through the desired hitting plane, and then start a slow shift of
the weight forward, at the same time increasing the power of the
swing forward as the racquet commences its upward flight to the
ball. Just as the ball meets the racquet face the weight should
be thrown forward and the full power of the swing smashed into
the service. Let the ball strike the racquet INSIDE the face of
the strings, with the racquet travelling directly towards the
court. The angle of the racquet face will impart the twist
necessary to bring the ball in court. The wrist should be
somewhat flexible in service. If necessary lift the right foot
and swing the whole body forward with the arm. Twist slightly to
the right, using the left foot as a pivot. The general line of
the racquet swing is from RIGHT to LEFT and always forward.

At this point and before I take up the other branches of serving,
let me put in a warning against footfaulting. I can only say that
a footfault is crossing or touching the line with either foot
before the ball is delivered, or it is a jump or step. I am not
going into a technical discussion of footfaults. It is
unnecessary, and by placing your feet firmly before the service
there is no need to footfault.

It is just as unfair to deliberately footfault as to miscall a
ball, and it is wholly unnecessary. The average footfault is due
to carelessness, over-anxiety, or ignorance of the rule. All
players are offenders at times, but it can quickly be broken up.

Following this outburst of warning let me return to the American
twist service. The stance for this is the same as for the slice,
but the ball is thrown slightly to the left of the head while the