Pretend you were seven feet tall. With your racquet you could reach ten feet in the air. Imagine the serve you would have. When you walked on the court grown men would cringe; little children would run and hide. You would be feared by all.
Now quit daydreaming. Unfortunately, you are not seven feet tall and you have to make the most with what you have. You must take full advantage of your height. Don’t sit down on your serve. Players lose valuable height by hunching over or bending at the hips when as they try to power the serve. First check your serve by using videotape to see whether you are taking advantage of your height. It is suggested that you practice the following drills to check your technique and emphasize the correct motion. First check your service toss. It’s possible that by tossing the ball too low you will limit your reach. Try this drill: toss the ball and touch your back with the racquet before you hit it. If you find the ball has dropped before you can reach up to make contact, you may be need extra height on your toss.
Now check the position of your toss. Many inexperienced players toss the ball so far in front they have to chase it to make contact. By the time they reach the ball it has dropped to the level of their chest. A mighty groan and hefty swat results in nothing more than another fault into the bottom of the net. You should be able to hit your biggest serve from a balanced position. No stepping, jumping, or leaping. For the moment, don’t raise on your front toes. Stay flat-footed. Serve and hold you finish. Try tossing the ball over your forehead and stretch up to hit it. A balanced serve means a coordinated service toss. As you improve your balance you can start adding a little lean forward or jump. The following drill will check your extension at the point of contact. Hit a few serves in slow motion. Make everything rhythmical and fluid. After you get the feel of the slowed down motion, try stopping the racquet head at the point of contact position. Freeze! Check this position. Your arm should be extended to full reach overhead. A straight line is formed from your racquet to your left foot. Keep you chin up throughout the motion. Gradually speed up the serve, driving up and through the ball. Watch the point of contact even after the ball is gone. Think of your service motion as if you were on a stepladder trying to reach as high as you can.