| A competent tennis player has eight basic shots in his | | | | forehands. |
| or her repertoire: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, | | | | In the 1940s and 50s the Ecuadorian/ American player |
| half-volley, overhead smash, drop shot, and lob. | | | | Pancho Segura used a two-handed forehand to |
| Serve In the days of wooden racquets, Pancho | | | | devastating effect against larger, more powerful |
| Gonzales's 112-mph serve was the fastest ever | | | | players, and many females and young players use the |
| recorded A serve (or, more formally, a "service") in | | | | two-handed grips today. |
| tennis is a shot to start a point. | | | | Backhand For right-handed players, the backhand is a |
| The serve is initiated by tossing the ball into the air and | | | | stroke that begins on the left side of their body, |
| hitting it (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the | | | | continues across their body as contact is made with |
| diagonally opposite service box without touching the | | | | the ball, and ends on the right side of their body. |
| net. The serve may be hit under- or overhand. | | | | It can be executed with either one hand or with both |
| Experienced players strive to master the conventional | | | | and is generally considered more difficult to master |
| overhand serve to maximize its power and placement. | | | | than the forehand. For most of the 20th Century it |
| The server may employ different types of serve: Flat | | | | was performed with one hand, using either an eastern |
| Serve Topspin Serve (Sometimes called a "Kick/ | | | | or a continental grip. |
| Kicker" serve. Often times confused with the | | | | The first notable players to use two hands were the |
| "American Twist" serve, since both types of serves | | | | 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich, |
| are called "Kick/Kicker" serves.) American Twist/Twist | | | | but they were lonely exceptions. The two-handed grip |
| Serve (Also, sometimes called a "Kick/Kicker" serve, | | | | gained popularity in the 1970s as Björn Borg, Chris |
| which can confuse people, since "Topspin" serves are | | | | Evert, Jimmy Connors, and later Mats Wilander used it |
| also called the same thing. | | | | to great effect, and it is now used by a large number |
| Furthermore, this serve is often times confused with | | | | of the world's best players, including Andre Agassi. |
| the "Topspin-Slice" serve as well.) Slice/Slider/Sidespin | | | | Andy Roddick, uses the "extreme western" grip to |
| Serve Topspin-Slice Serve (Often times confused to | | | | create massive amounts of top spin. It is difficult to do |
| be the same as the American Twist/Twist, though it's | | | | this and also causes injuries when done incorrectly. |
| not. The serves are very different from one another.) | | | | Two hands give the player more power, while one |
| Reverse Slice/Reverse Slider/Reverse Sidespin Serve | | | | hand can generate a slice shot, applying backspin on |
| Reverse Twist/Reverse American Twist Serve | | | | the ball to produce a low trajectory bounce. The |
| Reverse Topspin-Slice Serve A reverse type of spin | | | | player long considered to have had the best backhand |
| serve is hit in a manner that spins the ball opposite the | | | | of all time, Don Budge, had a very powerful |
| natural spin of the server, the spin direction depending | | | | one-handed stroke in the 1930s and '40s that imparted |
| upon right- or left-handedness. | | | | topspin onto the ball. Ken Rosewall, another player |
| Some servers are content to use the serve simply to | | | | noted for his one-handed backhand, used a deadly |
| initiate the point; advanced players often try to hit a | | | | accurate slice backhand with underspin through the |
| winning shot with their serve. A winning serve that is | | | | 1950s and '60s. A small number of players, notably |
| not touched by the opponent is called an ace; if the | | | | Monica Seles, use two hands on both the backhand |
| receiver manages to touch it but fails to successfully | | | | and forehand sides. |
| return it, it is called a service winner. | | | | A volley is made in the air before the ball bounces, |
| Forehand For a right-handed player, the forehand is a | | | | generally near the net, and is usually made with a |
| stroke that begins on the right side of his body, | | | | stiff-wristed punching motion to hit the ball into an open |
| continues across his body as contact is made with the | | | | area of the opponent's court. The half-volley is made |
| ball, and ends on the left side of his body. There are | | | | by hitting the ball on the rise just after it has bounced, |
| various grips for executing the forehand and their | | | | once again generally in the vicinity of the net. From a |
| popularity has fluctuated over the years. The most | | | | poor defensive position on the baseline, the lob can be |
| important ones are the continental, the eastern, and the | | | | used as either an offensive or defensive weapon, |
| western. For a number of years the small, apparently | | | | hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court |
| frail 1920s player Bill Johnston was considered by | | | | to either enable the lobber to get into better defensive |
| many to have had the best forehand of all time, a | | | | position or to win the point outright by hitting it over the |
| stroke that he hit shoulder-high using a western grip. | | | | opponent's head. If the lob is not hit deeply enough into |
| Few top players used the western grip after the | | | | the other court, however, the opponent may then hit |
| 1920s, but in the latter part of the 20th century, as | | | | an overhead smash, a hard, serve-like shot, to try to |
| shot-making techniques and equipment changed | | | | end the point. |
| radically, the western forehand made a strong | | | | Finally, if an opponent is deep in his court, a player may |
| comeback and is now used by many modern players. | | | | suddenly employ an unexpected drop shot, softly |
| No matter which grip is used, most forehands are | | | | tapping the ball just over the net so that the opponent |
| generally executed with one hand holding the racquet, | | | | is unable to run in fast enough to retrieve it. |
| but there have been fine players with two-handed | | | | |