So the underhand serve is what I have beginning students work on before an overhand serve. Why? It’s easier than an overhand serve and has a much higher probability for success. This is the serve I use when playing short court with my students. Short court is when the service line is the baseline so you have to serve underhand.
Pros even use it in a real game to trick their opponent. Most famous people who have used this in an Open match were Michael Chang in 1989 and Nick Kyrgios in 20?? You have to have a big serve so your opponent backs way up, then you can use the underhand serve to get him.
- First goal: Be able to place your underhand serve anywhere in the service box.
- Second goal: Get it just over and above the net so your opponent will have to run like crazy and bend down to get it
- Third goal: Put slice spin right to left on the ball as explained in the how to video below
This is some video instruction. Note: I just want you to hit it straight and flat at the beginning. Don’t worry about putting spin on it until you become more advanced. The stroke she describes below is the advanced technique. I just want you to pull your racket back and when coming forward you almost brush your right thigh. Aim for the center of the service box. As you progress, aim for the corners. When you have mastered placement when hitting it flat, then you can slice it and put spin on it as described in this video:
Canon M Cameras 