How To Fix The Racquet Drop On The Tennis Serve

So, you want to learn how to fix the racquet drop on your tennis serve?

Having a proper racquet drop is vital to be able to add more power on your serve. However, getting enough racquet drop is something a lot of players really struggle with.

In fact, it can be one of the trickier things for tennis players to master.

This is due to a lack of flexibility and relaxation. Tension leads to stiffness, which causes a poor racquet drop and limits the power and fluidity of the serve.

Luckily for you, I’ve got an amazing serve drill that can really help you fix the racquet drop on your tennis serve.

Let’s get into it!

Serve Drill To Improve Your Racquet Drop

The continuous swing drill is one of the most powerful serve drills that you can do, to develop better relaxation and rhythm on your tennis serve.

You can perform this drill by swinging without tossing the ball, and letting your follow through come round, so that you can begin a new swing without stopping your arm.

One serve motion leads directly into the next one. Hence, I named it the “continuous swing” drill.

Switching Up Your Grip For Better Racquet Drop

In order to specifically improve your racquet drop with the continuous swing, try holding the racquet lower down on the grip.

In other words, only hold onto the racquet with your index finger, middle finger, and thumb. Your ring finger and pinky will dangle off the bottom of the grip.

This allows for more play in the racquet, and helps you feel what the head of the racquet is doing.

Perform continuous swings with your grip lower and really focus on feeling your racquet drop after the trophy position.

Focus on Relaxing Your Arm

One of the main reasons players struggle with their racquet drop is that they have too much tension in their arm.

In order to loosen up, don’t hit the ball into the court at first. Instead, turn around and hit into the back fence until you master the feeling. Players often get more tense, because they are trying hard to make their serve. Hitting the serve into the back fence removes this pressure and lets you loosen up.

The Continuous Serve Drill Practice Routine

Now that you understand all the different tips on how to fix racquet drop on your tennis serve, let me tell you the most effective way to implement them.

Start by doing swings without the ball. Then, keep your hand low on the grip so that you can feel that nice racquet drop.

Once you’re comfortable with that, add the ball back into the equation.

Do one swing without hitting the ball and the next hitting the ball into the back fence. Make sure to focus on a relaxed racquet drop.

Then turn around and hit balls into the court with the same motion. One swing without hitting to get the feeling, and the next hitting the ball.

Once you’ve got that down, you can try sliding your grip up a bit to its normal position, and see if you can reproduce the same relaxation with your normal grip.

If you follow this progression you should quickly feel an immediate improvement in your ability to relax and in your racquet drop.

That’s a wrap on the continuous swing drill. If you add this great exercise into your practice routine, you’ll be able to generate more racquet head speed, feel more rhythm, and develop a world class tennis serve.

By Jeff Salzenstein, Founder Tennis Evolution

Jeff is a former top 100 ATP player and USTA high-performance coach committed to helping players and coaches all over the world improve.

P.S. – Ready to take it to the next level with your tennis? Click here to get a free tennis course inside the Tennis Evolution App. Learn the exact step-by-step system that has transformed the games of thousands of players worldwide.