Is This Legal?

[KennyNguyen]

Is it legal for someone to serve a ball very close to the net so that it doesn't even bounce out of the service box? It doesn't seem fair to me.

EDIT: Also, I am ambidextrous. Is it legal to switch hands in a match? My friend told me that it's not but I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed.

[lkdog]

Do you mean like an underhand or a drop shot serve?
Sure it is legal.

There is a reason no one does it. If you don't hit a perfect drop shot the other guy takes it and hits an approach and has the net on you easily, or he/she may simply be able to hit a winner off of it.

As a surprise shot, it can work. Remember Chang against Lendl in the French?

[joe sch]

Soft angled serves can be very effective especially if the returner is standing back too far. Ofcourse the surprise underhand serve can be an easy point. You can switch hands, some players had 2 forehands so they were always switching on groundies. If I cant get to a volley, I will switch hands as Im reaching for the probable passer.

[papa]

Yes, any ball served that land in the service box is legal and fair as it doesn't touch the server, his partner, the court or any permanent fixture along the way.

You can change hands on every shot or use both if you want - however, you can't throw the racquet at the ball.

[papa]

Yes, any ball served that land in the service box is legal and fair as it doesn't touch the server, his partner, the court or any permanent fixture along the way.

You can change hands on every shot or use both if you want - however, you can't throw the racquet at the ball. As an example some will serve with one hand and play the point with the other or switch hands if a ball is out of their reach.

[papa]

Yes, any ball served that land in the service box is legal and fair as it doesn't touch the server, his partner, the court or any permanent fixture along the way.

You can change hands on every shot or use both if you want - however, you can't throw the racquet at the ball. As an example some will serve with one hand and play the point with the other or switch hands if a ball is out of their reach.

[All Court]

Wait, huh? Do you mean the guy is serving right next to the net? You can't go past the baseline until contact with the ball on a serve.

And yeah, you're definitely allowed to switch hands.

[SageOfDeath]

Is it legal for someone to serve a ball very close to the net so that it doesn't even bounce out of the service box? It doesn't seem fair to me.

EDIT: Also, I am ambidextrous. Is it legal to switch hands in a match? My friend told me that it's not but I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed.

As long as he's behind baseline and he isn't drop and hitting, whether or not is overhand or underhead its legal. If you can't deal with an uber slow serve than that kinda sucks for you. Learn to attack short balls. In a serve its usually harder to disguise a short ball.

And your friend is just feeding you a bit of bull. Its perfectly legal, but as the pace gets faster if you switch hands it will probably take too much time and end up as a liability, so I suggest you choose one or the other.

[Tennis Ball Hitter]

AS long as the first bounce is in the box its legal on the serve.

You can change hands ... unless your playing cricket.

You can throw the racquet as long as your still holding it when the ball hits the strings.

[KennyNguyen]

Thanks for all the help. I was actually thinking about serving with different hands in a match to confuse people, not so much changing hands during a point.

[Rickson]

Is it legal for someone to serve a ball very close to the net so that it doesn't even bounce out of the service box? It doesn't seem fair to me.

EDIT: Also, I am ambidextrous. Is it legal to switch hands in a match? My friend told me that it's not but I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed.
A dropshot serve is perfectly legal and extremely stupid. You can switch hands all you want during a match as long as nothing touches the ball but your racquet.

[DX_Psycho]

why's it extremely stupid?

[Rickson]

why's it extremely stupid?I wouldn't hit a dropshot from behind the baseline. Dropshots are meant to travel a short distance and die quickly. If you hit a 70 foot dropshot, you'll give your opponent a lot of time to catch up to the ball and crush that weak serve.

[SageOfDeath]

I wouldn't hit a dropshot from behind the baseline. Dropshots are meant to travel a short distance and die quickly. If you hit a 70 foot dropshot, you'll give your opponent a lot of time to catch up to the ball and crush that weak serve.

Hey but if you have someone that's really lazy, it would be really amusing.

[adamc637]

If you usually serve heaters, I would understand why it would catch someone by surprise. I mean, it only takes a millisecond to drop it from your hand onto your racket, and they're probably standing a few feet behind the baseline (unless they're Agassi).