Service Toss Tip

The hardest thing in tennis to succeed at for most people is the service toss. The reasons are numerous, but can be summed up as follows: most people toss with their non-dominant arm. This means that the most crucial part of the serve must be executed with the arm with which you have the least amount of coordination.

So, can anything be done to help ensure a "true" toss, one that is always roughly in the same location at the proper height, proper distance from the body, and proper position relative to you?

You have likely all heard the general technical items before, and to be sure, they do assist in having a true toss.  They are:

1) Keep arm straight throughout the toss
2) Touch bicep to nose in order to ensure you arm goes all the way up (this is a tool, need not be done in actuality)
3) Ball on the tips of your fingers, rather than in the palm of the hand
4) Release ball at eye level
5) Toss 6-12 inches above your racquet at full extension.
6) Toss at 1 o'clock for righties, 11 o'clock for lefties (12 o'clock runs from your left shoulder perpendicular to the net)

Ok, so you have been taught all the above and your toss is STILL askew with the variance of a failing IPO.  Now what?

Many players, too many to count do one specific thing incorrectly when going through the tossing motion (down together, up together) - they watch the ball from ready position, and track it downward and back upward while the ball is in their hand, and continue to track after the release.  What are they missing?

In order to place the ball to the specific target area needed for your serve, you MUST target that area by looking at it with your eyes prior to releasing the toss.  How can you shoot a target with your eyes closed or by looking away from the target? None of us have a sixth sense. We must view the area in space before we toss. That means from ready position, instead of following the ball when you begin moving your arms "down together," immediately look up and visually target the area you want to place the toss. This one correction will allow you to immediately know if it is askew, and will help you improve your toss by reducing the variance.

Note that well prior to the release of Djokovic's toss, he is already looking towards his vertical target for his toss.

Now go and improve that toss!