If you want a powerful serve like the pros, Roscoe Bellamy can help.

He has one of the best serves in the game because of his tennis background.

Bellamy recently shared five valuable tips on his YouTube channel to take your serve to the next level.

1. Maintain a light grip

“A key tip for hitting a pro level serve comes from the arm and the wrist. We want to have a loose arm and a really light grip and light wrist,” explained Bellamy. “This allows our arm to have a light flow and be like a whip coming through the serve.”

He insists that players prioritize a loose, light grip over a tight hold.

Then, accentuate the flow and extension of the arm movement. 

2. Weight transfer and arm extension

Bellamy identified that most amateur players don’t have a proper weight transfer in their serve, which results in a weaker effort. 

“You want to have a forward weight transfer, paired with full arm extension towards your target. This helps with your accuracy and precision,” said Bellamy. “Start with your weight on your back leg, then drive it forward with full arm extension.”

3. Pre-serve routine

“Consistency starts before the serve,” emphasized Bellamy. “If you want to have a serve that you can replicate over and over, make sure your pre-serve routine is the same every single time. That gets you in the rhythm if you’re about to serve.”

There isn't one specific serve-related routine that every pro uses.

They all have their own individual routines to begin a point.

4. Depth and spin

“If you want to serve like a pro, you need to be able to consistently hit a deep serve with spin,” insisted Bellamy.

Then, he demonstrated how to do this.

“We want create some chaos and push our opponents back, and the spin adds a variance in that serve,” shared Bellamy. “In order to get the ball to travel further, we want to lift it a little higher.” 

But, don’t forget to incorporate the previous tips: pre-serve routine, weight transfer and arm extension, and maintaining a light grip. 

5. Variations are crucial

“While it’s important to have a hard, spinny, deep serve, we also want to use variation to keep our opponents unsure of what serve is coming next,” noted Bellamy. 

This includes:

- Different targets on the court
- Different levels of spins
- Different levels of height
- Different levels of speed

By changing these variables, you constantly keep your opponents on their toes.

Now it’s time to take these tips to the court. 

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