How to hit a Kick Serve

Introduction

The kick serve is a powerful weapon. You definitely want to have it in your arsenal of shots because it is: 1) a high-percentage serve and 2) difficult for your opponent to return aggressively. It's a high-percentage serve because you are putting a lot of spin on the tennis ball -- it's not quite topspin, but it's close -- and that spin is going to pull the ball into the court. Therefore, you can aim higher over the net and still have the serve drop safely into the service box. The kick serve is hard for your opponent to return aggressively because that spin also causes the ball to bounce up and to the side. That's a tough ball to hit cleanly.

Figure 1: Oliver's kick serve

Most of the elements of the kick serve are the same as the flat serve. The fundamentals remain virtually unchanged. As a result, we have taught the kick serve by highlighting the differences between it and the flat serve. I suggest you review the fundamentals of the flat serve if you are unsure about any particular point. The things that are different, which we cover in subsequent articles, are as follows: the toss, shoulder turn, swing direction, contact point and type of contact, and follow through.

With that said, let's get started! Onto the toss ».

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