A tennis slice serve is an effective way to start a tennis point because it is very difficult for your opponent to judge where the tennis ball will bounce. The key point of this tennis strategy is that you can produce extreme angles with little effort. However, before learning how to hit a slice serve in tennis, first learn the proper grip on the tennis racquet.
Related Article: Best Tennis Racket For Slice
The tennis slice serve is a stroke in which a tennis player hits a tennis ball with an angled racket so that the tennis ball falls rapidly and to the opponent’s left. Commonly used in tennis, this is one of the most effective tennis strategies for beginners and intermediate tennis players because it allows you to force your opponent off the court with extreme angles; however, edge shots are extremely difficult to master.
The tennis serve is when the tennis player hits the tennis ball over the net on a diagonal line so that it bounces unpredictably on the opposite tennis court. This tennis strategy, if done correctly and with proper form, can be very difficult for an opponent to return due to the tennis ball’s unpredictable bounce pattern on the opposing tennis court.
How to hit a slice serve in tennis video:
How to hit a slice serve?
When hitting a tennis slice, hold your tennis racquet with the larger head pointing downwards. Grip the tennis racquet so that your knuckles are closest to the tennis racquet. The grip of your tennis racquet should be closer to 15 inches, but it depends on how large or small you are. Lastly, angle your tennis racquet to about 75 degrees.
Mastering tennis slice serves:
- Grip your tennis racquet as described above.
- Take a tennis ball in your dominant hand and situate it on the strings of your tennis racquet. This tennis strategy is similar to how you would hold a baseball bat.
- Position yourself so that your dominant eye is over the tennis ball and aim at where you want the tennis ball to bounce on the other tennis court. To ensure you do not slice the tennis ball too much, aim for a tennis court line.
- Swing your tennis racquet straight down and swing it back up so that the tennis racquet makes contact with the tennis ball on its downward descent. This is called “follow-through.”
- Repeat this tennis strategy as you run to where you want the tennis ball to go.
Tennis Slice Serve Tips:
- You can hit tennis slice serves from both the deuce and ad court.
- Use this tennis strategy to make your opponent run but also use it to move your tennis opponent around so that they do not get a clear return on the tennis ball.
- Keep the tennis racquet head low to the ground and slice under the tennis ball. This tennis strategy will make the tennis ball fall quickly and to your opponent’s left, which makes it difficult for them to return.
- If you want to hit a tennis slice serve with more power, instead of returning your tennis racquet up through the tennis ball like in Steps 4 and 5 above, bring your tennis racquet back behind your tennis body and hit the tennis slice serve in a tennis forehand stance.
- Practice tennis slices serves so that you can get better at them. It takes time to master tennis strategies like this one.
- If the tennis ball bounces too far away from your tennis opponent, try hitting it harder so that it doesn’t bounce very high after impact with the tennis court.
- When hitting a tennis slice serves, the tennis ball will bounce lower and closer to your tennis opponent’s baseline. To compensate for this, run forward so that you can get to where the tennis ball is expected to land.
Federer’s Slice Serve:
One of tennis’ best players, Roger Federer, relies on tennis slice serves. His tennis serve is a tennis forehand tennis strategy dubbed the “fearhand” because it keeps opponents from being able to predict where he will hit the tennis ball.
Federer’s tennis serve works in a similar way to a baseball pitcher who throws a tennis ball to a tennis batter.
