A CONSISTENT TOSS EQUALS A CONSISTENT SERVE

Ensuring a consistent release point on your toss will help you develop a more reliable and effective serve.

If you're having trouble with your serve, the release point could be the problem. By releasing the ball too early or too late, you force yourself to reach either too far back or too far in front of you to make contact.

Kathy Woods is the director of tennis at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla.