underarm serve tennis teaching points The majority of tennis players and spectators believe that a serve always entails throwing the ball up and striking it over head height. However, the underarm serve has started to appear more frequently in professional tennis in recent months. So, we’ve put up a guide to the tennis underarm serve to provide you a little more knowledge about the play.
What does a tennis underarm serve entail?
Instead of tossing the ball up for an overarm serve, the underarm serve, also known as the underhand serve, involves dropping the ball and striking a serve with the underhand motion. It’s a fairly contentious shot that’s frequently utilized to catch the opponent off guard, especially if they’re waiting to return from well behind the baseline.
A Snippet of the Underarm Serve’s History
The underarm serve is frequently linked to Nick Kyrgios in modern tennis, despite the fact that technique was in use long before the Australian player made an appearance. In reality, a 17-year-old Michael Chang used it for the first time in his 1989 French Open Fourth Round match against then-world No. 1 Ivan Lendl. Chang, who had been playing for four hours, decided to use an underarm serve since he was in serious pain from cramps. Chang went on to win the game and the competition, making it potentially one of history’s most famous shots.
Since then, the underarm serve has shown on a few rare occasions, but its reappearance on the professional tour really
underarm serve tennis teaching points
The underarm serve is obviously the first thing that people think of when they think of a shot. Yes, it is the answer. A serve motion is described as follows in the ITF Tennis Rules:
The server must be in a relaxed position, both feet behind the baseline and inside the sideline and center mark’s fictitious boundaries. The server must then smash the ball with the racket before it hits the ground after releasing it by hand in either direction.
2023 ITF Tennis Rules
To put it another way, a serve allows you to throw the ball in any direction you like, making an underarm serve a completely acceptable shot in tennis.
Underarm Serve: Is it disrespectful?
The underarm serve is absolutely legal, however some fans perceive it to be disrespectful and cocky, despite the fact that it is perfectly legal. That viewpoint is quickly shifting, though, as the shot has gained popularity and is now praised by those who are fortunate enough to see it in action.
It shouldn’t, in our perspective, be any more disrespectful to return serves when standing 5–6 meters from the baseline. There is no justification for tennis players not to employ this shot or approach. Don’t rely on our word alone, though.
The most noteworthy instance of Andy Murray’s employment of the underarm serve was during his
The Underarm Nick Kyrgios Serve
Nick Kyrgios is undoubtedly one of the players who is best recognized for his use of the underarm serve. The Australian has incorporated the underarm serve into his game since employing it against Rafael Nadal in Acapulco in 2019, using it much more frequently than other players on the tour. The underarm serve is just another tool in Nick Kyrgios’ arsenal, which he pairs with his powerful first serves, some of the quickest serves in tennis.
But it’s his skill to conceal the underarm serve and surprise his opponent that makes it such a unique stroke rather than the underarm serve itself. When Kyrgios prepares to serve, he does things like bounce the ball low before he hits it.
How to Serve With Your Underarms
Even at the amateur level, using an underarm serve can be very helpful if you’re having trouble hitting an overarm serve or simply want to switch things up and catch your opponent off guard. However, hitting an efficient underarm serve is trickier than it seems, so we’ve outlined the process in the following few easy steps:
1. Selecting the Appropriate Time
Selecting the appropriate time to use an underarm serve is the first—and possibly most crucial—step in the game.
The serve will be quite simple to track down if your opponent is too close to the net, giving them a chance to win the point. Use the underarm serve in its place when your opponent
