Described for a right-handed server; the tips on reading and returning speak to the receiver.
How to read it
- The racket tip points down and the racket sweeps from the server's right to their left, on a downward path.
- The ball curves in the air toward your left — into a right-hander's backhand — and keeps going that way after the bounce.
- Half-open blade and a swing that goes down as well as across: expect backspin with the sidespin.
- Watch the contact itself, not the follow-through: good servers pull the racket up afterwards to fake topspin.
How to return it
- The sidespin kicks the ball off your racket to your right, so aim left of where you want it — toward the server's forehand side.
- Push with an open racket angled a little to the left, or loop it if it comes long.
- Move your feet so you take the ball in front of you after it has curved, not reaching sideways for it.
Common mistakes when serving it
- Dropping the elbow, which turns the pendulum into a push with little sidespin.
- Swinging the whole arm from the shoulder instead of the forearm and wrist — slow racket, little spin.
- Standing so that the body or the free arm hides the ball at contact, which is a fault.
More forehand serves
- Pendulum Backspin
- Pendulum Side-Topspin
- Pendulum No-Spin (Float)
- Reverse Pendulum
- Tomahawk
- Reverse Tomahawk
- Hook Serve
- Shovel Serve
- High-Toss Pendulum
- Fast Long Serve
- Squat Serve
Learn to serve it
The step-by-step technique — grip, stance, toss, backswing, contact and finish — and a 3D demo you can turn and slow down are in Trainoro’s Service Drills, along with 12 ways to receive. To practise serving with a partner, see the serve and return drills.
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