As we all know, each point in tennis starts with a rival’s serve. A player’s serve can be a very powerful weapon and there are many players who have become known for their outstanding serves. John Isner, for example, has a killer serve.
He is the all-time record holder for the most number of aces. He has served over 14,000 aces during his career. And Isner is still an active player so he continues to see his ace count rise.
The #2 all-time on the most aces list is the former #14 player in the world, the Croatian, Ivo Karlovic with 13,762 aces. To put this in perspective, Novak Djokovic is #17 in the world with less than 7,000 aces in his career.
While Isner also holds the official ATP record for the fastest ever serve, at 157.2 miles per hour (MPH), Sam Groth served the fasted serve ever recorded, at 163.4 mph (263 kilometers per hour).
Sam Groth – Tennis Serve Speed Record
What is the Underhand Serve?
Many tennis fans dispute this type of serve, but the underarm serve is completely legal. The underhand serve, also known as the underarm serve, does not violate any rule of tennis, although some people believe that it is unsportsmanlike and should not be utilized.
The International Federation of Tennis (ITF) rules simply require that the ball is released and then hit with racquet. Rule 16 states:
THE SERVICE
Immediately before starting the service motion, the server shall stand at rest with both feet behind (i.e. further from the net than) the baseline and within the imaginary extensions of the centre mark and the sideline. The server shall then release the ball by hand in any direction and hit the ball with the racket before the ball hits the ground. The service motion is completed at the moment that the player’s racket hits or misses the ball. A player who is able to use only one arm may use the racket for the release of the ball.
The underhand serve is practiced much more often during training or as part of a warm-up to help get a feel of the ball. In competitions, it is seldom used because it is considered much less effective than the classic serve.
Of course, this serve does not have the speed of the classic serve, but if used in the right way, it can be very useful and effective. Not too many players use it, but throughout history we have had some interesting moments with big names in tennis using the underhand serve to keep their opponents on their toes.
Sara Errani – Underarm serve
Iconic Moments
In 1989, at the French Open, the former world number #2 Michael Chang decided to make use the underhand serve in a match against Ivan Lendl, the #1 player in the world at the time and 3 time French Open champion.
This serve became one of the iconic moments in the history of tennis. Chang later shocked the tennis world be winning the 1989 French Open when he was only 17 years old by beating Stefan Edberg, the former #1 ranked player and winner of 6 Grand Slam titles.
Michael Chang performed underarm serve at 1989 French Open
After the end of his career, Ivan Lendl coached several players, one of them being Andy Murray. Lendl helped him reach the #1 spot in the ATP rankings, and it was Murray who used the same move last summer that Chang used in an epic match against Lendl.
He used an underarm serve in the Wimbledon first-round match against James Duckworth and considered such a move as a completely legitimate tactic because he noticed that the Australian was standing quite far behind the baseline on the return.
“It’s a legitimate way of serving. I would never use an underarm serve if someone was standing on the baseline because I think it’s a stupid idea”, Murray said.
Martina Hingis Also Used an Underarm Serve
Martina Hingis did the same thing a decade later at the same tournament where Chang used the underarm serve, and was met with a huge outcry from the crowd.
In the French Open final against Steffi Graf, she used an underarm serve on her opponent’s match point. Hingis was very nervous in that match after one referee’s decision was awarded in favor of her opponent.
That moment happened when she had a 6-4, 2-0 lead. Hingis had a chance to finish the match, but the legendary German came back into the match and eventually won the title.
During the entire match, the audience reacted negatively to Hingis’ behavior due to her on court behavior. This contributed to her being booed during an underarm serve at the very end of the match.
Martina Hingis during 1999 French Open final
Kyrgios, Bublik…
Michael Chang popularized the underarm serve three decades ago, and then Martina did it a decade later. After that, the underhand serve was rarely seen until a few years ago when Nick Kyrgios added the underhand serve to his arsenal of serves.
In the same place where we saw an underarm serve from Andy Murray, Kyrgios also did it. Three years ago at Wimbledon, he used the underarm serve twice against Rafael Nadal and surprised “The King of Clay” both times. He even aced Nadal on an underhand serve!
While Kyrgios lost the match to Nadal, it was a fun match for Kyrgios fans to watch.
Here is another clip of Kyrgios, this time he serves underhand and in between his legs!
In addition to Kyrgios, Alexander Bublik also likes to occasionally use this serve. Bublik, the current #49 player in the world, is known for his use of the underarm serve. He does it even more often than Kyrgios. Two years ago Bublik took the underhand serve to a new level.
At the Viking International in Eastbourne, in a match against Lorenzo Sonego, he served in this manner an extraordinary seven times in just one game! He was losing the match and decided to have some fun. He actually won the game, although he only won one point that that began with an underhand serve.
