The tossing arm in the tennis serve: stay high, shoulder over shoulder
Checkpoint 2 of 9 Measured by Serve Scan
Your tossing arm should reach straight up and stay up until the racket drops, which lifts your front shoulder above your hitting shoulder: shoulder over shoulder.
Reaching straight up and staying up lifts your front shoulder above your hitting shoulder: shoulder over shoulder. From there your hitting shoulder drives up to the ball. A low or early-dropping tossing arm flattens your shoulders and lowers your contact.
What good looks like
- Arm straight, fingers pointing up at the ball
- Front shoulder clearly higher than your hitting shoulder at the trophy
- Stays up until the racket drops, then folds into your body
Common faults
- The elbow bends as you release the ball
- The arm points forward instead of up
- The arm drops the moment the ball leaves your hand
Drills to fix your tossing arm stays high
- 1
Toss and hold
Toss without swinging and keep your tossing arm pointing up until the ball peaks. Let it drop and catch it.
10 tosses, then 5 slow serves with the same arm
- 2
Fence toss
Stand side-on to a fence at arm’s length. Toss so the ball rises along the fence without touching it, arm straight up the whole time.
3 sets of 10
- 3
Point, then pull
From the trophy, keep pointing at the ball until your racket drops behind you. Then pull the tossing arm down into your chest as your hitting shoulder comes up: shoulder over shoulder.
3 sets of 8 shadow swings, then 10 serves at half pace
What your body is doing
Deltoid, trapezius and serratus hold the arm up. The side of the trunk (obliques) tilts the shoulders.
Watch Pavel explain it
Plays from YouTube.
How to practise it
- Watch the video first. Then copy the drills slowly, without a ball.
- Practise little and often. Five to ten minutes before each session, for two weeks.
- Add the ball at half pace. Keep the feeling for 10 to 20 serves before you build up speed.
- Check your progress. After two weeks, film one serve side-on and scan it again to compare.
Is your tossing arm stays high right?
Film one serve on your phone. Serve Scan tracks your body, scores your tossing arm stays high and the rest of your serve out of 100, and shows where it leaks power. Free, and your video stays on your phone.
Questions
What is the tossing arm stays high in a tennis serve?
Your tossing arm should reach straight up and stay up until the racket drops, which lifts your front shoulder above your hitting shoulder: shoulder over shoulder.
What are the most common tossing arm stays high mistakes?
The elbow bends as you release the ball. The arm points forward instead of up. The arm drops the moment the ball leaves your hand.
How can I check my tossing arm stays high?
Film one serve side-on with your phone at hip height and your whole body in frame, then run it through Serve Scan. It measures your tossing arm stays high with body tracking and scores it, free.
How long does it take to improve?
Practise little and often. Five to ten minutes before each session, for two weeks. Check your progress. After two weeks, film one serve side-on and scan it again to compare.