The serve and smash

The serve
Everyone serves differently. You can hit the ball into the correct service square underarm if you want and it is a legal stroke. Your feet must be behind the baseline on the correct side of the court. If your feet touch the baseline or the centre mark it will be a foot fault. See court lines for further explanation. The serve is another stroke that has changed a lot in the last 20 years. Then, a player's first serve would be equivalent to the power of a player's second serve today.

Also the purpose of the serve has changed. It used to be just to get the first point before running in to the net and playing a volley. Borg changed this way of playing. He used to be very accurate with his ground strokes and put lots of spin on them. He was hard to beat. So players developed the power serve. As we know the serve-volley game is a dying art now.

The pace of the serve has increased for both men and women. Steffi Graf had a very powerful serve. Good players seem to be able to produce an ace these days when they really need it. They have learned too to place the serve better. The fastest male server as I write is Andy Roddick as seen at men's tennis records. Women can serve at a faster pace with the new graphite racquets too. The Guinness Book of Records says that Venus Williams has served the fastest at 205 km/h. Roddick's fastest serve is 255 km/h.

Let's assume you are a beginner then.
Stand with your body side on to the court. The first serve begins from the ad court: that is, on the right side. Rest the ball against your racquet or anywhere that feels comfortable before you throw the ball up. Hold the racquet with a chopper or continental grip. All the different kinds of grips are explained here. Stand with feet apart behind the baseline, usually with your feet directed to the right if right handed and left if you are left handed. You may want to rock a little to get your balance.


Hold the ball lightly in your fingers and throw it upwards, a little in front of your body. Let go of the ball when your arm is stretched out. Your racquet hand should be back behind your shoulder and your arm is obviously bent. Aim to hit the ball just after it reaches its maximum height. Strike the ball at full stretch. While you are doing this, bend at your waist and use your non-racquet arm to balance yourself. You should bend your knees and arch your back also. If you do this you will be pushing up from your knees as you lower your racquet arm behind your back. I've found the bend of the knees the easiest way to get the technique right. On follow through, your arm should carry the racquet through in a sweeping curve down and across your body. The power of the serve comes from your leg strength when you push against the ground and up to hit the ball. When you get better at this action you should be leaving the ground when you push up to hit.

The position of the ball toss becomes critical as you become a better player. It is also very handy if the ball toss is the same for a left or right directed serve. The opponent then can't tell which way the ball is going to be served.

If you are left handed you will drive your opponents mad. No-one quite knows why, but the spin on the ball is greater for the lefties serve. The tennis player who is said to have the best serve is not the fastest, but a leftie called Wayne Arthurs from Australia. He is extremely accurate in his serve and serves close to the lines. He serves fast and he spins it very well. He rarely loses his serve, but his other tennis skills have not been good enough for him to become a great player.

Having said all this about how to serve, professional players learn different serves from different coaches and their grips vary as do their actions. I said before that the continental grip is best but many top players use the backhand grip. The backhand grip allows for a kick serve, which is when the server attempts to get a very high bounce on the ball. The ball toss varies too. It used to be thrown forwards for the serve volleyer to get into the net quickly. Now if a player isn't a serve volleyer, they tend to throw the ball more straight upwards.

The smash

The smash is about the same as the serve action except that you will not be foot faulted and do not have to stand anywhere to begin the smash. You may be running, but usually you need to get into position under the ball and smash as deep into the court as possible or at an impossible angle. Try not to hit with as much pace as you would the serve because you will usually win the point with a well-placed smash. Players try not to hit the opponent with the smash also, but you can hit it at a player's feet for an effective shot.

Use the same actions as the serve and don't let the ball drop too low. Position your feet well. It is best to hit the ball on the full because the spin can make a shot that bounces high quite difficult. Always keep your eyes on the ball. It may be better to let the ball bounce on some occasions because of wind or top spin, but you should attempt the same action.

The scissor kick is used to get extra height into your smash but Pete Sampras was well known for his high jumps before smashes too.