A robust, strong serve is one of the best weapons in a player's arsenal, and getting a good first serve in helps a player declare themselves from the get go. A powerful serve can come in many shapes and forms, but immediately helps a player go on the attack.
The best serves combine power, precision and purpose to create a good shot – and one that is difficult to return.
Here’s a look at 5 of the best serves in the business among the current WTA crop:
#5 Madison Keys
Young American ace Madison Keys has it all – power, precision, panache. Considered the ‘next Serena Williams’ at only 22, Keys has some great power-hitting in her arsenal – but even she knows how good her serve is, and lists it as her favourite shot.
Most powerful on quick grass surfaces, Keys’ serve is her biggest weapon. She has dominated the points on serve – most notably during the 2016 grass-court season, where she held up excellently during the Aegon Classic to take her second WTA title. Incidentally, her first was also on grass, at Eastbourne in 2014.
That serve is both speedy and powerful, and Keys uses this to her advantage. The big, fast hitting is something that would normally be useful on faster surfaces, but last year Keys appears to have unlocked it to her advantage, reaching the finals at Rome, before losing in the finals to Serena Williams.
The youngest player in the top 10, World No 9 Madison Keys’ serve is a delight to watch – and with more training, could become even more precise, given that at only 22, it is already one of the best on Tour.
#4 Sam Stosur
She was once World No. 4 and may have since dropped in the rankings, but Australian ace Samantha Stosur is a force to be reckoned with. Proficient in both the singles and doubles, Stosur has perhaps the best kick serve in the business.
What’s a kick serve, you might ask.
There are many ways to serve in tennis, and the kick serve is one of them. It’s key in outfoxing opponents, keeping them guessing and on their feet, and Stosur does this in spades.
Her serve is fast, and it is powerful – but the key to just how successful it is is in the placement. Stosur’s serve often forces her opponent out wide, and the spin adds more unpredictability that helps Stosur win.
She is considered among the fittest players on tour, and the physicality of Stosur’s serve is testament to just that.
#3 Sabine Lisicki
German ace Sabine Lisicki holds the record for the fastest ever – at 131mph, breaking a previously held record by Venus Williams. She has one of the biggest serves in the business, and controls it perfectly.
Lisicki tosses the ball higher than most players, then reaches high to make the shot. This isn’t as easy as it seems – the wind can interfere with the spin of the ball, and she controls it perfectly.
Arching her entire body, Lisicki reaches high for the shot – and key in her serve is the wrist movement, which is loose and liberated, and gives her shots that extra ‘spring’.
Between her ascent and ‘landing’, Lisicki also times her shots to perfection – and that has been incredibly important in her game. Key in this is her incredible concentration – and with this killer combination, it’s no wonder the German has one of the best serves in the business!
#2 Venus Williams
Venus Williams is a hard server. That’s an understatement. She consistently raises fast, powerful serves, and until Sabine Lisicki came along, Venus held the record for the fastest serve of all-time in women’s tennis.
She’s one of the tallest players in the business at 6’1’’, and Venus’ height has aided significantly in her serves.
Focusing on the way she holds her racquet, Venus adopts the famous Eastern Grip, which is when the racquet is held on the third bevel – quite a low grip, which she has said is not necessarily conducive to carrying on rallies, because it does not offer as much control as a player would like.
As I wrote earlier, there are many different serves a tennis player can adopt, and while someone like Sam Stosur, for instance, prefers a kick serve, Venus’ serves tend to be flat, and aimed towards the body of her rivals. That, she says, weakens the ball for her opponent, leading to less-than-ideal returns for them.
Key also is how Venus positions herself. Standing further away from the centre of the baseline than most players, the older Williams sister then angles her serve and tosses the ball straight upwards – which she says is ideal. This default serve doesn’t necessarily generate much spin, but is perfectly slotted. She has often said how hitting it at the right time ensures maximum results, which is why the tall ace reaches for when the ball is at its highest point during the toss.
There’s an intricacy to Venus Williams’ serve that few players exhibit, showing exactly why she is considered one of the best servers in the business.
#1 Serena Williams
Serena Williams is a powerhouse. John McEnroe once described her serve as the “most important shot in tennis.” Her serve is powerful, no doubt, but it is also incredibly fast. The World No. 1 routinely hits speeds of upto 120mph, hit by the ATP’s fastest servers.
Her serve is strong, aggresisve and as assertive as the player herself, but it is also technically perfect – it’s considered perhaps the most technically sound serve in the business.
She stands close to the centre of the baseline, unlike sister Venus, who stands far behind. Like her sister Venus, however, she prefers a low grip on the racquet, both for backhands and forehands.
Serena starts off with a perfect ball toss. Unlike many other players who will bend at the elbow or the shoulder, leading to a bit of unpredictability with the ball when it is tossed, the No. 1 locks her arm straight – ensuring a smooth, fluid toss and assured motion.
Few players use their bodies as does the younger Williams sister, and Serena angles her body to ensure momentum is perfectly shifted as she directs the ball to the other end of the net. Rather than stand 90 degrees to the baseline as most do, Williams angles herself just before she serves, and gives herself space to angle the racquet upwards once the ball is tossed, helping generate extra racquet speed – making the serve not just powerful, but quick.
In the lead-up to making contact with the ball, Serena rotates her racquet – a rotation that completes itself through to the end of the serve. The downward rotation of that serve is called pronation, and it adds both spin and power to the serve.
From start to finish, Serena is technically sound and powerful on what is perhaps the best serve going, and the intricacy of a movement that in real-time, would take only a few seconds, shows just how much goes into having one of the best serves of all time.
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