Tips: Kicking your serve- Beginners

Here is an important quote to understand " You are only as good as your second serve". And its true, more or less. The reason is because the second serve is not independent in and of itself, it affects your entire game. If your second serve is not good, or you don't have enough confidence in it, you tighten up your first serve, you begin to play more defensive, your scared to lose the point, rather than confident to win the point, because you know you cannot get easy points from your serve. Well the best way to gain a serve you can be confident in is start kicking the ball. Here are the fundemental ways to learn, and develop a kick serve. Keep in mind these are the basics, and you will have to practice them to make the kick serve strong and most importantly unique.

Fundemental steps to hitting a kick serve:

1. Feet; depending on the direction you want the ball to kick your feet should be lined up a certain way. If you want the ball to kick to the side, line your feet up almost parallel to the baseline. If you just want the ball to kick up, a conventional stance will work.

2. Toss the ball behind your head but in front of your body. The ball should be in front of the baseline, but at the same time you should have to reach behind yourself to hit it.

3. The reach will naturally cause your arm to pronate correctly. When you serve normally you are taught to swing your arm across into your opposite hip. In this case, your arm pronates into the your dominant hand's hip. For example if you right handed your arm should pronate into the right hip. Your still reaching out to hit the ball at the highest spot you can. This is what causes the ball to kick.

4. The contact should be a brush of the ball, like your creating topsin, in the direction your arm is pronating. More brush leads more kick and less power, while less brush is less kick and more power.

5. Use your legs to increase more spin and power to your kick serve, and use your back to create more of a kick. Be sure to develop your serve before using it in a match.

Fundemental Steps to Devolping a Kick Serve:

1. Go to your tennis court with a hopper full of balls. Take a few and stand next to the fence. Stand around 5 feet away from the fence. Practice serving the ball over the fence with spin. You dont have to bend your back or jump up, just do what you need to get the ball over the fence by spinning your serve. You should be brushing the ball upwards.

2. Go to the baseline. Think about the motion you used to hit the ball over the fence. That's your motion, we just need to refine it. Get on your knees at the baseline. Hit a hopper of serves on your knees. This will help you develop the proper way to create spin, and arc on the ball, without using your back.

3. Now hit a basket of serves standing up. But again, do not use your legs or your back. This will teach you how to brush the ball while hitting the ball forward. Remember to pronate all the way to your hip, many times people will stop half way. If you complete your pronation you should start to see a slight kick.

4. Now hit the whole thing. Slowly at first, accelerate your racket as you brush through the ball. Don't rely on your back for the kick, it should come from the motion and acceleration of your arm. Conversely, don't rely on power, pace, or depth from your arm, this should come from your legs, and maybe your back if your really advanced and ready for it. Set up cones on the side of the service box your ball kicks to and try to hit the cones, drawing your opponent out wide. This serve is very effective and can lead to quick easy points at the net.