Podcast: Play in new window | Download
And I’m really excited about this episode because in it I give you a real, honest-to-goodness tennis tip. And this just happens to be my absolute favorite tip for improving your serve – Target Your Serve.
You can listen to this episode right now by clicking on the play button in the gray media player above. Or you can listen (and subscribe) in iTunes by clicking on this link: http://tennisfixation.com/tqtpodcast.
Here are the show notes for Episode 001:
This week’s Tennis Quick Tip is to target your serve. If there is one tip that you can apply now to instantly improve your serve, this is it. By aiming for something – whether it’s the T, the outside corner, or the middle of the service box – you’ll dramatically increase the likelihood that you’ll hit a good serve.
So what does “target your serve” mean? Targeting your serve means to pick a target in the service box and aim for it. This is as opposed to just trying to get your serve in anywhere in the service box which is what many players do.
I know this seems obvious. In fact, you might be asking yourself, “Are there actually players who DON’T target there serve?”
Yes, there are! In fact, many players do not. I have played with players who don’t give this concept much thought or even any thought at all. They’re concerned with getting more power or more spin on their serve. Or frankly, they’re just hoping to get their serve in. As for a target? Hey, it lands where it lands.
The problem is that the serve has a lot of moving parts and it’s easy to get caught up thinking about and worrying about your toss, your spin, your power, etc.
But even when these other components of your serve are less than perfect, thinking about a target will always help you hit a better serve.
So just how do you target your serve? Simply pick a target in the service box and aim for it when you hit your serve. That’s it!
Obvious targets you can aim for include the serve up the middle, which can help set up a poach in doubles; the serve out wide, which can draw your opponent off court; and the serve deep and to the middle of the service box, which can jam your opponent’s return.
Simply pick a target before you begin your service motion, give it a look and then aim there as you hit your serve. It sounds ridiculously easy and yet it can be ridiculously effective.
Now, how can you take action on this tip?
That’s easy. Just start doing it. While this is a great tip to apply when you’re practicing your serve on your own, you’ll be surprised to find how effective it is if you just start doing it in your next tennis match. And if you’ve never, ever attempted to target your serve before, I think you’re going to be very pleasantly surprised at just how much it does to increase the quality of your serves and decrease the number of times you fault.
So, target your serve. And while no one, and I mean no one, always hits their target, over time, if you consistently aim for a target, your serve will improve.
I hope you’ll listen to Episode 001 of the Tennis Quick Tips podcast and let me know what you think in the comments below. And please feel free to let me know what kind of tennis tips you’d like to hear on the Tennis Quick Tips podcast in the future as I want to make sure I’m giving you the most helpful information I can.
The next episode of Tennis Quick Tips will be posted tomorrow. This one will be TQT Episode 002 – Start Poaching Now. If you’re not poaching much (or any at all) in your doubles play, I think this episode will give you the “push” you need to change that.
© Kim Selzman 2013 All Rights Reserved