The tennis serve is the opening gun of tennis. The purpose of the serve is to put the tennis ball into play and having a consistent serve can really help to increase the chances of you winning your match. There is a well known tennis saying to the effect that one fault is a mistake, but two faults are a crime that sums up the idea of the serve.

Your opponent will be half expecting your first serve to be a fault, so by putting your first serve into play will catch them off guard. It will also conserve your energy as it will stop you needing to have a second serve, which in a long five set match could mean the difference between victory and defeat. A serve not only must it go into court, but it must be sufficiently speedy that the receiver does not have an opportunity of an easy kill. It must also be placed so as to allow the server an advantage for his next return, admitting the receiver puts the ball in play.

Let go over some basic points you should remember about your serve:
1. Stand sideways on to the net.
2. Throw the ball into the air so that it hangs nicely in the area where you want to contact the ball.
3. The throw up is also called the placement coz that s what it should really be. Even just practicing throwing the ball consistently in the air without using the racquet is a great tennis tip.
4. Try to contact the ball in the middle of your throwing action at full stretch, slightly in front of you, and above your hitting shoulder.

One exercise to see where you are making contact with the ball during your service is to line up against a fence and to throw your ball up in the air and then capture the ball against the racquet and the fence so you can see where you are making contact during the serve. Another tip is to get someone to watch your serves as they may be able to spot any problems that you are not aware you are doing.

Your serve should be fast, but speed is not the be all and end all. As explained earlier the serve must be accurate but it also has to be accurate, reliable and varied, to keep your opponent guessing. A perfect serve should be 40 per cent placement, 40 per cent speed and 20 percent twist.

There are 3 types of serve you should be aiming for the Flat Serve, the Topspin Serve and the Slice Serve. The Flat Serve produces a flat trajectory with a minimum of spin, while the Topspin serve has a high arc and bounce and the Slice Serve generates both side and topspin and is a very good serve to learn.

Having a consistent tennis service can help you improve your tennis game in leaps and bounds. To improve your serve you really need to spend the time practising, after all practice makes perfect. So spend the time improving and practicing your serve and start winning more games.