How to Hold Serve More Often

One of the best tips that I received came in one sentence from a former pro. As a junior, I had a solid game, but lacked a true weapon. I was relatively quick and anticipated well. My volleys were decent from a lot of doubles matches growing up. I could hit a pretty heavy forehand and had a solid, consistent backhand. I could hit my spots well on the serve with the three main spins: slice, kick, flat. But what one coach told me when I was 16 years old changed the way I approached my service games, resulting in more matches won. He said...

If you're not getting at least two free points from your serve each game, you're not doing your job.

No longer is a serve just a point starter. Now there is intentionality and purpose behind it. Two points per game on average is a huge advantage. Two free points does not need to be two aces. It could be unreturned serves or just a weak ball that results in an opportunity to finish with a +1. For me, that looked like adding a little more pace to my slice and flat serves, while being extra picky with locations. It meant that I missed a few more first serves and had to rely on my second serve more, but I also held serve more often and won more matches in my junior career and through college.

Yes, maybe you would win those points anyway in an extended rally, but winning them off the serve or first ball saves your energy for when you do play longer points. It also gives you more energy for return games. Think about it this way, if you can play shorter points on your serve because you have more intentionality with serve speed, spin, and location, you have more freedom to take chances on return games too.

Hope this makes our complex sport a little simpler and helps boost your game!