In tennis, there are a lot of words being thrown around that, with an outsider’s perspective, you might not necessarily know. When you’re learning tennis, though, that knowledge gap can make or break your matches. So, to start clearing things up- what is a kick serve, and why does it matter to your gameplay?

Defining the Kick Serve

What is a kick serve, anyway? It’s a move where you brush the racket up and over the ball as you run across the court. This can help the ball make it over the net, but it doesn’t stay in the air long enough to go out-of-bounds- instead, it creates the perfect storm for your opponent to miss the catch. A kick serve is often done on the second serve of a point, and can help your game in a lot of different ways.

Perks of A Kick Serve

The kick serve can work great on both the second and first serve, for lots of different reasons. One of those reasons is that it gives you plenty of room for error. With the way that the ball arcs after you hit it, it’s got plenty of room to go over the net- but not much room to go out of bounds. No reason to give your opponent a free point, after all. Furthermore, the kick serve is particularly difficult to defend against- something that you want all the more of when it’s your opponent’s turn to fight back. It can even help you open up the court, if you’re looking to widen up a new side to play on. Kick serves can help you in a number of ways- from knocking your opponents back to just helping you get it over the net, they’re a fantastic move to have in your playbook, and definitely something to practice with.