The Arm is a Lever

I have talked about how the shoulder and arm form a lever for the one handed and two handed backhand, and here we see another lever for the toss. The tossing arm is completely locked from the bottom of the motion to the very top, in essence creating a lever that will be lifted from the shoulder.

I want you to focus on Bopanna's shoulder and watch how it completely drives the toss from beginning to end. If you try to use your wrist to toss the ball, or if you bend at the elbow to toss the ball, you have destroyed the shoulder/arm lever that all pros use to toss the ball.

Release Point

Notice where Bopanna releases his toss. He releases the ball just above his head. This high release point is shared by all professional servers. When you release the ball at such a high point, it makes placing the toss extremely easy. If you release the toss at a lower point, it becomes much more difficult to control.

The toss is really more like handing the ball to someone above you, rather than a "toss".

Follow Through

After releasing the toss, you have to "follow through". Keep on extending the arm/lever until it is completely straight pointing up to the sky. This extension will get you good height on the toss and will also aid in getting the body properly coiled.