Kick Serve

Advancedserve

Toss the ball behind your head, weight shifting back.

Toss behind your head, arch your back, then brush up the ball to create heavy topspin that kicks high on the bounce.

Key points

•Toss behind and slightly left (for right-handers)
•Deep back arch — loading the body like a bow
•Brush up and over the ball — 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock
•Snap the wrist sharply upward at contact

Practice with Coach Elena

Camera setup tips

· Place the camera side-on to you, 2 to 3 metres away.
· Keep your whole body in frame, head to feet.
· Phone on a tripod or a laptop webcam both work.
· Perform the movement, pause, repeat. Your coach speaks every 15 seconds.

Theory & Technique

The kick serve is the most reliable second serve in professional tennis because its heavy topspin creates a high net clearance and a sharp downward dip into the service box. The toss is placed behind and slightly to the non-hitting side of your head — this forces you to arch your back deeply, storing elastic energy like a drawn bow. From this coiled position, you unload upward and forward, brushing up the back of the ball from roughly 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock (for right-handers). The wrist snaps sharply upward, not forward, generating the RPM that makes the ball kick up and away after the bounce. The follow-through finishes on the same side as the hitting arm rather than across the body.

Fun Fact

Rafael Nadal's kick serve can generate over 4,500 RPM of topspin, causing the ball to bounce above the returner's head. On clay courts, the kick is even more extreme — the ball can bounce over 2 metres high.

Watch the real thing

Learn from real coaches first. Your live scoring compares you to the reference figure above; these videos are for learning, and stay with their creators on YouTube.