Player learns how to toss the ball into the proper spot. Coach stands on the right of the player (slice serve) or on the left of the player (kick serve). Player tries to toss the ball into the coach's hand.
Players have to be able to vary the toss according to the serve they want to execute. Slice, kick serve and flat serves require slightly different tosses to make chances bigger for effective results.
For the kick serve, toss to the left side is a necessity to successfuly deliver the ball with high and unexpected bounce. Hitting from the left to the right will add spin responsible for ball bounces to the right side. Tossing the ball to the left helps also with contacting the ball at lower point (in opposite to any other serve) which has an impact on loopy trajectory of the serve.
Coach's position is an easy point of reference for the player to know where the ball should be placed. Bad toss can be responsible for many serving mistakes so players should spend some time on working on this aspect.
For more advanced players, coach can let players serve with awareness of the toss. Every time the toss is misplaced, players have to catch the ball and they can't serve. This will show to coach if players are able to notice good and bad tosses.
From sensor-equipped rackets to AI-powered coaching, technology is making tennis training more precise than ever. Here's what actually works.
On-court coaching is now fully legal. Here's how to deliver advice that actually helps during those crucial 90-second changeovers.
On-court coaching is now fully legal, technology continues to advance, and the ATP calendar evolves. Here's what tennis coaches need to know for 2026.
Register for FREE and get coaching tips, top drills, session and more every week!
