Serve (tennis)

A player will hit the ball with a racquet so it will fall into the diagonally opposite service box without being stopped by the net.

The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side.

Advanced players can hit the serve in many different ways and often use it as an offensive weapon to gain an advantage in the point or to win it outright.

Because of this, players above beginner level are expected to win most of their service games, and the ability to break an opponent's serve plays a crucial role in a match.

For the first point of any game, the server stands to the right of the center point of the baseline and serves diagonally across the net to the left side (from the server's perspective) of the court, into the service box which extends to the service line about midway into the opponent's court.

An attempt at a serve may result in one of the following outcomes: An ace occurs when a legally delivered ball lands in the cross-court service box or on any line bounding it without touching anything in flight and further missing contact from the receiver.

This outcome usually occurs on the first serve, where players are able to take a higher risk and hit a flat and fast ball.

[3] A good serve occurs when a legally delivered ball lands in the cross-court service box or on any line bounding it without touching anything in flight.

In the extremely rare event of the receiver's racket or body touching a legally delivered ball before it bounces, the point is immediately awarded to the server.

The first serve is typically struck with the maximum power, skill, and deception the player is capable of with the aim of winning the point either outright or on the next stroke, by forcing the receiver into a disadvantageous position.

The second serve is usually more conservative to avoid getting a double fault and is typically hit with less power or a higher curve.

In the platform stance, the feet are kept about shoulder-width apart throughout the service, providing stable support and easy weight transfer from the back to the front foot.

[9][10] The pinpoint serve provides better velocity, since the feet come together as a single unit, allowing them to push harder against the ground and gain more leg power.

However, the center of gravity moves more than in the platform stance, so the player must have good body control in order to contact the ball consistently.

The swing path goes directly toward the target at impact, which causes the ball to cut quickly through the air without spinning.

A slice serve is hit with a sidespin, which requires the server to brush the back of the ball toward their dominant side with the racket.

The curve of a good slice serve can draw the receiver 10 feet (3.0 m) wide of the singles sideline to play the ball.

[citation needed] Since a slice serve has little or no topspin on it, it cannot be aimed high over the net and has little margin for error.

[clarification needed] Holcombe Ward and Dwight Davis introduced the kick/American twist serve in the late 1800s.

If performed exceptionally, it can completely change the direction of the ball movement away from the other player, although this requires a very strong and flexible back.

This serve has gained some prominence since 2019 as a surprise tactic when playing deep returners, heralded by Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Bublik.

If a controlled return of service is possible, a hard groundstroke to one side or the other of the opponent's baseline may be performed.