Tennis Drill: Improve Your Serve's Accuracy and Disguise
I'd recommend you to read my previous hub before reading this one.
I never used to have correct ball toss but once I finally got my technique on my serve sorted there was clearly an improvement in its effect, but I found that I could not put it exactly where I wanted to on a regular basis.
I was taught this drill to improve my serve's accuracy and also to improve its disguise by improving the repeatability of my ball toss.
What do you need to do this drill?
- Lots of tennis balls - having a hopper makes this more efficient but not essential
- Another person
The Drill
This drill is very simple but at the same time very helpful:
When you step up to serve, toss your ball up into the correct position as explained in the previous hub. After you have released the ball the person accompanying you should straight away shout out 'Tee!' or 'Body!' or 'Wide!', corresponding to the different positions in the service box and this is where you would attempt to hit your serve.
Your ball toss should not be different for different serves, it is only your pronation on the serve which should be different, and this is exactly what this drill trains.
I found this to be extremely difficult when I first started but with practice I improved. Once you master this drill you will be able to hit any serve from the same ball toss and I assure you that this will improve your success on your serve as your opponent will have no read on it and your accuracy will be much better.
You can do this drill with a tennis buddy and alternate roles.
Good luck.