Students, from beginners to world-ranked players, struggle with the toss on the serve—a poor toss is arguably the most common malady in the game. In fact, most of the advice for fixing a problematic serve comes down to, “Practice the toss.”
The nature of the word “toss” can sometimes be part of the problem. Tossing is not usually associated with a smooth and controlled action. You toss a football or basketball, and use your arm, wrist and elbow to do it. But when we ask a student to toss a tennis ball, what we are really asking him to do is “place” the ball. There is no “toss.”
“Place” the ball more accurately defines what the tossing arm is meant to do. The arm simply lifts and releases the ball when the arm is fully extended. The fingers, wrist and elbow do not move. Just using the word “toss” to describe this motion can lead to excessive movement in one or more of these body parts. This distorts the toss, and can wreck your serve.
So remember, “place” the ball for a better serve.