A strong serve is one of the most critical weapons in a tennis player’s arsenal. Whether you’re a beginner or a competitive player, improving your serve accuracy and power can significantly boost your performance on the court. A great serve sets the tone for the point, puts your opponent on the defensive, and can even produce free points. However, mastering the serve requires a combination of technique, strength, timing, and repetition.
Improving serve accuracy means hitting your target more consistently—whether it’s the T, the body, or out wide. Power, on the other hand, is about generating maximum speed without sacrificing control. The following drills are designed to help you improve both elements by focusing on mechanics, consistency, and explosive strength.
Target practice is one of the most straightforward ways to build accuracy. Place cones, hula hoops, or towels in the service boxes and try to hit them with your serve. Aim for specific zones repeatedly, starting at a moderate pace and increasing your intensity as your accuracy improves. This drill helps develop muscle memory and sharpens your ability to control direction and placement.
Shadow serving is excellent for reinforcing muscle memory and proper technique. Stand at the baseline and practice your serving motion without hitting the ball. Focus on your toss, shoulder rotation, knee bend, and follow-through. Perform several reps slowly and then increase the speed to simulate match conditions. Shadow serving helps fine-tune mechanics, which translates to both accuracy and power.
The towel drill is useful for improving your toss and shoulder rotation. Roll up a towel and practice your serve motion while holding it instead of a racket. The towel allows you to feel the whipping motion that generates racket head speed. You’ll also become more aware of body positioning, which contributes to accuracy.
Service box footwork drills help with positioning and balance. Set up markers around the baseline and side lines, then move between them as if preparing to serve. The focus is on staying balanced and explosive with your footwork, ensuring that you’re always starting your serve from a strong, stable stance. This leads to better weight transfer and power generation.
Use resistance bands to build shoulder and core strength. Loop a band around a pole or anchor point and practice the serving motion against the resistance. This strengthens the muscles involved in the kinetic chain of your serve, improving speed and reducing the risk of injury. Stronger muscles create more explosive power when you release the ball.
Medicine ball throws mimic the explosive upward motion of a serve. Stand in a serve-like stance, hold a medicine ball, and toss it upward with full-body engagement. This drill develops core and shoulder power while training your body to work in unison—essential for a fast and accurate serve.
The second serve drill focuses on control under pressure. Use your second serve technique to target specific areas of the service box. Try to maintain spin and consistency. A good second serve should have enough spin to clear the net comfortably while landing deep in the box. Practicing this regularly boosts confidence and accuracy.
Racket-head speed drills help develop velocity. Stand at the baseline and focus on snapping your wrist at the point of contact. You can practice this by hitting the ball without worrying about placement, concentrating solely on increasing racket speed. Once that’s consistent, combine it with targeting drills to blend speed with accuracy.
The serve and split-step drill integrates the serve into gameplay. After hitting your serve, immediately perform a split-step as if preparing for a return. This keeps you mentally engaged and teaches you how to transition from serving to rallying effectively. It also reinforces the importance of balance and recovery, which affect serve consistency.
Filming your serve and analyzing the footage can be a game changer. Use slow motion to evaluate your toss, swing path, and follow-through. Watching yourself allows you to identify mechanical flaws that may be affecting accuracy or power. Use this information to tweak your technique and revisit the drills with a targeted focus.
Consistency and repetition are key to mastering your serve. Incorporating a combination of these drills into your regular practice routine will help you unlock both power and precision. With time, dedication, and focus on technique, your serve can become a reliable weapon that keeps your opponents guessing and gives you a distinct edge on the court.