In the game of tennis, there are four commonly used serves: the "flat serve", the "slice serve", the "kick serve", and the "underhand serve". All of these serves are legal in professional and amateur play. The term
kick serve is ambiguous. It may be used as a synonym for the twist serve or the American twist. However,
kick serve is commonly used to refer to any serve with heavy topspin or kick on it. Servers can gain a tactical advantage by varying the type of serve and the ball's placement. The flat serve and slice serve are used primarily as first serves because they are more likely to yield an ace or force an error, although they require high accuracy. Second serves usually have slice, topspin or kick on them, which makes them less likely to land in the net or out of bounds. Kick serves also make a good change-up as a first serve.
Flat A flat serve is hit with either a
continental grip (holding the racket as if it were an axe), an
Eastern backhand grip, or somewhere in between. The swing path goes directly toward the target at impact, which causes the ball to cut quickly through the air without spinning. Some professional players can hit flat serves at speeds near . A flat serve must come close to the net therefore having a small margin for error. Therefore, flat serves are usually hit straight across the center, where the net is lowest. They are usually delivered as first serves, when the server does not risk a
double fault. The ball is thrown straight above and slightly forward for the optimal serving point.
Slice/reverse slice 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. It is commonly hit with the Continental grip or the
Eastern backhand grip (using the forehand face of the racket). The ball is thrown slightly to the dominant side of the server then is struck laterally on the server's dominant side. For a right-handed player, a sliced serve's sidespin
causes the ball to curve leftward. When the ball bounces, it skids and curves farther leftward. The curve of a good slice serve can draw the receiver wide of the singles sideline to play the ball. 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. Therefore, it is generally used as a first serve. It can be used to ace the receiver, to draw the receiver out of position, or to "jam" the receiver with a serve curving sharply towards the receiver's body. The reverse slice serve (or inside-out serve) is analogous to the
screwball pitch in baseball. It is hit with the opposite spin of the slice serve. Servers must
pronate their racket arm and sweep the racket across the body while striking the ball when hitting a reverse slice serve. Because the direction of spin applied is reversed relative to the standard slice serve, a reverse slice serve from a right-handed player will have the same motion as a slice serve from a left-handed player, and
vice versa. In professional and amateur tennis, the reverse slice serve is rarely used except as a novelty. As the word
reverse is defined, one must hit opposite to the side and opposite to the path of the slice struck serve.
Kick/topspin/American twist/Reverse kick Holcombe Ward and
Dwight Davis introduced the kick/American twist serve in the late 1800s. The kick (or topspin) serve is generated by tossing the ball over the head, then hitting it laterally on the server's
non-dominant side brushing upward toward the dominant side. When hit correctly, the ball clears the net in a high
arc with heavy topspin, causing the ball to dive into the service box. Upon hitting the surface of the court, the ball may bounce high directly toward the receiver for a kick serve, or to the left for the receiver for an American twist serve. The physics of the spinning ball in flight involves the
Magnus effect because the spinning ball creates a whirlpool of air around itself. The twist serve is a more extreme version of the kick serve, which involves more brushing of the ball from the 7–8 o'clock position to the 1–2 o'clock position, and faster swing speeds. 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. Kick/topspin serves are often used as both first and second serves. As a first serve, a player will put more pace on the ball, while it is a consistent second serve since the spin brings it into the service box with high net clearance. The reverse kick/American twist serve is rarely used except as a novelty. As the word "reverse" is defined, one must hit opposite to the side and opposite to the path of the kick struck serve.
Underhand The underhand serve is struck below shoulder level. In the early days of tennis the underhand serve was the standard serve method, merely intended to start the game. In children's tennis, young children may be encouraged to use the underhand serve on courts. Although this serve is legal, it may be seen as unsportsmanlike in adult tennis. Some notable examples include
Michael Chang's in the Round of 16 at the
1989 French Open against
Ivan Lendl, and
Martina Hingis was booed by the crowd for hitting one at the
1999 French Open. This serve has gained some prominence since 2019 as a surprise tactic when playing deep returners, heralded by
Nick Kyrgios and
Alexander Bublik.
Pat-a-cake A
pat-a-cake serve is a serve in which the racket is not swung behind the head (as in a proper serve). The player will simply toss the ball up and "pat" or tap it over the net to get it in play. It is often used by beginning players, or players who never had proper instruction. The term is usually employed belittlingly. == Terminology ==