The first shot is the opening of your match. It’s the pièce de résistance of your match, and if you serve a bad first shot, your entire game is going to suffer. Having a good serve is crucial to your tennis skills, and it shows more than ever when you’re taking that first shot. But with this said, why exactly is your first serve the most important?

It Puts You In Charge of the Court

That’s exactly what everyone wants, isn’t it? To own the court. To have a good handle on how the game is progressing, and exactly how to manipulate it into a win. Every other shot you make on the court, the opponent has a little bit of say into how it goes down- but at that first shot, they’ve got nothing. They’re just waiting to see what you do. 

It Sets The Mood For The Match

With your first serve, you set the mood for the entire match.If it’s a phenomenal first serve, it tells your opponent exactly what you need to tell them- that you’re here, you’re not afraid to stand up to them, and you have come here to win. If you don’t make that good first serve, it gives your opponent a mental advantage, and they can use that to fight back even harder than you would’ve.

It’s the First Shot

If you have the opportunity to score the first point of the match, why wouldn’t you take it? If you do well on your first serve, you’ve set the momentum of the match. Whether that’s fast or slow is up to you, but your opponent has to rely on that to keep moving. You have almost total control over the match when you make the first serve, and it can serve you in a medley of different ways.