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The serve: the fundamentals almost nobody gets right
The toss, the grip, and the one mistake that ruins more club serves than anything else.
The serve is the only shot in tennis you fully control: nobody sends it to you, you start it. And it is by far the shot people teach themselves worst.
1. The toss rules everything
A serve can never be better than its toss. If the ball goes up crooked, no technique will save it.
- Release the ball, do not throw it. The arm rises straight and the fingers open.
- It should go slightly forward and to the right (for a righty), not over your head.
- If the toss is bad, let it drop. A serve off a bad toss is a gifted point.
2. The continental grip
This is the mistake that ruins the most serves. Many players serve with a forehand grip because it points the racquet face forward and feels natural. The problem is that it only lets you hit flat, with no spin, and without spin the ball will not drop: it goes into the net or long.
With continental you can brush the side of the ball and give it the spin that brings it down into the box. See tennis grips.
3. Foot position
Feet point toward the side post, not at the net. That body turn is what lets the serve come from your legs and trunk rather than only your arm.
4. Contact point
As high and as far forward as possible, with the arm nearly extended. Most club players hit too low, and that drastically cuts the angle available to land the ball.
A second serve is not a soft first serve
A second serve is not a first serve hit gently: it is a serve with more spin. You swing at the same racquet speed but brush more across the ball, so it clears the net and drops in.