August tip of the week # 1: serving
The non-dominant hand can easily be over-looked when working on the serve and yet it is crucial in the execution of the serve. Ignore the yin at your own peril.
The non-dominant hand should be relaxed and the best way for that to happen is to let it hang a la Roger Federer, it is not the only way, but I think it is one of the best. Many club players begin the serving motion with both hands very high and I think this makes timing a little more difficult.
When the arm is hanging, it will also be fairly straight and that will result in more uniformity in the ball placement.
Stop calling it a toss, it is not! It is more of a placement. You are simply letting go of the ball right at the top of the reach. This will make your ball placement more consistent and take the wristy-ness out of it.
To remove the image of throwing the ball and replacing instead with the image of placing it on the top shelf will also slow down the non-dominant hand and that is also an important aspect of the total serving motion.
Finally, for some reason, I have found that to have the two hands connected and to pause for a few seconds before beginning the service motion will also serve you well.
Experiment with some of these things and be alert to your body.
Enjoy the journey………..