Dominating Tennis

Tennis serve drills: motion, toss, spin and targets

6 drills77 minutes in all3 you can do alone
  1. 1

    Serve, simplify, retest

    10 min · With a partner
    1. Choose a broad service-box target, comfortable effort and camera view. For both usual-motion blocks, score the same two observations: serve lands legally, and finish stays controlled as you recover ready for the next ball. Do not require a particular landing foot. Film ten single-delivery attempts and count both, plus the attempts meeting both.
    2. Try ten comfortable standing serves with an abbreviated motion to the same target. Keep this block separate: the toss and rhythm can change with the task. Observe the same outcomes; a higher score here does not establish improvement in your usual serve.
    3. Return to your usual motion for ten single-delivery attempts at similar effort. Keep faults and out-of-target attempts in the ten. Your score is the number that land legally and finish under control in this final block. Compare it with the same combined count from the first block, and notice any change in target, effort or observation conditions.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 usual-motion serves in with a balanced finish
    Why it works · Serve and returnHow to serve in tennis: the service motion step by step
  2. 2

    Toss and catch

    10 min · Alone or with a partner
    1. Lay a towel at the ideal contact spot, slightly in front and into the court. Toss with a straight arm, release at eye level and let the ball fall. Twenty tosses. Count the ones that land on the towel.
    2. Toss and reach to catch the ball at full extension without moving your feet. Twenty tosses.
    3. With a partner, toss and serve. Your partner calls T, body or wide after the ball is up. Nine serves.
    Number to beat
    17 of 20 tosses landing on the towel
    Why it works · Serve and returnHow to toss the ball for a tennis serve
  3. 3

    The clock

    12 min · Alone
    1. Put a marker on the back fence at your shoulder height and take a basket of balls.
    2. Hit ten flat serves to the deuce T, brushing from 6 to 12.
    3. Hit ten slice serves to the deuce wide corner, brushing around the outside of the ball.
    4. Hit ten kick serves to the ad backhand corner, brushing from 7 to 1. Count the bounces that pass the marker.
    Number to beat
    6 of 10 kick serves bouncing above the shoulder marker
    Why it works · Serve and returnHow to hit flat, slice and kick serves
  4. 4

    21 points, then ten second serves

    15 min · Alone or with a partner
    1. After your usual warm-up, choose one broad target and one service side. Keep a familiar second serve at comfortable effort; full brush does not mean maximum effort. Allow about 15 minutes, with rest as needed.
    2. Play a scoring game: two points for a first serve in; after a miss, one for a second serve in and zero for a double fault. Stop at 21 or more points, or after ten minutes. Keep the game score and count doubles separately.
    3. Then hit a separate block of ten second serves from the chosen side, with no first serves. Count the first ten attempts, including misses. Count how many land in the correct service box; tally hits in your smaller target separately.
    4. If you stop before ten attempts, a partial block doesn't count toward the number to beat. Nine in ten is an authored practice goal. On another day, keep the same side, target, balls and effort before adding a returner.
    Number to beat
    9 of 10 in the separate second-serve block
    Why it works · Serve and returnHow to hit a reliable second serve under pressure
  5. 5

    Same toss, three corners

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Mark broad T, middle and wide landing lanes inside the deuce service box with flat markers. Warm up, agree the boundaries and choose one familiar serve type for this block. Start without a returner.
    2. Choose the target privately before the toss. Use a comfortable, repeatable preparation; do not change direction in response to a late call.
    3. Hit ten cycles of three serves, one to each lane per cycle in a varied order: 30 attempts, ten per lane. Faults and wrong-lane serves stay in the count. Rest as needed; if you stop early, a partial round doesn't count toward the number to beat.
    4. Count legal landings in the chosen lane. Keep all three counts; after ten attempts per lane, your number is the lowest of the three. Then play ten separate live points with a returner. Count legal landings on the intended target, and watch the actual reply separately. Check whether your middle-lane serve crowds this returner; do not add these live serves to the lane score.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 legal landings in each marked lane
    Why it works · Serve and returnHow to disguise your serve and hit the T, body and wide
  6. 6

    The serve +1 ladder

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Mark a generous wide zone inside the deuce service box and keep its size fixed. Take ten single-delivery serve attempts with the same chosen serve. Count zone landings; faults and out-of-zone serves stay in the ten.
    2. Rehearse ten separate feeds, five short and five deep, in mixed order. Read each feed, then choose an attacking or building ball with margin. These feeds practise the next shot; they do not measure the effect of your serve.
    3. Play ten live service points from the deuce side, using a second serve after a first fault, then switch roles. Count serve placements, balls three reached, plans kept or changed, and point results separately.
    Number to beat
    Serve-placement goal: 6 zone hits from 10 single-delivery attempts
    Why it works · Play the pointWhat is serve plus one in tennis, and how to use it