How to Get a Faster Serve

Andy Roddick, a top professional tennis player whose fastest serve was clocked at 155 miles per hour, won't talk about how he does it. In an article in "Popular Mechanics", he is quoted as saying, "If I think about [my serve], I'm in trouble." Luckily for tennis players seeking a faster serve, other experts are less reticent. Bruce Elliott, a professor at the University of Western Australia, has used 3D videography and computer analysis to show how great servers, including Roddick, use timing to transfer power from legs to body to striking hand. This transfer of power--accomplished in one fluid motion, from ball toss to racket drop to upswing, contact and follow through--is what biochemists call "the kinetic chain principle."

Instructions

    • 1
      Ball toss

      Scott Baker of Tennis4You.com suggests that to increase the speed of your serve, you should practice tossing the ball slightly farther out in front of your body. This forces you to shift your weight forward and puts your body weight into your swing. As you toss with your left arm, drive forward with your left knee. Your hand and knee should move together. You'll know you're throwing the ball to the proper height if you have to reach until your arm is fully extended to hit the ball at the highest point of its arc, before it begins to drop.

    • 2
      Racquet drop

      Hold your racket with a continental grip--the neutral grip you use when volleying--not with a forehand grip. This will allow you to hit a flatter, faster serve. With a relaxed hand, body and arm, drop your racket back behind your head as you toss the ball, with your right elbow up. According to a series of photographic serving demonstrations on BBC Sport, your hand and racket should trail behind your back as your body and elbow start the upswing.

    • 3
      Upswing and ball contact

      With your racket behind your back and your knees bent, drive with your legs to bring all your body weight up and into the ball as you swing, catching the ball at the apex of its arc. Use the momentum that started at your toes to uncoil upward through your legs, waist and shoulders, rotating your shoulders for increased racket speed. You can hit a flatter, faster serve by pronating, or turning your hand and forearm out as you accelerate to contact the ball. Swing up at the ball, then down toward your target. As you move from upswing to follow through, keep your head up, with your eyes focused on the ball. Exhale at the point of contact.

    • 4
      Follow through

      Follow through so that your racket finishes in front of your body and slightly to the left if you are a right-handed player. Keep up your racket head speed, even after contact. The weight of your body should make you fall forward slightly into the court, but you should be able to maintain balance so you can prepare for your next shot.