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TENNIS TIP OF THE MONTH:

Improving the Little Things - Taken from www.tennis.com

By Brad Gilbert

Extend Your RacquetImproving the little things can make a big difference in your serve.

Players are always looking for ways to tweak their mechanics in order to beef up their serves. They try things like increasing racquet- head acceleration, but they often overlook the basics. Instead of implementing new techniques, the fastest way to improvement is by upgrading the skills you already possess.

For the serve, it starts with a dependable toss. If you watch any of the great servers, each one puts the ball in the right spot every time. Yet club players are constantly chasing bad tosses, which throws off the rest of their motions. You can get away with some deficiencies in your swing if you have a great toss—that’s not true the other way around.

Being consistent with the toss requires rhythm and practice. During workouts I encourage players to get in their serving stances and extend their arms up, let go of the ball, and catch it. To find the ideal place to put the ball, fully extend your racquet upward and toss the ball just above the top of the frame. Remember, it’s better to toss the ball too high than too low. Do this 10 to 15 times before you even hit a serve in practice.

Once you feel good about your toss, it’s time to hit some balls. Before I worry about hitting a serve in, I like to hit what I call lengthof- the-court missiles. I try to hit the ball well over the net so it lands around the baseline. They’re not huge power shots, but it helps me loosen my arm and get full extension. I get nice height and length on my serve while letting my arm go a little bit. Hit half a dozen of these long serves and you’ll be ready to bring them into the box.

When you practice hitting real serves, it’s always better to make a high percentage. Don’t worry about pace at first. So many players just try to crank their serves, and most of them land out. Since it’s just practice, it doesn’t bother them. But when they get into matches, their serves aren’t any better.

Set up challenges for yourself such as hitting a certain number of serves in a particular part of the service box. For example, see how many out of 10 you can hit wide or down the middle. Or how many second serves you can make without missing. Only after you get into a good rhythm where you’re making a handful of first serves in a row should you start to increase your power. Agradual progression like this allows you to amp up the pace on your serve while maintaining consistency.

To figure the right height for your toss, fully extend your racquet up to your contact point.
Practice your toss, without swinging, by raising your arm and lifting the ball to just above that spot.

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