Slice Serve vs Kick Serve In Tennis – How and When To Hit Each One

In tennis, the serve is the number one shot you must work on and master. It’s the shot that starts every point in tennis matches. If you have a powerful first serve, but an unreliable second serve, you’ll struggle to hold your service games. For the second serve, it’s best to use either a slice serve or a kick serve in tennis. The spin will give you margin, helping you clear the net and getting the ball to dip in the service boxes.

The Slice Serve In Tennis

Hitting a good slice serve will give you many options when you’re serving. On the deuce side, for right-handers, it will allow you to hit short angled serves that take the opponent off the court. You can also slice the serve into a player’s body. On the advantage side, you can slice it down the T, curving the ball away from the opponent.

How To Hit A Slice Serve In Tennis

Here are three tips to focus on when hitting the slice serve:

1. Focus on hitting the ball around 1-2 o’clock. This means the top, right-hand side of the ball.
2. Uncoil the body so you’re front on when you make contact. Imagine throwing the right shoulder into the ball.
3. Initiate the uncoiling motion using your tossing hand (left hand). After you release the ball, point the left hand towards your target, the ball. Hold that position until you’re ready to fire. Pull the left arm down and away from the contact point, the faster you pull the arm, the faster you will open up the body.

How To Hit A Kick Serve In Tennis

Here are three tips to focus on when hitting the kick serve in tennis:

1. Brush up and across the ball, going from 7-1 o’clock on the flat ball face. As you improve the kick serve and want to increase the side spin, focus on going from 8-2 on the ball.
2. Stay side on with your body, focus on keeping the shoulders side on to the net, and really crunch the left side of your body.
3. Let the ball drop low enough so that you’re able to brush up on the ball and use the extension as you make contact. If you make contact at the highest point, you will be unable to brush up the ball.

Slice Serve vs Kick Serve in Tennis – Ball Toss

For the slice serve, focus on tossing the ball more to your right. This will allow you to carve the outside of the ball, helping you produce the sidespin. For the kick serve, focus on tossing the ball more to your left and slightly behind your head. This will allow you to brush the ball from the bottom left-hand side to the top right-hand side. Video Timeline: 00:00​ – Slice Serve vs Kick Serve In Tennis Intro 00:51​ – The Slice Serve In Tennis 1:43​ – The Kick Serve In Tennis 2:16​ – How To Hit A Slice Serve In Tennis 5:10​ – How To Hit A Kick Serve In Tennis 12:18​ – Slice Serve vs Kick Serve Ball Toss On Serve 14:48​ – When To Use The Slice Serve In Tennis 16:22​ – When To Use The Kick Serve In Tennis