Photo Tour of the Points of Contact for Five Spin Serves

Slice Serve Point of Contact

(C)2006 Jeff Cooper licensed to About.com, Inc.

• Grip: A Continental grip works best for most players, but you can shift a bit toward the Eastern backhand for more spin.
• Point of contact: Meet the ball 1-2 feet below the full upward extension of your reach, roughly 2 feet to your right, and barely in front of yourself, as measured by where your head is at the time of contact.
• Striking the ball: To hit pure slice, try to brush across the right side of the ball, at what would be 3:00 on its face if it were a clock. Your racquet face will naturally turn toward the net and brush across the back of the ball from its center outward toward that 3:00 point, making the ball spin around a vertical axis, like a perfectly balanced top. If you keep your wrist too tight and force the racquet to stay in its initial edge-forward position, you will hit the ball much too far to your left (if you hit it at all).

Index: Photo Tour of the Points of Contact for Five Spin Serves

1. Topspin Slice Serve Point of Contact
2. Topspin Serve Point of Contact
3. Slice Serve Point of Contact
4. Twist Serve Point of Contact
5. Underhand Sidespin Serve Point of Contact