The ball toss.
A deceptively simple description of a movement that is part of the overhead serve – sometimes overlooked and quite often, a source of major frustration – that is as important as any in the execution of a reliable and good serve. In other words, the quality of your serve depends very much on the quality of your toss.
A good toss helps you to hit the intended spots in the service box as well as optimise your serve motion. A bad toss, on the other hand, not only kills serve rhythm, but also negatively affects your confidence, increases the risk of potential injury (i.e. hitting the ball at awkward positions), and stunting your serving potential (power, consistency, spin, etc). So, what comprises a good toss? Three characteristics, namely:
1. Consistent placement of the intended hitting zone
2. No spin on the ball
3. Good height to maximise the reach of contact
The first characteristic refers to the exact target in which you would like to hit the ball when it is air-bound. A good toss would allow you to do that consistently and reliably with little to no variation each time you toss the ball up.
The second refers to the quality of the ball toss. Spin is not desirable in the toss (i.e. back spin – often caused by the rolling of the fingers to toss the ball) as we want the ball to be as still and neutral as possible at the point of contact to allow maximum control of the serve outcome (whether it be a “kick”, flat or slice serve) – spin gets in the way of that.
A good height allows one the space, time and freedom to freely complete the full service motion before ball contact. As each service motion varies from individual to individual, the height of the ball toss would also differ, but it is important to be able to toss the ball high enough to broaden your options.
Below are five step-by-step exercises to master a good ball toss:
Step 1: Know your Ball Positioning and the Finger Spread Motion
Hold the ball in the space between your fingers and your palm. You may want to bend your wrist slightly to increase stability in your ball toss. Next, toss the ball slightly up and spread your fingers out as you toss (see gif above). A common mistake is to roll the ball up as you toss which creates unnecessary spin to the ball. Do this for about 20-30 repetitions until you are comfortable with the ball placement on your palm and the finger spread motion.
Step 2: Master the Arm-Toss Motion – Without the Ball
The next progression is to practice what I deem as the “arm-toss” motion – but firstly without the ball. Position yourself in the serve stance and toss up the imaginary ball in your palm up in the air with your whole arm in the (diagonal) direction of your front foot. Note that your whole arm must be straightened (but not tense) and you must begin the “arm-toss” from the very bottom (i.e. from your thigh area) extending all the way up to form a 180 degree angle. Be sure to feel the weight of your whole arm, and that your others body parts should stay still for this exercise as we want to build on arm independence. Do this for 10-20 repetitions.
Step 3: Master the Arm-Toss Motion – With the Ball
A key to a good and consistent arm toss is feeling the weight of your arm (and ball) while tossing the ball up. Therefore before trying to arm-toss with a tennis ball, I recommend using a weighted ball (mine is 200g) first. The feeling of “heaviness” on your arm and palm aids in relaxing your arm as you succumb to the weight of the ball which in turn stabilises your ball toss.
Repeat the same exercise as step 2 but this time tossing the weighted ball up and catching it at the top of your arm-toss motion (to ensure that you are able to toss the ball up high enough for you to reach out on your serve). Remember to position the ball correctly in your palm and spreading your fingers out as you toss (roughly at eye level) and with minimal spin. Aim for 10-20 repetitions, after which you may repeat the set of 10-20 repetitions but this time with a tennis ball:
Step 4: Locate Your Contact Point
Locating your contact point helps you to determine the intended hitting zone and thus providing your toss a sense of direction so that you may contact the ball in that optimum place when you serve. To do this, grab your racket and shadow swing to your strike zone – this will help determine the direction of your ball toss.
Step 5: Incorporate the Ball Toss to Your Serve
Lastly, add the ball toss to your whole serve, initially without hitting the ball to allow you to find the right ball positioning while tossing. Go through your whole serve motion and stopping just short of the trophy position to pay attention to where your ball position is (left gif above). Experiment, adjust and once comfortable, you may then proceed to execute the whole serve (right gif above).
So there you have it, the five steps in mastering the ball toss – serve away!
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