soon : " Open Stance Forehand"

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