[1] In the serve-and-volley playstyle, the server attempts to hit a volley (a shot where the ball is struck without allowing it to bounce), as opposed to the baseline game, where the server stays back following the serve and attempts to hit a groundstroke (a shot where the ball is allowed to bounce before contact is made).
The serve-and-volley style of play has diminished in recent years with advances in racquet and string technologies which allow players to generate a great amount of top spin on groundstrokes and passing shots.
The slowing of court surfaces and deflation of balls, promoting longer rallies for the enjoyment of spectators, has also devalued the serve-and-volley style.
The playing style quickly gained popularity among elites and remained dominant on certain court surfaces until the conclusion of the twentieth century.
In the mid-1950s, when Pancho Gonzales was dominating professional tennis with his serve-and-volley game, occasional brief attempts were made to partially negate the power of his serve.
At least three times the rules were modified: Other male tennis players known for their serve-and-volley technique include Frank Sedgman, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash, Boris Becker, Patrick Rafter, Pete Sampras and Tim Henman.
The style propelled Margaret Court to become the all-time leader in Grand Slam titles (24 in singles, 62 total).
Although the strategy has become less common in both the men's and women's game, a few players still preferred to approach the net on their serves in the twenty-first century, for example Nicolas Mahut, Rajeev Ram, Dustin Brown, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and Maxime Cressy.
Taylor Townsend, Karolína Muchová and Hsieh Su-wei are the only active notable (WTA elite) players that prefers to play with this style.
Kramer says in his autobiography that he and Pancho Segura once tried playing three matches in which they allowed the ball to bounce three times before either could approach the net.
[11] Yet other players, such as Mischa Zverev, acknowledged the difficulty of mastering serve-and-volley, recalling his 36-month effort to adopt the style.