Being able to toss the ball into the correct location for the type of serve you intend to hit is often a difficult skill to acquire. Here are some suggestions and recommendations that may help you understand the mechanics of the toss, as well as where the toss should be placed.

 When you toss a ball during your service motion, you’re “tossing it”, not throwing it.  Try this exercise, take a ball and place it in the palm of your dominate hand. Slightly cup your hand to prevent the ball from rolling out of it. Now, fully extend your arm in front of you with the ball still in the palm of your hand. Raise you arm quickly and the ball should leave your hand in a straight line and come back down to land in your hand. Think of the toss as an application of the laws of physics. A force (the elevation of your arm) against an object (ball) will cause the object to move in a straight line until gravity sets in reverse the ball’s direction. The faster you elevate your arm, the higher the ball will go. To determine where a toss should be directed fully extend your arm with your racquet in your hand so that your arm is just to the right (right hand player) and a few inches in front of your ear. Practice tossing the ball into this location. Make sure that you toss the ball to a spot higher than you can reach with the racquet so that you can compensate for the effects of gravity on the ball as you complete your motion. Your goal is to have the ball located at the center of your racquet on contact.