Quick Tip: Throw the racquet for a better serve

Toss ball, hit ball. That’s the basics of the serve.

And when players want to ramp up the mph on their delivery, their focus is often on smacking the ball that much harder. However, if you’re looking to juice up your delivery you’d be better served (bad pun intended) to adopt this mindset: Instead of hitting the ball, try to throw your racquet.

The tennis service motion is a throwing motion, only with a racquet instead of a ball. The mechanics closely mirror those of a throwing a baseball or launching a football. Both actions tap into the same biomechanical principles to generate power, accuracy, and efficiency. But instead of letting a ball fly out of your hand, you’re accelerating a racquet.

“The throwing action is 100% identical,” says Rick Macci, who helped develop legendary servers such as Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. “The mechanics are the same. But the problem is most people throw incorrectly.”

At the core of proper serve and ball-throwing motions is the kinetic chain—the sequence of movements that begins in the legs and flows up through the hips, torso, shoulder, arm, and wrist. In both cases, power is not generated solely by the arm—it's a full-body motion, with energy flowing upward and outward.

The most notable difference between the two motions is the release point. Depending on how far you’re intending to throw the ball will often determine how far into the motion you let it out of your hand. The serve would be most comparable to a deep pass in football or an outfielder trying to gun down a baserunner at home plate.

Here are a few reasons why “throwing” the racquet will improve your serve:

Throwing increases fluidity and rhythm.

Ever try to throw a ball with a rigid arm and static lower body? It’s not going very far. To put some zip on the throw, your arm needs to be loose, knees flexed and your weight transferring toward your target. Similarly, serving with a stiff arm and poor body integration yields little power and inconsistent results. Good timing and tempo ensures that all parts of the body work together to amplify force and reduce injury risk.

It encourages shoulder turn and optimal elbow positioning.

Both motions involve external rotation of the shoulder as the arm is drawn back (cocking phase). A key feature is the "L" shape created between the upper arm and forearm just before acceleration. In tennis, this is commonly called the “trophy” position. It’s followed by a rapid internal rotation leading to the release or contact. This action is essential for generating maximum racquet head speed up through impact.

The throwing motion promotes a loose wrist and relaxed follow-through.

A good wrist snap and some forearm pronation are the finishing touches on a powerful serve or throw. It not only adds zip to the delivery, but is pivotal to applying spin and manipulating the placement of the shot. The non-dominant arm also chips in by tucking into the waist to slow the upper body to cause the arm to accelerate before having a full follow-through.

This allows the energy to dissipate naturally and safely and helps maintain balance and recovery. Just remember to hang on to your racquet.