High Toss or Low Toss?

For as long as people have been playing and teaching tennis, the question of whether it is better to use a "high" service toss or a "low" toss has been debated.

For the purposes of this article, a "low" toss will be defined as any toss that does not extend past the tip of your outstretched racquet, while a "high" toss is any toss that elevates higher than your racquet, which then can only be hit as it is descending.

While many experts agree that hitting the ball at its apex (at the top of the toss, or the moment the ball is neither rising or falling) is the best way to serve, this has been virtually impossible for humans at any level to do, with the noted exception of Roscoe Tanner (who, incidentally was one of the fastest servers in the history of the game).

So for the majority of tennis players, the question remains, which is better, a high toss or low toss?

Before we can answer that question, it is important to consider what "better" is. Are we talking about accuracy or power? High and low tosses provide varying degrees of each.

Richard Schoenborn, former chief coach of the German Tennis Federation, states the consensus of most experts when he says that tennis instructors must find the optimal serve not the maximal serve, which is a serve that provides not only a high ball speed, but accuracy, ease of coordination and a stroke that does not cause injury.

The article continues with information presented by Dr. Ben Kibler, USPTR sports medicine advisor, Dr. Howard Brody, USPTR physics advisor, Dennis Van der Meer, Vic Braden and Schoenbor as to the pros and cons of the overhand and sidearm serves and which is best.