Serving in tennis can be the simultaneously the most frustrating and the most exhilarating feeling in the sport. You've all seen it on TV; legends like Roger Federer or Andy Roddick use their serve like a sledgehammer, either ending the point immediately with their power, or pulling their opponents out of position so they can go in for the kill. On a local court, however, you may have seen players backfire and double fault on their serves, or throw up soft serves that are practically an invitation for their opponent to whack the ball away. But it doesn't matter whether you're a pro or a beginner; you will still need to know how to serve in tennis to play and fully enjoy the sport. This is because, naturally, you will have to serve roughly half of all the total points in a match. Serving requires a great deal of patience and practice; only with repetition will you be able to make them consistently. But once you have mastered the basic serve, you will be well on your way to mastering tennis as well.

1. To begin, find a tennis court to get a feel for where you should stand to hit a serve. Find the baseline; this is the white line that marks the edge of the court, parallel to the net. There should be a small rectangle of white at the midpoint of the baseline.
2. For each tennis serve, you are limited in the area where you can stand and hit it. Firstly, you cannot have your feet touch the baseline or any of the court inside prior to hitting a serve. This means that you should stand just behind the line. Second, for each serve, you will have to stand on either the right side (the deuce side) or the left side (the ad side) of the baseline midpoint. The side that you stand on will depend on the score.
3. The stance that the majority of tennis players use to begin a serve is NOT with shoulders square to the net. Rather, you should stand perpendicular to the net. If you are right-handed player, your left foot should be in front of your right foot, just behind the baseline and next to the baseline midpoint, and your left shoulder should be pointing forwards. If you are a left-handed player the reverse is true. Your feet should be arranged in a slight diagonal line. Of course you can adjust your stance any way you feel comfortable; these are guidelines to get you started with basic serving mechanics.http://tennis.about.com/od/serve/ss/basicservesbs.htm
4. Your dominant arm should be behind your body, with your non-dominant hand in front. Although you should be standing fairly perpendicular to the net you should still have your head tilted so that you can have a clear view of the whole court. In particular you should be looking at the service box, that is, one of the two marked squares on your opponent's side of the court closest to the net. The service box located diagonally from your position will be your target when you serve.http://tennis.about.com/od/serve/ss/basicservesbs.htm

1. Before you try and hit a serve, first practice simply throwing a tennis ball. This is to get used to the service swing, which is actually quite similar. So, get a ball, hold it in your dominant hand, and stand in the service stance.
2. Throw the ball like a javelin or a shot put, and rotate your whole body so that you are now facing the opposite direction. This exercise demonstrates why you should stand perpendicular to the net; the power and momentum you gain from rotating your entire body from dominant side to non-dominant side is superior to a square-facing stance, where you are reduced to using only your arm and upper body. http://www.content4reprint.com/recreation-and-leisure/sports/the-tennis-serve-technique.htm
3. Now, practice tossing the ball. This is similar to an overhead volleyball serve, where you toss the ball up in the air so that you can strike it at the peak of the toss with your racquet. You must toss the ball with your non-dominant hand, since, obviously, you will be holding the racquet with your dominant hand.
4. Imagine your hand going straight up an elevator shaft, or a chimney; this is similar to the tossing motion. It is important to keep your toss going straight up, since if it is wobbly or thrown to one side it will be harder for you to make good contact with the ball.http://www.ehow.com/how_118141_fix-tennis-serve.html
5. If you are able to toss the ball and have it land just in front of your foot, then you should be ready to try and hit a serve. Keep practicing your toss in the future so that you can ensure a steady hand and serve.

1. Grip your racquet firmly with your dominant hand. Imagine yourself shaking hands with your racquet; this is the grip that most tennis players use.
2. Practice by tossing an imaginary tennis ball and swinging away at it. Your swing should be roughly in the shape of a circle, with the top of the arc being the point of contact with the ball, which should itself be at the top of its toss. The bottom of the circle is represented by your racquet prior to the toss, rested and relaxed behind your body. Your swing is the movement from the bottom to the top of this imaginary circle, in a rapid arc motion. Try it now with a real tennis ball, and feel out the ball's weight on your racquet.
3. After making contact with the ball be sure to finish with a follow through; this should involve your whole body rotating from your right to your left, or your left to your right. This is to give your serve the diagonal motion so that it lands in the correct service box. You should be pushing off your dominant foot and have it swing around your other foot so that it lands inside the court.http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/4221210.html
4. Since the serve is such an individual shot, feel free to modify your shot or your swing. No two players serve the same way, and there are no restrictions to a service motion, so long as the ball lands in the service box.
5. Practice, practice, practice! Serving is the only shot in tennis where you can practice entirely by yourself. Try and buy a ton of balls and serve them all one by one. Every time you hit a successful serve remember how it feels like and record it in your muscle memory, so that you can recreate your success over and over again.