09-SEPTEMBER-2019-NEWSLETTER

TENNIS | PICKLEBALL | BOCCE | PÉTANQUE

Tikky Srieud - Director of Tennis

The Serve

must run across a longer diagonal line.

The Serve has a critical role in doubles. The serve begins each point, and getting in a lot of solid first serves will ensure that your team begins points in a positive, aggressive manner. But there is a very clear difference between serving in singles and serving in doubles. In singles, since both players are covering the entire court, the server typically stands as close to the center of the court as possible. In doubles, servers should stand halfway between the middle line and the singles sideline, or closer to the singles sideline near the alley. On the Ad side, it is advisable to stand a foot or two closer to the alley, to take advantage of the wide angle serve into the receiver’s backhand. Unfortunately, many singles players transitioning to doubles don’t understand the value of standing wider to serve and simply stand where they normally stand to serve in singles. This is a big mistake for the following reasons: 1. It eliminates the wide serve, as your partner standing at the net would get hit in the back of the head. 2. The receiving team has much more space available for hitting a fairly simple shot cross-court. 3. If you are serving and volleying, it makes the distance to travel to the net for the first volley longer. Instead of having to merely run straight ahead, you

The server’s goal is to get at least 70 percent of their first serves-even if that means hitting the ball softer than in singles. The server should adopt a baseball pitcher’s mentality. Mix up speeds. Vary locations. Experiment with different formations. TOP Responsibilities of the Server 1. Get a large percentage of first serves in. 2. Control the tempo of the game. 3. Communicate serve choice with partner.

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