Flat Serve vs Slice Serve In Tennis - How To Hit Each One PLUS Pronation Drills

The first serve you should be able to hit is the flat serve. I will break it down into easy steps to follow and show you the difference between flat and slice serve.
I've added drills to feel and learn the pronation of your forearm that is key to learning ALL serves!

0:00 Intro
0:50 Flat serve progression
9:44 Slice serve progression
13:37 Pronation Drills

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[coacherikbernard]

i came to the conclusion that this is the best channel to learn and improve as coach or player. I have been missing out. Her and Pat Mouratoglou are amazing coaches.

[robertaugustynowicz]

You have a great toss movement, really something./

[donaldbarber]

My biggest issue is foot work and the jump step needed to meet the ball at impact. FYI I’m a senior trying to improve. Love the videos.

[thomasmedeiros]

Great lesson and breakdown of technique. I like to emphasize that the serve is the only shot that you are allowed to place the ball where you want to hit it. It’s really a placement with a plan. Once you develop the skills to hit various types of serves ( flat, slice, Kick) it’s extremely important to develop the skills to move the placement and hit different zones in the service box. This is where and when the slice is nice. Don’t forget to direct the service into the body. Lots of players love to move to the side but hate to get out of the way when the ball curves into their body. I learned a lot about spin and placement from baseball. Pitchers try to move the ball around the strike zone and make the batter miss by throwing different types of pitches. The strategy is similar in tennis. Flat, slice, kick, out wide, into the body or up, the T and remember to know the score so you can play percentages. Remember what your opponent doesn’t like and use it to your advantage.

[robertocfaguiar]

This is a master class. I have seen so many videos and nothing has worked. I will try that tomorrow. Question, how come Federer can pull it out by having his foot parallel to the end line?

[hackymoomoo]

How do you get your right elbow so high?
Do you force it upward?

[bournejason]

One more question: how do you control the direction to serve down the T vs serve wide? What adjustments should we make? Thanks

[robertocfaguiar]

You forgot to talk about the kick. How does it happen?

[Dulphine]

🤔🤔🙄🙄 why are you holding the raquette at the neck?

[crsantin]

Great lesson, thank you. I’m going to work on this. A proper serve is such a complex process. I’m struggling with my racquet drop and coming up on edge. My toss needs to improve as well, it’s all over the place.

[ql]

Out of all the coaches I've watched here, you're usually the one who explains things in the most easy-to-understand ways to recreational players like me. And that's incredibly helpful, because recreational players don't have the experience, or the innate talent of professional players to grasp complex things quickly.

[victorpelaou]

Congratulations on making great tennis videos, always very clear, to the point and I find them very beneficial, thank you.

[lucianovacanti]

hi Meike, is it possible to control the point of contact of the head of
the racket with the ball by the rotation of the trunk? i mean: less rotation toward
the court for the kick, and more for the flat, with the same arm
pronation. your lessons are great, thank you.

[dedriccarroll]

I don’t understand 12:30. I can visualize the toss at 10, 11, 12, 1, 2… 12:30? Is that straight up like 12:00? Love these Meike

[ivvavav]

Amazing lesson, so well explained and straight to the point! Danke schön!

[mrindecisive]

I have a question...instead of pronating less for the slice serve, wouldn't a slight grip change (and the same amount of pronation as for a flat serve) produce the same effect?

[mirzab]

Thanks a lot.. its been a great explanation .. I was stuck with slice serve couldnt figure out why i coulddnt hit flat anymore.. and all the time i thought i am pronating early and trying to delay it.. what a fool

[niceguy]

On your serve, especially in your loading position, i see your elbow is very low...just raise it a few notches, you will enjoy your serve ....😉

[kiesbett]

hi meike, thank you very much for this brillant video! one question though: i am wondering about the follow through of flat and slice serve. in the very and of the motion of the slice serve, is it the same as on a flat serve? or more like at a topspin serve with the elbow up? (hard to explain, all the best from germany 😅

[lcervantes]

"Rotate the thumb" is a great tip!