How to hit a spin serve in tennis?

Tips for the top spin tennis serve?

• I am good with the basic serve, and am now learning the top spin serve. Any tips on making sure you have the correct grip or getting good and feeling confident with the serve would be appreciated!

• Answer:

  One challenging drill for a novice is to stand about 3 or 4 feet from to fence, outside the court. From there, toss the ball a little bit behind you and get under it, in order to hit it over the nine or ten foot fence. The closer you stand to the fence, the harder it is. Difficult at first, but once you get the feel of getting under the ball and hitting it with a glancing blow, [7 o'clock to 1 o'clock] you will make good progress. Really good spin serves clear the net by 7 or 8 feet, maybe more. Not many players can do this, however. Use the same Continental / Eastern backhand grip as your regular service grip. You don't want to telegraph your intentions to hit a spin serve before you even start your service motion. Confidence comes with success, and success requires confidence. If we add in dedicated work over time and good teaching/coaching, then hopefully, the player will get some success with it. Some players work so hard that they have to be told to go home in the evening, some will work only so much and then stop, still others refuse to work at all :-) Sportsmanship might not be #1, but it's way ahead of whatever is in 2nd place :-) Best of luck, hope you have some fun with it as you struggle to become the best player you can be :-)