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- How to Get MAX Power On Your Serve
How to Get MAX Power On Your Serve
The Pickleball Clinic
May 26, 2025
Welcome to The Pickleball Clinic Coaching Newsletter!
A couple years ago, the general consensus was that “you should just get your serve in” and not worry about hitting it hard.
Well, times have changed, and in today’s game the serve is used as a weapon to give your team the best opportunity at scoring points.
Today, we’re going to break down Matt’s secret tip to getting maximum power on the serve, get an insight from from top pro Jill Braverman, and more!
Let’s dive in 👇
I’ve got a pretty big secret to share when it comes to getting maximum power on your serve, AND it contradicts what some people believe to be a rule in pickleabll.
But first, let’s establish where power comes from in the first place. Power is directly correlated with paddle head speed, or how fast your paddle is moving when it contacts the ball.
On the serve, paddle head speed is created from rotation. It is more of a sidearm swing than an underarm swing, so the swing path is right to left for righties, or left to right for lefties.
Therefore, if you get your whole body involved, rotating your hips, back, and shoulders in addition to your arm, you will be able to swing your paddle faster.
Watch the demonstration below, for example. Notice how I rotate my whole body through the swing. I start off facing sideways, and I finish facing towards the net.
There’s something specific in this motion that allows me to rotate so effortlessly: the toss.
This brings us to my big secret. Tossing the ball in front of you before you hit is one of the biggest keys to generating maximum power on your serve.
💡 Contrary to popular belief, tossing the ball on the serve IS legal in pickleball. You just have to make contact below your belly button, swing in a low to high motion, and make contact with your paddle tip below your wrist.
The toss, as opposed to hitting it right out of your hand, allows you to rotate through the shot. In order to rotate your body, your non-dominant arm has to get out of the way and lead the rotation. Try turning your body to the left without moving your left arm—you can’t. That’s what happens when you hit the ball out of your hand. Your non-dominant arm jams you and you can’t rotate.
When you toss the ball, your left side can freely rotate, allowing you to create maximum acceleration. Notice in the demonstration above that my left and right shoulders move together in unison, with my left shoulder leading the way. If I didn’t toss the ball, I would be swinging with my right arm only rather than with my body since my left arm couldn’t rotate (it would be holding the ball).
As a bonus, if you toss the ball in front of your body, you can get even more power because you are able to generate forward momentum by rotating into it.
I give this tip to all of my students and have seen massive results. Try it next time you play and let us know how it goes!
See you on the courts!
- Matt Slowinski (Co-Founder, Pro Player & Coach)
Want to know how James Ignatowich hits his serve so hard? Keep the tip from before in mind, and take a look at this video.
He rotates super aggressively as hit hits, leading to a fast serve that is very difficult to return.
Footwork is Key
A big problem that some players have is they don’t move their feet when they’re up at the kitchen line. It’s almost as if their feet have been put in cement so the only way they can hit their dinks is by leaning over with their backs. You’ve probably noticed this in others or in yourself! 😁
Either way, it’s not a good thing. Instead, you want to feel like you're up on your toes. You want to be able to bounce around and move from side to side. Well, VKTRY Insoles give you that extra spring in your step. How? Because while you play, the VKTRY insoles flex under your feet, returning energy with every step — while offering unmatched support and stabilization. Plus, they reduce the risk of foot injuries by 41% at the same time.
An Insight from Pickleball Pro Jill Braverman on Getting More Power on Your Serves
Getting power on your serve starts by giving yourself permission to miss. If you’re not missing one serve per game then you’re not trying to go big enough on your serve! So say goodbye to fear so that you can say hello to free points.
See you all for my next bulletin!
The ability to drop bombs on your serve isn’t going to come overnight. It’s going to take a lot of practice! To make sure that you’re practicing the right technique, check out this video from Coach Matt breaking down today’s tip on tossing the ball and rotating to get power.
Well, that’s a wrap… so let’s recap what we learned this week about serves.
It IS legal to toss the ball on your serve
Power comes from rotating your whole body as you swing
Tossing the ball allows you to fully rotate your body
Toss the ball in front to get maximum power
Thanks for reading! We hope you can put these tips to good use the next time you’re out on the courts!
Reply to this email with anything you want to see in our future newsletters 😄
- Your Friends at The Pickleball Clinic
