Tennis Kick Serve Down The T On Deuce Side – With Drills To Master It

Being able to kick a tennis serve to deuce side down the T is the key to neutralizing offensive returns and yet this is one of the serves that many tennis players struggle with.

Even though you may aim your kick serve down the T it tends to curve out more to the left (for right-handers) right into the strike zone of the return player, allowing them to attack.

So what are the reasons for not being able to serve accurately down the T and how do we correct them?

Why Do Players Fail To Kick Serve To Deuce Side Down The T?

There are many reasons why you may fail to execute a good kick serve down the T from the deuce side, but the main issue usually involves:

• your upper body rotation and consequently...
• the way you swing your racquet.

The Upper Body Over-Rotation And Why It Happens

The reason why the ball flies off too much to the left is because we hit it slightly too much on the right.

And the reason why we hit it slightly too much on the right is because we over-rotate the body too much in the direction of the target area as you can see in the left image below.

There are several reasons for over-rotation and we need to identify them if we want to correct them.

a) The player's desire to look very early where they are serving which results in their head turning forward which pulls the upper body forward too.

b) The player being used to orienting forward since they hit mostly flat serves which allow more forward orientation.

c) The player instinctively swinging and orienting towards the target as they aim towards it - in the same way as one would orient forward if they threw the ball forward.

d) The player not tossing the ball correctly for a topspin serve which means they toss the ball too much to the right and then chase it with body over-rotation

I've covered the ball toss for a kick serve before, just follow the link...

In this video article we'll focus more on correcting the over-rotation with specific serve drills that will re-programme your movements over time.

Because if we don't correct the over-rotation, the swing path of the racket will always be incorrect and your kick serves will keep curving too much to the left. 

Kick Serve Drills To Improve Over-Rotation

The following kick serve drills progress from more simple ones to more complex and challenging ones. I suggest you follow the progressions from the start as you will learn the kick serve much faster with much better accuracy. 

Drill 1: Kick Serve From The Service Line

The first serve drill focuses on tossing the ball correctly and being able to hit it perpendicular to the net without any angle.

Follow these steps:

1. Position Yourself: Stand at the service line, facing the deuce court. Adopt your usual serve stance, with feet shoulder-width apart. Have your racket behind and under your shoulder, relaxed, as if dangling down.
2. Ball Toss: Toss the ball slightly behind and to the left (for right-handers) of your head. Aim for a toss that's high enough to allow your racket to brush up behind the ball.
3. Execution: Swing your racquet upward, focusing on brushing the back of the ball to generate topspin. The goal is to feel the racquet's motion and how it impacts the ball's spin and trajectory.
4. Repetition: Practice this serve repeatedly, aiming to consistently generate topspin and land the ball in the service box perpendicular to the net.

Drill 2: Using an Obstacle

This drill is about the same as the first drill, with a minor change - instead of serving over the tennis net, you will serve over something taller, like the net between the courts. 

The idea is exaggerate your ability to move the racket upwards in order to apply topspin and to give the ball higher trajectory that you need when hitting kick serves.

Follow these steps:

1. Setup: Place a temporary net or similar obstacle a few feet before the service line, ensuring it's safe and secure. You can also use the netting between the courts for this.
2. Objective: The aim is to serve over the obstacle while keeping the ball trajectory straight and landing perpendicular to the netting. This encourages a higher ball toss and an upward swing path.
3. Serve: Execute your kick serve, focusing on clearing the obstacle while still applying the necessary topspin to bring the ball down.
4. Adjustment: Based on where your serve lands, adjust your toss and swing path to find the perfect blend of height and spin.

Drill 3: Kick Serves With Progressions To The Baseline

With drill #3 we are increasing the challenge by moving further from the net gradually.

This requires you to adjust the force, angle, and body engagement as you increase the distance to ensure the ball lands perpendicular and straight ahead over the net.

1. Position Yourself: Stand at the service line, facing the deuce court. Adopt your usual serve stance, with feet shoulder-width apart. Have your racket behind and under your shoulder, relaxed, as if dangling behind.
2. Ball Toss: Toss the ball slightly behind and to the left (for right-handers) of your head. 
3. Execution: Swing your racquet upward, focusing on brushing the back of the ball to generate topspin. The goal is to feel the racquet's motion and how it impacts the ball's spin and trajectory.
4. Repetition: Practice this serve repeatedly, aiming to consistently generate topspin and land the ball in the service box perpendicular to the net.
5. Increase Distance: Once comfortable, take a few steps closer to the baseline and repeat the serve. Continue this until you are behind the baseline, where you regularly serve.

Drill 4: Body Rotation Control

Now that you have a good idea of how to contact your racquet with the ball, the next thing to work on will be your upper body, specifically your rotation. 

This drill teaches you when to stop rotating your upper body and chest, as over-rotation is why the ball goes to the corner of your opponent's court instead of down the T.

1. Target Placement: Place a target or mark a spot on the court that you will face with your chest and shoulders after completing your serve. This should be about 30° from your serving position at the doubles line.
2. Serve Execution: Start your serve as usual, aiming for the ball to land down the T. However, as you hit the ball, consciously control the rotation of your upper body to stop when it faces the predetermined target. 
3. Hold the Pose: After hitting the serve, pause momentarily, ensuring your chest and shoulders are oriented towards the target, resisting over-rotation.
4. Adjust As You Go: If you are under or over-rotating, adjust yourself to have a better feel for when to stop on your next serve.

In this drill, it may be useful to use video feedback or a coach's input to ensure your body rotation is controlled and consistent with each serve.

Drill 5: Head Position Control

This drill builds up from Drill 4, which helps to correct your upper body rotation. In drill 5, you will work on your head positioning. 

The goal is to train yourself to continue to look at the ball even after contact with the racquet.

This may feel unnatural compared to tracking the ball's trajectory after contact. Still, keeping your head facing up reduces the likelihood of over-rotating your upper body. 

Here is how you practice the drill:

1. Focus: Visualize a drone above you before you start serving so that you have a clear mental image of an object above your head.
2. Serve: Perform your kick serve, paying close attention to your head position. After contacting your racquet with the ball, resist the temptation to look down.
3. Hold: Instead, keep your head and gaze fixed upwards for about one second before looking to see where the ball lands.

Summary

Mastering the kick serve to the deuce side down the T is one of the most important serves you need in your game if you're a right-hander.

That's because it does not give your opponent a good angle to attack your second serves. 

But in most cases tennis players struggle with over-rotation of their upper body for various reasons that I mentioned above.

And so the key to hitting kick serves accurately down the T on the deuce side is to correct the over-rotation which will also correct the swing path of the racket.

The corrective drills that progress from more simple to more challenging ones are very effective in correcting the over-rotation, just give them a few weeks to start working.

I recommend that you practice these drills at least twice a week for 20-30 minutes and you will see a big improvement in the accuracy of your kick serves in a couple of weeks.