I watch professional tennis players bring the tennis racquet up and behind their back and then swing. I find this particulary difficult when I serve especially when I am trying to serve the ball to the left side when I am standing on the right side.
208354
Make sure your feet are pointing in the right direction first of all... keep your shoulders pointing towards where you want to serve it.  Then you have to make sure your serving grip is right, otherwise you will just push the ball over.  Once you figure that out, count off two slow counts (1....2....)and at 2 you should be at the top of your swing going on your way down behind your head.  On 3 you should have already started to swing up from behind your head.  Pronate your wrist at the top of your swing, and follow through over the front of your body.  Also a lot of practice on the ball toss is always usefull.  You can figure out different types of spins and change the speed depending a lot on the toss, and how you follow through.
477826
As everyone else has said, it is a fairly new addition to the game. It had been used at a few smaller tournaments in the past and the US open was the first grand slam to use it. It will take a while for the players and chairmen to get used to it before it is used in every tournament. It kinda goes along the lines with on-court coaching between sets. That was also used in a few warm-up tournaments before the US Open. These two additions to the game are to bring more excitement for the audience at tennis matches. Eventually, if everything goes as planned and there are no objections by the players, both of these will fully expressed into the Pro Tennis circuit.
588193
Just talk about tennis. Watch a match on TV or something and then ask someone is they saw that match. If they say no, fill them in. Also, if you've seen these people play and you wonder how they do a certain thing ask and praise them. Everyone loves praise!! And if worst comes to worst and they all shut you out, make sure you beat them when you play them!
617562
When I do volleyball clinics covering serving, I spend as much as 30 minutes discussing the mental approach and the mechanics of serving.  In this format it is difficult to cover much more than just the basics of it.  Most people learn best from having someone tell them how to do it and then show them how to do it - you should look in your area for any camps you can go to.  I know in my area there are a couple of high schools that have offered camps, I will be doing one out of the YMCA where I coach and the local universities offer camps.\n\nJust some tips\n1.  It is easier and therefore more comfortable to hit the ball closer to your body (letting it drop lower before swinging at it).  One of the biggest mistakes I see is players doing that so that they are at least making contact with the ball.  Don't fall into that trap.  Make contact up and away from your body - you may miss completely a few times as you get your timing down.  So what, it will pay off in the end.\n2. Make sure you are swinging at the ball.  I see a lot of players that are developing an overhand serve, drop their elbow and swing with a "shot put" motion.  During your swing, your elbow should never drop below your shoulder.\n3. All of your movement should be forward through the ball towards your target.  Imagine a narrow box in front of you that you have to pass through.  The biggest mistake I see players make is stepping sideways and swinging at the ball with their shoulders and hips square to the net.You should be turning your waist through your swing  - 50% of your power comes from that motion.  When you step out, you are robbing yourself of that power.\n\nThe thing I try to remind my players is serving is about confidence and mechanics.  I have a girl that plays for me who is about 4'11" to 5' tall and has a very slight build - she is able generate incredible power when she hits the ball.  She has an incredibly consistent and strong serve and in our last season she was in the top 3 or 4 on the team in serves even though she was the smallest player.  She is very confident and she has awesome mechanics.\n\nUse your mind to practice.  Visualize yourself serving.  You should see yourself serving using perfect mechanics and being successful with each serve.  You should do at least 20 "mental serves" a day.\n\nGood luck
573645
This is an easy trick to add power to your serve: start with your feet.\n\nInstead of trying to *arm* it over, use the momentuem of your entire body. Even if you are a biddy 90 lbs, if you use not just your arm, but all 90 lbs., you'll send the ball flying.\n\nHere how...\n\nBefore you toss the ball to serve, if you are a righty, start with you left front in front of you, and most of your weight on your back foot, which will be, of course, your right foot. (Unless you are a three footed freak, in which case this technique will not work.) If you are a lefty, of course, vice-versa.\n\nAfter you toss the ball, and you start to strike it, you should simultaneously push-off your back (right) foot, and "step through" your serve. If you step through your serve, you will get the momentum of your entire body behind the serve. After you contact the ball, and follow-through, you should continue with the step and finish with your right foot in front of your left. (If you are a lefty, of course, vice-versa.)\n\nThis push off of your back foot, will force your hips to rotate, which will force your shoulders to rotate, which will force your arm to pronate. It is a bio-mechanical chain reaction.\n\nThis motion is exactly how a tennis player servers, and how a baseball pitcher pitchers. Baseball players will tell you: good pitchers use their legs. Visualize a pitcher's wind-up. Basically, he is starting with his weight on his right foot, and "stepping through" the pitch. In volleyball, you do not need such an over-emphasized wind-up, but the concept is the same.\n\nFeel free to follow-up if you have any more questions.
619286
When using a forehand for topspin get above the ball a little more and angle your raquet slightly downward, swipe towards the net in a slightly down ward angle (think shoulder of your raquet hand to elbow of your free hand). Don't over angle your raquet or you could send the ball strait into the net. The key is getting above the ball just right, it will take some practice.\n        \nFor backspin reverse the effect, get under the ball a little more and angle the raquet upward, this time you may want to change your swipe from shoulder to elbow to elbow to shoulder.\n\n   Backhand is basically the same thing but with two hands. The only difference is you need to catch the ball with a sort of arch swing, this will increase your chances of nailing the ball into the opposite front box.\n\n    This takes practice, but keep trying, and don't lose hope if it doesn't work for you at first. Every player is slightly different when it comes to creating the right amout of spin in any direction. In good time, your opponent won't know what hit them. Good luck, and keep on playing!!!
115311
I can sympathize. I am 5'6" and had a great serve. I've played in various leagues and over 11 years (about 60 leagues) won about ten championships with a teammate who was only 5'2". Don't be discouraged, there are plenty of places to play. One of my regrets was that I rediscovered the game at 33 yrs old. What you may have to do is play pick up games at a gym first, find where the leagues are and put a team together with the people you like at the gym. If you are ever a captain of a team, only pick people you like playing with.
278663
For a one-handed backhand:\n1. Keep your hips parallel to the long side of the court during the entire swing. In other words, don't twist your hips. \n2. Follow through with the racquet. \n3. Watch Roger Federer! His one-hander is the best. \nFor a two-handed backhand:\n1. Make sure your arms are extended during the swing. \n2. Hit a two-hander like you would a forehand with your non-dominant arm. So, if you're a righty, work on your lefty forehand and when you put your right hand on there, let your left hand do the most work. \n3. Start the stroke with your hips parallel to the long side of the court, but unlike the one-hander, twist your hips during the stroke. \n4. Follow through with both hands on your racquet. \n\nIf all else fails, watch the pros!
132414
Hi there,\n\nI've included two links.  One that has a 'raquet selector' tool on it, plus some good articles on how to find the right racquet.  Personnally, I always tell people to look for 2 things - good grip size (remembering that you can increase the grip size, but can't decrese it) and racquet weight - too heavy will slow you down, too light will cause you to swing to early.  Ideally the best way to determine the right one is to use it on the court and try it out.\n\nCheers,\nMatt
625037
Without having seen you play, it's a bit hard to suggest. Obviously you'll want to play to your strengths. Also, try a variety of shots in warm-up to see how he responds. I usually hit very heavy topspin...but if my opponent can't handle low slices as well then I'll hit those all day. \n\nA few things to check:\n\n1. Footwork. This is the first thing I ever watch. I'm sorry, you can hit like a cannon but I'm gonna pound winners on you all day if your feet are cemented down. If he doesn't move (and some people will disagree with me on this) then I suggest a few deep topsin balls and then a dropshot if you can do it. Basically, make him run!!! And on that note, make sure you are moving. Solid footwork can save you when you're tired. The more tired you are, the better your footwork has to be!!!\n\n2. Stroke. Of course you'll want to check which side is weaker for them.\n\n2.Serve. You'll want to decide how far back or forward to stand. If has has a very fast serve and you need time, then move back. If it's somewhat slow or has a huge kick, catch the ball early. But you always want to be moving into it on the return.\n\n2. Rally ability. Obviously if he can't hit more then 2 balls back in a row, you don't need to do anything fancy. You should figure this out early.\n\n3. Spin. Figure out how he hits!!! If he slices alot does the ball sit up? Does it skid low? What about topspin? Does he use alot or hit flat? \n\n4. Volley ability. How is he at net? If he's bad, purposely hit some short balls if you can to draw him up. I love playing people who are horrible at net.  A drop volley up close, then an easy topspin ball at their feet.\n\n\nAlso remember to go crosscourt when you can. I'm a big believer in changing the direction of the ball, but sometimes you just can't beat good low error tennis across the middle.\n\nI kinda wrote this in a rush if anyone has any additions or feels I said something wrong, I really won't be offended. Always fun to hear different viewpoints.\n\nHope this helps!
325415
If you use a single handed grip then I guess you just slice it back crosscourt, and make your opponent come over the baseline to get it. (I'm not really the person to ask on that one)\n\nIf however, you are like me and play a double-handed backhand then make sure you are well prepared, and play a topspin shot down the line short, or crosscourt deep. Make sure you roll it over and do not hit the net or put the shot out. It is better to return a horribly short return than to put it out, as at least you have a chance.\n\nNOTE: If your opponent has a particularly good and fast  serve, then make sure you get it deep and crosscourt.\n\nAlso, if they are playing serve and volley, hit is down the line low and hard, making sure you don't pull the shot out.\n\nHope this helps, and hope your not a beginner, or this will seem like jargon.
190125
To be a 'good' return of serve, the ball does not have to cross the short line.\n\nIt can be returned anywhere in court, so long as it does not go 'out' (Touch or go outside of a boundary red line), the ball does have to touch the front wall before touching the floor though, as with all legitimate shots.\n\nServe on the other hand has to be hit above the service line (2nd line up front wall) and has to land inside (Unless it is vollied) the receivers box.\n\nHope this helps.
664899
Tennis racquets are of a somewhat oval shape while racquetball racquet are much shorter and have a flattened top.\n\nPicture of a tennis racquet:\nhttp://www.ideal.co.nz/site/ideal/images/stickandwin/19_Ultra_LT_Tennis_Racket_WITRCS510.jpg\n\nPicture of a racquetball racket:\nhttp://www.racquetworld.com/merchant2/graphics/product_pictures/racquets/triadt170sm.jpg\n\nWhile a tennis racquet could be used in a game of racquetball, a real racquetball racquet should be used if you have any desire to pursure the game any further. \n\nGo ahead and play a game of racquetball with your friend using tennis racquets, but beware that prolonged use of them in a racquetball game could damage them. Racquetballs are much heavier than a tennis ball and could cause frame fractures and/or damage to the strings. \n\nIt's ok to improvise, but use the equipment designed for the game if you do it frequently.\n\nEDIT:In response to the ball part, you can use a tennis ball if you would like, if the place where you go to play allows it. My local YMCA did not allow tennis balls in the raquetball courts. Again, don't use a tennis ball if you are playing with people other than your friends, as a tennis ball would not be allowed on any sort of competitive level.\n\nNot your question, but you shouldn't do the reverse - that is use a raquetball on a tennis court. The surface of a (hard court) tennis court is very rough and would damage the rubber raquetball very quickly.
31847
What they are trying to tell you is to continue your stroke path so you maintain a full follow through.  This is important so as to maintain control and depth on your groundstrokes.  Otherwise your ball won't have the correct rotaion and will lack "bite" which would include topspin.  If you want to apply topspin look into proper grips, then step into the direction of your shot, imagine hitting through three balls in a line as you brush up the back of the ball and finish the shot with your racket over/around your opposite shoulder.  If you follow what I said intently you will be hitting topspin in no time.  Or go out to your public tennis courts and stop and watch the best player you can find.  You will see how its done and they might even be willing to show you if you are polite about it.  Hope this helps.
158472
The first and second serves are fundamentally different.  A first serve is an aggressive serve you hit to try either for an ouright winner or at least a weak return.  The second serve should be a defensive serve you know will go in that minimizes the chance your opponent will hit a return winner.  Most pro's hit a hard first serve, either flat or a slice, then for a second serve they hit either a kick or a twist because the top spin makes sure it goes in and the high bounce makes it tough to hit an aggressive return on.  You definitely don't want to double fault and give away free points.\n\nThe trick to getting your second serve solid is to 1. pick which serve you're going to use and 2. hit nothing but second serves everytime you play, until you can hit the second serve with 100% guarantee it's going to go in.  Once you have it down, go back to your usual 1st serve/ 2nd serve strategy.  You'll no longer feel shaky on your second serve because you'll know for sure you can put it in the service box.  This will also free you up on your first serve to really go for it, since you don't have to worry about double faults.
450241
Tennis: you stand behind the back line, you throw the ball in the air, and you hit it (normally over your head) toward the other side of the net. The ball must fall short of the service line on the diagonal side (right to left or left to right).  \n\nBadminton:  you stand behind the service line, and you let go of the shuttle, you must hit it below your waistline and direct it over the net.  The shuttle must land behind the service line on the diagonal side  (right to left or left to right).  \n\nProvided that you respect those rules it's possible to vary the way you serve up to a certain point.  Badminton serves vary much more than tennis serves.  In tennis you can add effect to the ball, while in badminton the way you hold your raquet can vary as the region you hit your bird to.
214587
Alright..first you need to address the problem. What's wrong with your serve??\nIf it makes it to the net but not over, then your toss probably isn't high enough or your not putting enough power into it. If it's just going crazy, then try hitting it differently(if you hit open hand try closed, if you hit closed try open) Personally I would reccommend serving open hand. One thing that is really important is that you make sure you have enough power. Try lifting wieghts or doing push ups(ick I know) Other than that just make sure you follow through with your form and stuff. Make sure your hand is back, you have the right foot forward, and then just toss, step, swing. If you let me know more details I may be able to help more. Just remember the basics, and practice makes perfect. Good Luck!!!