Once in a thousand times flat serve from the ace court.

[Golden Retriever]

I can still remember them vividly. I was trying to hit a flat first serve from the ace court to my opponent's backhand side (both righthanded). The serve would land very short brushing the line at normal speed. Each and every time my opponent(s) would just stare at the ball and couldn't even react. I think I did it less than 10 times during my 3yrs of tennis playing. To me that's what tennis is all about. At my level if I could do that more consistently (maybe 1 out of every ten trials) I could probably own the game. Is there anyway to do it consistently? It doesn't have to brush the line, landing short to the opponent's backhand at an acute angle is the key. For me, they only come by accident.

[jun]

It's a low percentage play for anybody. If you are trying to hit kick serve out wide that lands short and you are standing towards the sideline, that's a little different story.

Let's say you can hit it 1 out of 10 times like you said. That's still VERY VERY low percentage. you have to win 4 pts to win a game. And you get to serve from ad side every other points. It means if you play 5 service games, then you will make one of those "untouchable" serves. That's if you win every game 40-love.

This isn't also about technique. You will need to be very tall (like 6-6 or taller to be able to generate that kind of angle. I guess if you stand near the alley, you could be a little shorter.

[AndyC]

definitely one of the harder serves.. but well worth practising. I wouldn't say u have to be that tall to do it.. I'm 5'9" and I'd say I can hit a flat serve that lands 1/3rd of the way up that line standing 1/3rd of the way along the baseline from the centre point probably 1 in 4 or 5 serves. I can increase the percentage by hitting it with a degree of topspin taking some pace off the serve and very often the placement means it's still an outright winner if not an ace.

I would suggest trying to place the serve with some topspin and once u can get the general placement then trying to hit them flatter. eventually u'll get a feel for what u can do consistently. it also helps if u make good use of your legs especially on such serves.

on another note it always amazes me how little time club players spend on their serves. my coach when I first learnt the game impressed upon me how easy it was to just turn up 20 minutes before a match/session with him to hit some serves. it helps keep the serve a well-oiled machine!

[kevhen]

My ace serve from the ad court to my opponent's backhand is a flat serve hit with the racquet slightly twisted outward. So it looks like I am swinging up the middle but the ball comes off at a slight angle and usually lands in the deep diagonal corner for a winner as my opponent is flat-footed expecting it to come up the middle. I get about 25% of these in with a 100mph swing, but the ball comes off at maybe 90mph because I lose a little bit of power by hitting it at an angle away from my swing path. But that is a good thing because the less pace allows it to drop in more. I am 6'4 so that helps with the outwide serves.

[kevhen]

Is the ace court the ad court or the deuce court or a combination of both?

[Golden Retriever]

Actually it is the ad court but I personally call it the ace court because I get more aces from that side.

[Golden Retriever]

Should I toss the ball more to my left or to my right? How about the grip? To twist it outward wouldn't an eastern grip serve the purpose better?

[kevhen]

I toss the ball a little bit left of my usual toss when going outwide with the angled racquet face but it is still slightly right of my head and out in front. I use an eastern grip and just snap my wrist towards the outside for the angle rather than straight down, so I think I get most of the angle with my wrist angling the racquet off about 5 degrees. I use Eastern for all flat serves and Full Continental for all spin serves.

[Ronaldo]

If you are familiar with the American twist serve it makes sharp-angles to the ad court a higher percentage play. Just may not ace many players with all that spin and kick but it's great on clay. Just back off the power, bend your knees, and strike the ball at 7 o'clock.