Role of the Back Leg on the Tennis Serve

The primary role of the back leg on the tennis serve is rhythm. It is also important for balance purposes in the trophy phase of the serve.

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[NStewF]

This is without a doubt the best discussion EVER on the timing of the toss!!! I’ve been releasing while shifting my weight backwards with inconsistent tosses and serves— having to rush to catch up to hit the ball.
Today I tried waiting to release the ball once my weight began shifting forward and the increase in ease of power was unreal. Thank you Coach Nick for providing excellent content that no one else does!

[kevinchang]

oh. my. god. I've been driving primarily with my back leg this whole time and thought it was correct...I serve pinpoint and I brought my right leg up to the left and had my weight on my left leg to do it...but then I realize now that I've been shifting the weight back to the right foot when I completed my step forward (killing all my forward momentum) and then driving from there with my back leg. The thing is, I've always been pretty happy with my serve...but I just made a few practice serves and I'm getting similar effect with far less effort this way. Thank you!
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I want to emphasize that my serve was still satisfyingly powerful before, but I had to put a lot of effort into it. It just goes to show that sometimes improvement isn't about getting a better effect, but about creating the same effect more efficiently.

[kostisv]

Tried this today on my match! It gave my serve great rythm and effortless power. Thank you Intuitive Tennis!

[ripleypipe]

Nick, at last clarity regarding this phase of the serve, thank you.

[antoniobriciomoreno]

The best tennis tutorials channel in YouTube.
Free profesional tennis lessons.
Tks for share Nikola

[dmitryprivate]

One thing I take from your video is the importance of tossing the ball ONLY inside the court. I agree that tossing outside is a sure way to mess up. Especially on the second serve I need to always toss inside (which I have not done consistently :(
Thank you for the video, Nikola!

[armandgallanosa]

The most useful tennis site, bar none, on YouTube. Thank you every day for priceless information you post!!

[Silverhands]

This video is platinum. As platinum is rarer and soon to be more expensive than gold.

[joepalumbo]

Personally this was amazingly timely ... just this week I was trying to change my motion to place and *leave* my weight on the back foot thinking that was a correction I needed ... and was discouraged because I couldn't get beyond the total awkwardness that resulted ... rhythm was destroyed ... this video is an enormous relief!

[jawsjawsjawsjaws]

PURE GOLD
Thanks Nick, this is the exact information I needed. Amazing that you just made this video as I was just thinking about these concepts!

[hi_vince]

By far the best tennis instruction on this topic on youtube!
My leg problems (loading too much on back foot + shot push type motion + back knee bending away from court) are all addressed directly here, and it's clear that it's very connected to my bad toss (not tossing forward enough). Thanks Nick!

[dctrex]

Thank you for explaining something I have had questions on for years! Very subtle points that I've never heard effective explain before

[fehadrashid]

I really want to meet you and thankyou in person.
I live one the worst corners of the world where a tennis court was built just 5 years back.. if it weren't for you i would have been still struggling to play, or more probably given up on it and hated the game..
Thankyou Nick..
You really are the best teacher/ coach / instructor out there on the youtube..
The best part is you explain the mistakes so well.
I keep waiting for your videos.
All the best..

[connorbevins]

Thank you for making these videos! Your videos have helped me so much to improve my tennis game and my knowledge of the game!

[adma]

Hi Nikola, I disagree with you on this one. If you watch Roger Federer flat serve videos you can see that initially his main driver is the right leg, then the left leg takes over. This movement is not as evident, or it is not happening in slice serves or topspin serves . This is the reason for which Roger is tossing the ball very little into the court on flat serves.

As you also explain, the weight has to be on right foot, with some commenting that a ratio of 60-70% weight on right/back foot and 40-30% on left/front foot. How can you push that 60-70% of body weight into the ball, if not pushing first on right/back foot? Why is the right foot first off the ground, if right foot does not push first? Why is the left foot still touching the ground and still pushing for a little awhile? It is because the left foot takes over after the right foot does the first thrust. And then the right/back foot kicks back to counter balance the serving arm movement toward the left side of the body. These comments are mostly about the flat serve. In slice and topspin serves, the contribution of "right/back foot pushing first" is very much diminished, since one no longer puts flat/direct body weight into the ball.

You probably have a very effective serve, however it seems that there is a disconnect between your lower body and upper body. Most likely your flat serve power comes from other power sources (strong upper body, pronation, etc), not from leg drive. This disconnect could be an advantage when serving slice and topspin serves. Cheers

[miketang]

Great explanation. Help understanding the whole body mechanics of the toss and the trophy position relationship.
👍🎾🙏

[KRN]

Absolutely one of the best serve videos on YouTube.

[baba]

Another helpful tip from this channel. I learn so much from it

[wasabiattack]

Thank you so much for clearing this up. I was so confused whether the toss should happen with the weight shift from back to front or front to back.

[SummitSeeker]

I’ve played tennis for over 50 years. The motion Sampras, McEnroe, Federer use is right. Frankly the key is tossing the ball 6-10 inches in front of the baseline and roughly 4-6 inches to the right of your front foot drawing your weight forward. The other key component is a loose grip. In high school we practiced just the toss frequently. Making sure it hits that spot 6-10in I front and 4-6in to the right. That’s key! I’m 61 years old and still have a formidable serve. Frankly my second serve is more of a weapon because of the kick. The returner can only slice it back.