| The serve is considered by most tennis experts to be | | | | compulsive sock, hair and pants adjusting routine of |
| the most important shot in the game of tennis. | | | | Rafa Nadal. |
| After all, if you can serve well and hold your serve | | | | Just as no two players have the same forehands and |
| during a match then you cannot lose, or at the very | | | | backhands or indeed service actions, there are also |
| least you will end up in a tie-break situation. | | | | differences between all the players in regard to their |
| It is also the one and only shot in the game that you | | | | physical pre-serve routines even though they all will |
| have total control over. | | | | share some fundamentals such as: |
| Unlike every other shot and situation that occurs during | | | | I. Taking up of a comfortable stance. |
| a tennis match where you are reacting to the shot of | | | | II. Ball bouncing and/or some kind of regulated motion |
| your opponent, the serve is the first shot of every | | | | for rhythm. |
| point and as such gives an opportunity to the server to | | | | III. Visually honing in on the target area. |
| deliver the ball in a manner that totally suits them. | | | | The same can also be said of the mental pre-serve |
| The direction, the pace, the spin etc. is totally at the | | | | preparation, where important elements include: |
| mercy of and is the decision of the server and no one | | | | I. Positive decision making about where to hit the serve. |
| else. | | | | II. Deciding what type of serve to hit. |
| It is for this reason alone that you should make full use | | | | III. Visualisation of the balls flight to the target. |
| of this fact and develop a delivery that can at least | | | | After that it is just a matter of letting go and trusting |
| put you in the driving seat for the point if you don't | | | | yourself. The worst mistake you can make is to try to |
| manage to hit an ace or unreturnable delivery. | | | | push or guide the ball to the target. |
| The big thing that most players overlook is the fact | | | | So, try to develop a pre-serve routine for yourself that |
| that just as the physical actions that make up the | | | | you are comfortable with that fits in with your |
| serve itself need to be practised, so do the physical | | | | personality, learning type and game style. This will help |
| and mental elements that surround the preparation of | | | | it to become more natural and therefore reproducible |
| the shot in order to maximise it's effectiveness. | | | | in stressful situations. |
| This means the development of a physical and mental | | | | Practise it every time you serve (even when you are |
| pre-shot routine to help you reproduce the best serve | | | | just practising), so that it becomes automatic and this |
| you can again and again and again and again. | | | | will ensure that when you need it most, your serve will |
| All of the top players use pre-serve routines before | | | | be the one thing you can count on for success. |
| every serve. This ranges from the very simple ball | | | | Make it count - remember this shot is 100% down to |
| bouncing of Roger Federer to the complex almost | | | | you! |