I know you’ve heard it before – your serve should be a weapon. But why? As long as you’re not planning on joining the pro circuit, why bother spending the time and effort to acquire a serve that your opponents will have problems with? Can’t the serve just be something that you use to get the point going ?
This “just get the point going” idea has been my serve philosophy for quite a while. And, as long as I’ve played in lower level leagues or divisions, I’ve been able to get away with it. But, over time, as I’ve moved up onto more competitive teams, I’ve realized that I can’t just use my serve to start the point. When I do that, I often get beat up on by my opponents.
So here’s the reality – if your serve is not a weapon, it should be. One of my favorite tennis writers, Brian Moran, puts it like this in his book Tennis%20Beyond%20Big%20Shots">Tennis%20Beyond%20Big%20Shots">Tennis%20Beyond%20Big%20Shots">Tennis Beyond Big Shots: The New Power Game:
The serve is the most important shot in the game of tennis because it is the first shot hit and often sets the tone for the entire point. If you can make your serve a weapon, you’ll be able to compete with any player at the club.
I think the important point he’s making is that the serve sets the “tone” for the point. If my opponent has an intimidating serve, I’m nervous before I even hit my return, opening the door to a sloppy and/or ill-timed return.
But, that doesn’t mean your serve has to be fast, hard or even powerful. Another of my favorites, Arthur Ashe, has this to say in his book Arthur%20Ashe%20On%20Tennis:%20Strokes,%20Strategy,%20Traditions,%20Players,%20Psychology,%20and%20Wisdom">Arthur%20Ashe%20On%20Tennis:%20Strokes,%20Strategy,%20Traditions,%20Players,%20Psychology,%20and%20Wisdom">Arthur%20Ashe%20On%20Tennis:%20Strokes,%20Strategy,%20Traditions,%20Players,%20Psychology,%20and%20Wisdom">Arthur Ashe on Tennis: Strokes, Strategies, Traditions, Players, Psychology, and Wisdom:
Your serve does not have to be the biggest weapon in your arsenal to work effectively . . . . A weak serve also can induce a return error. The receiver, knowing he’s not going to be overpowered by the serve, thinks he can really tee off on the ball. What often happens next is that he hits it out or into the net. So don’t sell your serving advantage short just because you cannot blast the ball at 100 miles per hour.
Thank you Arthur! There is some hope for us average, less-than-muscular players.
Greg Moran expands on Arthur Ashe’s very thought:
My conclusion? You (and I) must accept that if we want to succeed at higher levels, the serve is an important offensive tool and needs to be something more than just a way to get the point going. It’s time to put aside the dink-it-in philosophy and get the work on building up our serves.
Now, you know I’ve been doing this (supposedly) and in my next Fix My Serve Series post, I’m going to update you on just how my service work is going. Stay tuned to see if things are getting better or if I have no idea what I’m doing out there.
PS – If you’re interested in either of the books I’ve quoted from in this post, here are Amazon links to those books:
Don’t miss a single post in Tennis Fixation’s “Fix My Serve” Series! Click on any of these titles to read previous posts:
1. Fix My Serve Series – Introduction
2. Fix My Serve Series – Here’s The Plan
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