- Joan Hahn
- November 17, 2021
- Last Updated on
Topspin serve is a difficult technique that is hard to teach and to learn. If you are looking for an effective way to improve your tennis serve, learning the topspin can give you some real progress.
Our team spent 24 hours researching to give you a guide and tips on hitting a topspin serve.
4 Steps on How To Hit A Topspin Serve
1. Stand Sideways & Hit Upward
The first step towards a successful topspin serve is by standing sideways and hit it upward. One of the most common challenges for tennis players is to keep their body maintain a sideways stance when serving until finishing it.
A tennis serve will be successful only if you can keep your body from rotating too early and maintain 45 degrees towards the net post. Finishing the tennis serve laterally will also prevent you from any shoulder injuries.
On the other hand, it is also important to stop the paddle on the highest peak to experience upward movement. In addition to this, it will give you a high chance that it will pass behind the net, unlike the flat serve.
2. Turn Your Body Toward The Service Box
Your arm will create momentum to turn your body inside the service box, and you should not hold back. In this stance, you allow more force when serving and will help you maintain the sideways stance.
Turning your body in the service box with the ball in a higher spot gives a great angle of the tennis serve. To redirect the ball toward the service box, use the racquet face angle as a serve technique. It allows the ball to have a great difference in trajectory with successful service motion and contact point.
3. Execute A "Throwing Position" & Repeat
When hitting with topspin, a throwing position can be your good tennis serve technique. The proper throwing stance can be enhanced through practice with the help of the cerebellum. The cerebellum is a part of your brain that helps you learn the movements that need practice and fine-tuning [1].
The throwing position is more natural and can give you more power serves. Keep in mind that the tennis serve can come out naturally and successfully by repeatedly practicing the throwing stance. Just like throwing a ball within 45 degrees, the throwing stance can toss the ball in the right direction.
4. Progress To A Full Backswing & Topspin Serve
Since the goal is to develop a good tennis serve, progressing with a full backswing gives a great margin for the error above the head, net, and before the service line. A full backswing should be practiced with tennis serve, just like the serve toss, slice serve, and flat serve.
It starts with the motion to the swing path that moves the racquet head in preparation to swing and strike the ball to spin serve. It also ensures a strong stance and good contact point when striking the ball. The full backswing also contributes to their shots’ accuracy and timing, which is slightly crucial to be in contact.
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How to Add Power To Your Topspin Serve
- Develop a firm grip, bend your knees a bit, and slightly curl your body to add more control to your tennis serve.
- Accelerate the arm that holds the racquet and make a bigger backswing when in spin serve.
- Tossing the ball inside the court can add more strength.
- One tip is not to think hard but think fast; it can increase speed and power when you play.
- Create a swoosh sound when swinging your racquet head since your body listens to what they hear, and your arm can keep up with it.
- Pronation, the spin of the wrist and forearm together, is a great factor that allows you to add control and speed when in contact with the ball.
- Always engage your hips when doing serves.
Correcting Your Technique
To correct your technique, the first thing you should do is to exaggerate your correction exercise. Since over-rotation is a big challenge and your goal is to give optimum rotation with a clear difference. Get into the tennis court instead of just watching a video about it. Play and brush the tennis ball using topspin, then try to maintain a side stance.
Observe the ball flight and the racquet path when you hit the tennis ball to see the difference. It would be very challenging to practice serving because topspin can repeatedly be exhausting. However, practicing will allow you to feel and learn to control the ball on the court. Exaggeration will give you a chance to correct the technique that you learned when watching the video.
FAQS
To avoid creating more slice when you hit a topspin, do not swing forward and focus on creating a circular swing path. Do not bring the racquet upward early because your body will follow, which may generate that motion. In addition to this, stay low with your legs when in the tennis serve. It will allow you to move around easily and strike.
Yes, topspin is similar to a kick serve. In topspin, when you brush the tennis ball from bottom to top, the ball bounces higher. Many players use this type of serve for their second serve. When you strike the tennis ball diagonally, it moves diagonal and higher after the bounce. It is a combination of topspin and side spin tennis serve, which makes it the same.
Final Thoughts on Hitting a Topspin Serve
When it comes to tennis serves, topspin serve allows the tennis player to improve their game. Most pros use this topspin as their second serve because it moves slower than a flat serve. Since the tennis ball bounces higher and accelerates when it hits the ground, it is more difficult for your opponent to return the shot.
Even if a flat serve is more powerful considering the flat trajectory and acceleration, topspin gives the back of the ball less room for error over the net. With the right and consistent training, it may be challenging, but it will give significant progress.
References:
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313265#anatomy
