Build a Serve You Can Trust: Technique, a Weekly Plan, a Healthy Shoulder

Every point starts with you. The serve is the one shot in tennis that nobody else touches first, which makes it the fastest way to win more matches. Most club players lose service games not to aces against them but to double faults and soft second serves. The fix is rarely more effort. It is a cleaner chain of movement and a little deliberate practice. This is general coaching information: if you have shoulder, elbow or back pain, see a doctor or physiotherapist first.

Four technical fixes

• Grip. Hold the racket with a continental grip, as if holding a hammer. It allows spin and natural forearm rotation; a forehand grip forces a flat, arm-heavy push.
• Toss. Release the ball with a straight arm, slightly in front and to the hitting side, at a height you can reach at full stretch. If the toss is wrong, let it drop and start again.
• Legs. Bend the knees in the trophy position and drive up into the ball. The legs and hips start the motion; the arm finishes it.
• Relaxed arm. A loose arm accelerates faster than a tense one. Grip pressure should feel firm enough to hold, no more.

A second serve you can lean on

The second serve wins or loses tight sets. Instead of a slower version of the first, build a spin serve: brush up and across the back of the ball for slice or kick, aiming well above the net. Spin brings the ball down into the box, which lets you swing with confidence under pressure.

Your second serve is your real serve. The first is a bonus.

A simple weekly plan

• Session one, 20 minutes. Basket of balls: ten tosses without hitting, then second serves only, to targets in each box.
• Session two, 20 minutes. First serves to three targets: wide, body, T. Count how many land in, and track it weekly.
• Match play. Play points where you get only one serve. It forces you to trust the second.
• Twice a week, off court. Ten minutes of band work for the rotator cuff and upper back, plus squats or lunges for leg drive.

Protect the shoulder

• Warm up before serving: brisk movement, arm circles, band rotations and a few easy half-speed serves.
• Cap volume when building up; a long basket session after weeks off is a common route to soreness.
• Stop if you feel sharp pain, clicking with pain, or numbness, and get it checked.
• Review string tension and racket stiffness if your elbow complains.