How To Improve Tennis Serve Power

To improve the power of your tennis serve, think less about generating force, and focus on transmitting force.

Using Power Vs. Gravity In The Tennis Serve

To have a more effective tennis serve, being relaxed and focusing on transmitting force is key.

In the first demonstration, I’m trying to generate my own force - more tense, trying to actively push into the ground to generate power, using tension in the arm to generate power through the swing. This is a waste of energy.

In the second demonstration, I’m just transmitting force, meaning I’m totally relaxed, in a perfect position geometrically to use the dance of forces through me. Being relaxed, with the right timing and rhythm, you fall forward, reposition, apply my bodyweight via gravity.

In the first one, all I’m doing is muscling the serve. The second one, I’m using gravity for power in conjunction with the other forces. The second is clearly more efficient and delivers much more power and speed than the first.

Strength And Conditioning For Tennis

When trying to work on anything explosive for tennis strength and conditioning, it really comes down to efficiently loading and releasing of energy, like a whip.

You want to stay away from muscle-dominant movements that actually make you less able to transmit power in an efficient way (contrary to what almost 100% of strength and conditioning coaches will tell you). Movements like bench press and deadlifts will build up a certain type of strength, but it isn’t the type of strength you need if you are a dynamic athlete and need to perform explosively.

Here’s a drill you can use to train explosiveness using a medicine ball.

The Truth About Increasing Explosiveness (VIDEO)