Have you always wanted to own a topspin serve? Let us show you how to get started.

For recreational players, the topspin serve is a defining stroke. With it, you have a reliable second serve that safely clears the net, dips in, and jumps off the court. Without it, you’re not going to move up the ladder any time soon. These five basic tips, plus four serving drills, will help you isolate and master the components of an effective topspin serve and get you that much closer to the kick.

1. GRIP
There’s no single technique for an effective topspin serve, but there are certain fundamentals that every player must use,
beginning with the grip. The relaxed Continental grip you use for your flat and slice serves is the best place to start—there’s no need for an extreme grip. When you’re ready for a full-fl edged kicker, you can experiment with a backhand grip, which is shifted slightly over from Continental (right-handers shift their hands to the left; lefties to the right).

2. STANCE
Set your feet shoulder-width apart with your front foot angled toward the net post (the right post for righties, the left one for lefties). This will allow your hips and shoulders to rotate during the loading phase (see “Toss and Loading Phase” on the next page). As you begin your motion, you’ll transfer your weight to your back foot and then shift it forward. You can use either a platform stance, where you keep your feet apart, or the “foot up” or “pinpoint” technique, in which the back foot moves up right behind the front foot before the swing. Both stances are effective.

3. TOSS AND LOADING PHASE
Proper placement of the toss is essential for an effective topspin serve. Toss—“place” is a more apt description—the ball in front of you and slightly to the outside of your front foot (right-handers should place it to the left of the front foot; lefties to the right). This toss shouldn’t be quite as far to the left or right, or quite as close to the body, as the toss you would use for a full kick serve. For now, you just want the ball to clear the net comfortably, with enough spin to bring it down into the box. Don’t worry about whether the ball jumps off the court or bounces away from a right-hander’s backhand, the way right-handed pros’ kick serves do.

To begin, move your weight onto your back foot and start your toss holding the ball with the tips of your fingers and your palm facing upward. Lift your tossing arm up alongside your body, moving your arm parallel to the baseline. This will help you rotate your trunk. Stay relaxed as you move your arms up and release the ball. The loading phase starts when your shoulders and hips begin to rotate (clockwise for right-handers; counterclockwise for lefties) and away from the net as your legs bend or “load.” Your back should remain straight, with no arch, and you should be looking up at the ball. The picture to the left shows the end of this phase: Your knees should be bent, your hips and shoulders fully rotated (the shoulders slightly more than the hips), your racquet pointing upward, and your tossing arm fully extended in the “trophy” position.

4. HITTING
It’s time to unleash the energy that was stored in the loading phase. Straighten your legs to propel yourself upward and drop your racquet head. As your racquet accelerates up to the ball, your shoulders should uncoil (righties will rotate counterclockwise; lefties will rotate clockwise), transferring energy from your legs and trunk to your arm. To generate topspin, imagine that the back of the ball is a clock and brush up on it from 7 to 1 o’clock if you’re a righty or 5 to 11 o’clock if you’re a lefty.

5. SWING PATH AND FOLLOW-THROUGH
Your swing should be a “shoulder over shoulder” motion, similar to when you do a cartwheel. After you toss the ball, keep your non-hitting arm pointing up for as long as you can. Players who pull this arm down too soon often hit serves into the net. Your non-hitting arm should come down just before you make contact with the ball and tuck into your stomach as you follow through. The force of your legs will drive you into the court, and you should land on one foot (your left foot if you’re right-handed; your right if you’re left-handed). Your follow-through should end on your non-dominant side.

Article by Debbie Graham Shaffer – Tennis.com