Elena Rybakina’s WTA Finals Riyadh Serve Blueprint: 48 Aces, Clear Targets, and +1 Drills

The week a serve became a system

Elena Rybakina left Riyadh with more than the winner’s trophy from the 2025 WTA Finals. She built a case study in pressure-proof serving that any developing player can copy. Across the week she fired 48 aces, including 13 in the final, and earned a record $5.235 million for an undefeated run (weeklong ace total and match context, final recap and record payout). Those headline numbers matter, but the real lesson is how she created a repeatable system: the same mental steps before the toss, the same tempo to contact, a clear target plan, and a reliable first strike after the serve. For a deeper match-by-match breakdown, see our Riyadh serve plus one playbook vs Sabalenka.

This article turns that system into a blueprint for the indoor season and as the ATP Finals begin. You will find checklists, drills, and teachable cues for good juniors, coaches, and parents. The aim is not to serve like a six-foot powerhouse. The aim is to copy the parts of the routine that scale to any body type and level.

A simple framework for a complex weapon

When a serve holds up under the brightest lights, it is rarely just about speed. Think of Rybakina’s serve as a four-part machine:

1. Mental pre-serve routine that narrows attention, reduces doubt, and locks in a cue.
2. Toss and tempo that stay stable no matter the score.
3. Target selection that punishes tendencies and anticipates the returner’s move.
4. +1 aggression, which means the first shot after the serve is planned in advance, not improvised.

Each part reinforces the others. When the routine is stable, the toss stabilizes. When the toss stabilizes, the contact point and target improve. Better targets produce weaker replies, which makes the +1 attack easier and builds feedback that the routine works.

The mental pre-serve routine in five beats

Rybakina’s body language in Riyadh looked unhurried and decisive. You can build that into a five-beat routine you can run in under 10 seconds. Make it feel like a metronome.

• Beat 1: Breathe out fully and relax the shoulders. Let the exhale set the pace. If you habitually rush on big points, extend the exhale two counts longer than usual.
• Beat 2: See the target. Pick a palm-sized spot, not a box. If you are serving wide on the deuce court, see the outer tape and imagine the ball starting outside the singles sideline.
• Beat 3: Choose the +1 pattern. Say it in a few words in your head. For example, “wide deuce, forehand into open court” or “body ad, backhand to backhand.”
• Beat 4: Cue word at the line. One word only. Use “snap,” “drive,” or “loose.” The key is a positive verb you can repeat, not a negative instruction like “do not miss.”
• Beat 5: Commit. Set the feet, bounce once or twice, and begin the motion without pause. The toss is the point of no return.

Coaches can reinforce the routine by scoring it in practice. A good serve is two points. A completed five-beat routine, even if the serve misses, is one point. Players quickly learn that the routine is not wasted time. It is part of the outcome.

Toss and tempo: the heartbeat of repeatability

Most double faults and tight misses start before the racquet moves upward. They begin in the toss and the rhythm leading into it. Rybakina’s tempo looks like a calm wave. Everything rises together, nothing jerks, the racquet head never stalls.

Focus on three controllables:

• Height and reach: Toss so that contact is at the full extension of your lead shoulder without leaning forward. If the ball consistently drifts behind your head, move the toss a hand’s width into the court and slightly to the hitting side.
• Count the cadence: Say “1-up, 2-load, 3-hit” quietly as you toss. Indoors this is easier since there is no wind to disturb the toss. If you speed up under pressure, record a set of serves and check whether the backswing is rushed between “1” and “2.”
• Hitting arm freedom: Imagine throwing a ball at a high window. This image keeps the wrist loose and prevents the racquet face from closing too early.

A consistent tempo is a nervous system habit, not a thought. Build it by serving in clusters: 4 first serves, 1 second serve, then pause for 15 seconds. Repeat for 15 minutes. The pause resets your breath and prevents mindless ball feeding.

Target selection that turns returners into guessers

Rybakina did not reinvent serving targets. She executed the classic three: wide, body, and T. The difference was how she sequenced them and how rarely she got predictable. Against a returner like Sabalenka who likes to step in and take a full cut, Rybakina mixed body serves to jam the swing with wide serves that pulled the contact away from the body.

Use a simple rule set:

• Deuce court: If the opponent crowds the baseline, start body to the hip. If they back up, go T to the backhand. After either one lands, the next first serve goes wide. The wide serve stretches the returner and sets up a forehand +1 into the open court.
• Ad court: Mix T and body early. Once you earn a cheap point T, go wide to drag the returner off the court, then +1 back behind them. Behind is usually safer than open court on the ad side because many players recover toward the middle.
• Two-in-a-row rule: On big points, your brain will want to repeat the last target that worked. Do the opposite. Use the same toss and motion, then change the target. The best time to surprise is right after success.

Create visible targets. Put two cones a racket length inside the lines for “wide” and two cones a racket length inside the center line for “T.” Do not aim at the lines. Aim at the cones. The margins are generous enough that a small miss still gives you a good first ball.

+1 aggression that looks preloaded, not forced

+1 simply means the first shot after the serve. Rybakina played it like a rehearsed dance. The moment the serve direction was chosen, the +1 pattern was chosen too. That mental link prevents hesitation. It also reduces the load on decision making when the heart rate spikes. For pressure points and tiebreak habits, study our 7-0 tiebreak routine from Riyadh.

Start with three +1 patterns you trust:

• Wide on deuce, forehand to open court. If the return floats, follow and volley deep middle.
• Body on ad, backhand deep middle. This neutralizes a blocked return and sets up the next forehand.
• T on ad, forehand inside out. If the opponent guesses and runs early, go inside in behind them.

Give each pattern a quick trigger. For example, “reach” means get your feet outside the ball and drive crosscourt. “Behind” means if the opponent overrecovers, hit to the same side as your serve. Triggers limit the time between bounce and swing.

Drills that map directly to match pressure

All drills below are designed for indoor courts where bounce and lighting are stable. Adjust the target sizes based on your level.

1. 20-ace challenge

• Goal: Train commitment and big-point breathing.
• Setup: Place two cones per box for wide and T. You have 60 serves total. Every ace or unreturned first serve that lands inside the cone corridor counts.
• Scoring: Club players aim for 5 to 8. High level juniors aim for 8 to 12. If you fall short, repeat only the last 15 serves and try to beat your score by one.
• Coaching cue: Do the five-beat routine every time. If you skip it, the serve does not count.

2. Plus-one ladder

• Goal: Link serve direction to the next swing without thinking.
• Setup: Feed yourself or have a partner block returns crosscourt. Serve to a called target, then hit the +1 to the planned spot.
• Ladder: Make 5 in a row for Pattern A, then 5 for Pattern B, then 5 for Pattern C. If you miss twice in a row on the +1, drop a rung and start that set again.
• Coaching cue: Between reps, quietly say the trigger word. Build the habit loop.

3. Body-serve jammer

• Goal: Neutralize aggressive returners.
• Setup: Put a rope or tape line across the service box six feet inside the baseline to simulate a crowding returner. Hit 10 body serves deuce and 10 body serves ad at 70 percent power with heavy spin.
• Scoring: A serve only counts if it lands deep enough that the second bounce would reach the baseline. This ensures you are not babying the body serve.

4. Tempo under noise

• Goal: Preserve toss rhythm with distractions.
• Setup: Have a partner clap or call out random numbers during your ritual. Your job is to keep the “1-up, 2-load, 3-hit” cadence and the same number of bounces.
• Scoring: Video from the side and count time from the start of the toss to contact. The standard deviation across 10 serves should shrink week to week.

5. Ad-side breaker points

• Goal: Practice the most stressful serve in tennis.
• Setup: Play a tiebreak to 7 that only uses ad-court points on your serve. Every first serve must be followed by a named +1 pattern.
• Scoring: Two points for a first serve plus +1 winner, one point for a good first serve that draws an error, zero for anything else.

Routine checklists to carry into matches

Print these and put them in your tennis bag.

Pre-serve checklist

• Exhale long and drop the shoulders.
• Pick a palm-sized target.
• Choose the +1 pattern in five words or less.
• Say the cue word at the line.
• Commit to the toss with no pause.

Toss and tempo checklist

• Toss one hand’s width into the court, slightly to hitting side.
• Begin backswing smoothly and keep the racquet head moving.
• Reach to full extension without leaning forward.
• Say “1-up, 2-load, 3-hit.”
• Finish with the chest up and the back heel released.

Target selection checklist

• Deuce: start body if opponent crowds, T if they back up, then wide.
• Ad: mix T and body early, then wide behind.
• Two-in-a-row rule: change the target after a success.

+1 pattern menu

• Wide deuce, forehand open court.
• Body ad, backhand deep middle.
• T ad, forehand inside out, then inside in if chased.

Indoor season specifics and the ATP Finals tie-in

Indoor courts remove two variables that ruin serves outdoors: wind and sun. That makes this the best season to cement your routine and your tempo. The ball usually skids a little more indoors, so body serves are extra effective. A returner who wants to take the ball early often hates a well-placed body serve because the bounce stays at hip height.

As you watch the ATP Finals, track the same elements you are practicing. When a player faces break point, watch the breath, count the bounces, and listen for a clear decision on target. For player tendencies and training cues, check our indoor blueprint for Turin and Sinner.

Coaching cues and the minimum analytics you need

You do not need a tour-level data team to improve your serve. Start with three numbers and one diary entry after every practice.

• First serve percentage: Healthy range is 60 to 68 percent for most juniors. If you are below 55 percent, your targets are too thin or your toss is drifting.
• Unreturned first serve rate: Aim for 25 to 35 percent in practice sets indoors. A number below 20 percent means you are not using the body serve or wide serve enough.
• +1 win rate: Track how often you win points when the first shot after the serve is a forehand versus a backhand. If the backhand number is low, shift your targets to produce more forehands.
• Diary entry: In two sentences, describe your best point of the day and why it worked. This builds a library of patterns you trust.

Parents and coaches can accelerate the process with short, structured video. Film 10 serves from behind and 10 from the side every week. Compare the timing of toss to contact and the height of contact over time. Players see progress best when they can see their own rhythm. For more serve-to-return dynamics indoors, read our second-serve aggression guide from Riyadh.

Off-court habits that anchor on-court confidence

Tennis is a skill that thrives on stability. The serve exposes instability first. Off-court training is the most underused lever in tennis. Use a simple three-part off-court plan during the indoor block:

• Breath practice: Two sets of four minutes of nasal breathing with a one-count longer exhale. Do it before you stretch. This mirrors your Beat 1 exhale and lowers heart rate faster between points.
• Shoulder and thoracic mobility: Ten minutes of wall slides, band pull-aparts, and thoracic rotations. The goal is a smoother racquet drop and a higher contact point without strain.
• Visualization: Five minutes of serve routines with eyes closed. See the target, hear your cue word, watch the ball cross the tape. When you arrive on court, the sequence will feel familiar.

Put it all together with a weekly plan

Here is a compact plan that fits around school or work and still builds a Rybakina-style serve system.

• Monday: 45 minutes serve only. Warm up, then 20-ace challenge, then 5 minutes of video review.
• Wednesday: 30 minutes plus-one ladder, then 20 minutes of practice sets focusing on body serves.
• Friday: 40 minutes ad-side breaker points, then 10 minutes of tempo under noise.
• Saturday: Match play with serve targets called out before each point. Coach or parent logs first serve percentage, unreturned rate, and +1 win rate.
• Daily: Five to ten minutes of breath and visualization.

Why this blueprint travels to any level

Rybakina’s serve works because it removes variables rather than piling on power. The routine is short, the toss is consistent, the targets create margins, and the +1 is preloaded. Under pressure our brains crave certainty. This model delivers a small circle of control when the score gets big.

When you step on an indoor court this week, pick one element to upgrade. Maybe it is the two-in-a-row rule on targets. Maybe it is saying the cue word out loud in practice. The next day, add a plus-one pattern. The third day, measure your toss-to-contact timing. Small upgrades compound quickly. That is how a serve turns from a stroke into a system.

The final word

The numbers in Riyadh were loud. Forty-eight aces for the week, thirteen in the final, and the largest winner’s check in the history of the event. The method behind those numbers was quiet. One breath, one target, one plan for the next ball. Do the same. Start with five beats, five cones, and three +1 patterns. Then let the routine scale your confidence to any court you walk on.