Play tennis like a pro with Mark Petchey

The serve is probably the hardest shot in tennis to master, but it is the shot that you have total control over, so it's worth spending time to get it right and make it effective.

First things first, just practise throwing a ball from the baseline, making sure that you turn your shoulder a little bit, down the court so you can get good rotation and power.

Another aspect to work on is a consistent ball toss. To help you with the ball toss, find yourself a netball or a basketball net and throw the ball up and through it. You'll be able to see for yourself just how consistent your ball toss is and work to improve it. Spend a bit of time practising this because if you do want to have a great serve, a consistent ball toss is crucial.

A very important thing to be aware of when returning a serve is your stance. You want to be able to cut the ball off, so you need to have a wide base to get a nice big reach. If you don’t have a wide base, you won’t be able to get a nice big step and the ball will slide away from you.

If your base is wide, when you look forward, your head will be low and you’ll be able to see the ball coming over the net. That way you’ll be able to pick up the ball a little bit quicker off your opponent’s racket. Finally, take a look at their strings to get a guide of where that ball’s going to go.

The forehand is a key shot in tennis. On artificial surfaces especially, the most important thing to do with your forehand is to get the racket up and back behind you early. The ball’s going to come through from your opponent a little swiftly, so as long as you’ve got your racket back, you’ve got time to react.

It's also important to have a good grip. To work out your grip, lay the racket down on the court, pick it up and give it a shake - that’s your standard grip. Then give the racket a quarter turn in your hand, so that the racket face is just tilted up, that way you'll find it a little easier to generate a bit of spin.

You’ve either got a single handed or a double handed backhand, but for now, we’re going to focus on the single handed backhand.

First, take a look at your grip and give it a little quarter turn - this enables a little more topspin on the ball. The opposite hand to the 1 you hold the racket in is crucial in terms of setting up your shot, as it helps you rotate the top of your body. To set up the shot, keep your hands on the racket as you turn until you're parallel with the court, drop the racket a little and release your arm behind you when the racket strikes the ball.

If your hand doesn’t go back, you turn through the ball, your head and everything else moves and the shot will not be as effective. 1 of the most crucial things you can remember, is keeping your head still, just for a fraction of a second after you’ve hit the ball, keep it still and then look up to see your magnificent shot!

The ball should bounce low and near to the net. It’s a great way of making use of the space at the front of the court and catching your opponent off guard. It can also just be a way of bringing your opponent forward and putting them out of position ready for your next shot. If you can add some backspin that’s great, as the backspin will keep the bounce low.

Mark Petchey shows you where to hit the ball and just how the drop shot makes life difficult for your opponent.