My first coach, Blackie Jones, taught me about tennis and a lot more.

So many, many years ago (45 to be exact), I sat in the shade and watched Blackie Jones give lessons at Acalanes High School. All lessons were punctuated by difficult questions, so he could measure the student’s understanding. At times, when the student was stumped, he would toss the question to me (as I was stealing his lessons from off court) and as I progressed to understand more of his questions and more of his system, I became first a player and then a teacher.

So to paraphrase, Blackie would ask, “There are two parts to the tennis serve, they are the service toss and the swing. And if that is so, do you think it is better to swing at the toss or toss at the swing?” Actually a good question, and though perhaps either answer might be justified, Blackie had quite a compelling demonstration.

But before the answer, let me back track. The serve appears to encourage greater variability in style than any other tennis stroke. Forehands are forehands, more or less; the same is true of backhands. But watch the players on adjacent courts when you are playing and you will truly see a bewildering array of service styles - high tosses, low tosses, short cramped swings, long loose swings, and others, many too frightening to mention. And the there are the grips, ranging from semi western to eastern backhand and every imaginable variable in between. Spin serves, flat serves, pushed serves, whipped deliveries. And it may be true that there are many ways to hit that ball, and by extension, many ways to hit that serve. But what are the qualities that define a graceful serve? What is it that makes some of these serves stand out more than others? What is it that you and I might tinker with if we are intent on improving our own service delivery?

Blackie felt it was about rhythm and a fluid swing. He himself served with a continuous motion, identified with a relatively low toss that seemed to linger in the hitting zone. And when the student answered, generally the response was to “swing at the toss,” Blackie (to cleverly prove his point) would start serving with his eyes closed. And then explain, “If you know where your service contact is, and how the rhythm of a swing feels without a toss, then go and duplicate that swing with a ball, but without looking.” If in fact you have “tossed the ball in the way of the swing” you will be surprised at the result. If, on the other hand, your toss is way above the contact zone, or way off to the left or right, it is impossible to serve without looking, and in this instance one is certainly “swinging at the toss.”

A simple Drill

So here is a drill to practice next time you're on the court. Initially, warm up your service motion, but without releasing the toss. And much like a martial arts practitioner, repeat this motion again and again and again. Pay special attention to your balance, your rhythm, and where the racquet “swishes” as it whistles through the air. (And make no mistake about it, the racquet should swish, but more to the point, the swish should be above you and more or less in the contact zone.

Interestingly, many players practicing the serve without a toss will inadvertently place the swish rather low and in front, indicating that greatest racquet speed was achieved well after the “imaginary” contact). Once you have located this “swish spot,” continue the service motion without the toss, but now keep your eyes up looking at this spot as the racquet swishes.

So far, so good. Now the fun begins. Take two balls, walk up to the line, and try the following. There will be four consecutive swings but only two hits. First swing again the entire motion but without the toss. Second swing the entire motion but with the toss and the hit. Did they feel the same? Third swing again without the toss and fourth swing with the toss and the hit. If the toss was too high or outside of this “spot” the second and fourth swings will feel entirely different than the first and third. .

If you are tossing into the swing, the motion and rhythm will be similar, if you are swinging at the toss the two versions will feel like night and day. So, which method do you want to emulate?

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