Naomi Osaka Tries to Explain How to Serve in Tennis, and the Result Is Comical

The tennis pro struggled to describe the process in this humorous clip.

Naomi Osaka.Gotham/Getty Images

We have no doubt that Naomi Osaka is locked in for her first-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. (The Japanese professional tennis star is set to oppose Sara Errani Thursday at 4:35 p.m. EST). But, she’s still having fun, too.

Ahead of her fifth tournament since taking maternity leave during the 2023 season, Osaka took to TikTok to offer a lesson for her followers. She intended to teach fans how to serve the tennis ball, but the video she ended up with was perhaps not as effective as she intended.

Osaka started by walking her followers through the bounce—she takes three before moving into a serving motion. She then demonstrated her form, her foot technique and her ball toss.

There’s no doubt about it: She “tried [her] best,” as she wrote in the caption of the video. But her audible descriptions and advice for how best to serve were not as useful as simply watching her move through the motions. Admittedly, “explaining how to serve is harder than it seems,” she wrote.

“That was probably the worst service explanation of all time,” she said with a laugh at the end of the clip.

Although the audible explanation may not have been so useful (but it was, at least, comical), the visual example certainly was worth watching if you’re trying to learn—or perfect—your serve.