Serve ’em Out Wide

It’s not always a good idea to play like the pros, not only because you don’t have the skills of a pro, but because your opponents don’t either, and you might be able to use strategies the pros can’t! For example, serving wide to a pro opens up severe angles (deep and down the line and short crosscourt) which require the server to cover two extreme sides of the court.

Recreational players, however, often have trouble moving laterally and forward for wide serves, or lack the mechanics to hit hard, accurate and acutely angled groundstrokes.

For this reason, the wide serve might be a good weapon in a variety of situations. Following are some suggestions for using a wide serve during matches (most instances assume right hander vs. right hander).

#1 Singles — Deuce Court
A wide serve to the deuce court opens up two extreme angles for the receiver to use against the server: the deep, down-the-line return; the short crosscourt return.

At the recreational level, however, players often struggle with their ability to hit a forehand on the run, laterally or while moving forward. Many recreational players will try to go for the deep and down-the-line return because it appears to be so open, but many of these attempts will land wide, long, in the net, or only around the service line.

Serving wide in the deuce court will therefore open up angles for the server off the return, including a deep ball to ad court (to the receiver’s backhand), or a sharply angled ball to the deuce court (hit behind a receiver recovering in the opposite direction).

Using these two angles will set up either a winning third shot by opening up the court, or allow the server to hit one more deep ball to completely open the court for a winning fourth shot.

#2 Singles — Ad Court
If a right-handed player wishes to serve wide in the ad court, he or she can gain a better angle by moving toward the doubles alley prior to serving. While this gives the receiver a good shot at the down-the-line return to the unprotected ad side of the server’s court, remember, the receiver will have to do this with a down-the-line backhand while stretched and moving wide.

Left-handers will have a more natural wide serve to the ad court, and their serve will also continue to run away from a right-handed opponent.

#3 Doubles — Deuce Court
At higher levels of play, it’s important to keep the ball down the middle to take away severe angles and to force an inside-out groundstroke. Against left-handers, players with weak lateral movement, or players with semi-Western or Western grips, a short, wide serve can be an effective weapon. Because of the danger of the passing shot down the alley (straight ahead) servers should let their partners know when they plan to serve wide.

#4 Doubles — Ad Court
A wide serve to the ad court once again opens up two angles for the receiver, but makes the receiver hit a backhand. At the recreational level, this may be reward enough for serving wide. A short wide serve will also prove difficult for a receiver with a two-handed backhand. Once again, the server should communicate with his or her partner prior to serving wide.

If a player in the ad court is consistently returning shots that are difficult for the serving team to play, the serving team may try playing in an I formation. While a wide serve to the backhand opens up the down-the-line opportunity, the server will be serving from closer to the center service line, and many recreational players have difficulty hitting backhands down the line because they do not rotate their upper body correctly. Serving wide to a receiver in the ad court and forcing them to hit down the line because the net person is crosscourt may take away their strong return and force them to hit weaker returns.

Of course, as with all other strategies and tactics, it’s important for your singles and doubles players to practice these types of serves prior to their matches.