You've probably heard TV tennis commentators talk about the "kicker" or top spin serve. Many pros use this as their second serve, as the top spin helps them clear the net by a large margin. Further, when the ball lands, it kicks up sharply and to the right, causing additional difficulty for the receiver.

You can learn to hit the top spin serve by working through the following progression.

Hold the ball in your non-hitting hand at about eye level, palm facing you and fingers pointing up. Use a continental grip and choke up on your racquet to half handle. Now brush the racquet strings against the ball in your hand, spinning it forward toward the net. You’ll have to hold the ball loosely enough so it can spin, but not so loose that it falls out of your hand. Try to use all the long main strings on your racquet in brushing the ball.

Try this same brushing motion directly above your head. Note that your racquet is fairly horizontal throughout all this brushing.

Now, still choking up on the racquet, hold the ball again just in front of your face. Brush the ball hard and this time let it fly out of your hand toward the net. Now do the same thing with the ball held over your head. You should be able to “kick” the ball out of your hand this way so it lands near the service line.

You have just performed a mini top spin serve or “kicker”. Let’s go full handle now and try to hit a real one. Keep in mind the following points:

1. Toss the ball directly over your head, at about the 12 or even 11 o’clock position (for righties).

2. Toss the ball high, but let it fall lower than your usual contact point. This allows you to brush the ball upward with your racquet in a more horizontal position at contact, maximizing the top spin.

3. Look for the bottom of the ball and try to brush the ball sharply upward using as many strings as you can. Think karate chop on the back of the ball. You should hear a distinct swishing sound as the strings brush the ball upward.

4. Use a very loose grip. You can even take your little pinky finger off the handle. This looseness allows the racquet to drop further behind you and increases racquet speed at contact. The more speed, the more spin.

The kicker is a great serve to have in your repertoire. Use it frequently on your second serve. You can also use it as a first serve to add variation to your serves.

More important, however, is that by adding the top spin serve to your arsenal, you are going to automatically add more top spin to your regular serve. This will improve your first service percentage and make your serve more powerful and effective.

A final note, practice your serve. If you are playing in a USTA league, you should be working on your serve a couple of times a week. Go out to your local court with a bucket of balls and hit 50, 75, or even 100 serves. Use targets and practice all your serves. It will improve your serve and make you a better player.

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