Magazine Sep/Oct 2017

TENNIS

Along with the return, the serve is the shot players have to start the point with. Without the serve and return, a point cannot be started. Unfortunately, many players do not put enough importance on this crucial shot. Read on to learn some handy tips to improve your serve! WRIST The wrist is extremely important in a serve. The wrist has to be loose and relaxed. A stiff wrist leads to added pressure on the shoulder and makes one more susceptible to injuries. On the contrary, a loose wrist will add speed and compensate for a poor toss while preventing injuries. BALANCE Not having a good grip on balance is one of the most common causes of mistakes on court. The serve is a challenging shot since players have to beat the net while constrained by the amount of space on the court. This requires players to hit with high precision, along with efficient body usage, which means players need to have extreme balance. Balance will minimize falls during motion and contact with the ball. A loss of balance will affect body position and change the angle of the racquet. A small change of the racquet face angle can lead to a big change in the direction of the ball. ANGLE OF THE RACQUET FACE The correct angle of the racquet face helps the player to achieve an appropriate ball direction. It will also aid in adding different rotations to the ball, which will result in a flat serve. The ideal serve requires a perfectly perpendicular racquet face to the direction of the ball. GRIP The most appropriate and efficient grip for a serve is the continental grip. It allows players to hit with different rotations without changing the grip, and gives players the best wrist mobility, highest speed and racquet acceleration. However, most players today (especially at lower levels) prefer the forehand grip due to its lower difficulty level. Ironically, it may indeed be much easier to keep a strong wrist using a forehand grip initially, but as players become more skilled at the sport, the continental grip will aid in producing stronger serves than the forehand grip. FLAT SERVE By Tomas Biernacki, Tennis Director

51 THE AMERICAN CLUB SEP / OCT 2017