Will Hamilton: The second step of the serve is the toss. Now, I mentioned it in the stance video that you want to hold the tennis ball in your fingers and not in your palm. Hold the ball in your fingers because that's going to make it easier for you to control the ball when you toss it. What you're looking for when you toss the ball is no spin on the tennis ball. Ball shouldn't be spinning and the easiest way to get no spin is to hold the ball in your fingers and simply open your hand up when you release the ball. You want to make sure you're rolling of your hands because then it becomes more difficult to control.
Now, how exactly do you toss the ball? Well, behind me here, I'm in my stance. To start the toss, my arm is going to come down and then rise straight up, my arms is going to be pretty straight when it's coming straight, there might be a slight bend my elbow, but it looks pretty straight and then I release ball at about the top of my head. Again, just by opening my hand up and then my tossing arm continue to rise until its pointed straight up in the air after I release the ball, that's another key make sure you arm continues to rise after you release the ball.
Now, the other question is how high do you want to toss the ball? Where you want to put it about one to two feet over you contact point because that's going to give you enough time to execute the rest of your motion while the ball is in the air. So, behind me here from the side perspective, I'm going to toss the ball and will put a line in my contact point and you can see the tennis ball is traveling one to two feet over that line, so that I've enough time to execute my motion and get to my contact point comfortably.
Now, where exactly do you want to put the toss? Well, for a first serve or a flat serve you want to toss the ball, so that it's approximately above you're hitting on shoulder. So if you right it's going to be above your right shoulder and a little bit out in front of your body. Behind me here, we've got Frank hitting a flat serve of a first serve and its worth noting that he is hitting to the add court. He tosses the ball, so that once he gets through his motion and gets to contact, which is right here. The tennis ball and his contact point is, just about above his hitting on shoulder, his right shoulder since he is a right and it's a little bit out in front of his body.
Let's look at some pictures of a couple pros tossing the tennis ball. We'll start with Serena Williams, and this picture is up for -- right after she's released the tennis ball, she's tossed it about top of her head just by opening up her. In this next picture here, she is making contact with the tennis ball and she is placed the toss, so that she can hit it when the ball is out in front of her body a little bit and over hitting arm her right shoulder. Now let's get in the FYB time machine check out John McEnroe, his first picture here, he is tossing the tennis ball, again this is right after his leg over the ball at about the top of his head. Now we'll look at a picture of him having continue to extend his arm after he's tossed it, so his arm is now extend to straight up his tossing arm. Finally, we go to contact, again he's placed the toss so that he can make contact with it out in front of his body and over his hitting arm shoulder, which is his left shoulder, since he is left handed.
Let's recap the toss by looking at Oliver Akli serve from a three-quarter perspective. Here is Oliver in his stance, he is holding the tennis ball in his fingers. To start the toss motion, his tossing arm drops down slightly, his arm is pretty straight, and then it rises up, he releases the ball about the top of his head; after he releases the ball, his tossing arm continues to extend until it's pointed straight up. Now Oliver has placed the toss, so he can play it forward, he is able to make contact with the tennis ball a little bit out in front of his body and over his right shoulder, since he is a right over his hitting arm shoulder.
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