Serve (tennis)

A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. The serve is initiated by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net.

Great servers

Great servers, particularly known for the power of their serves, include (amongst many others)

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• Maurice McLoughlin, the California Comet, who was the first well-known player to use the cannonball serve
• Bill Tilden, who popularized the cannonball
• Ray Casey, a California left-hander
• Ellsworth Vines
• Don Budge
• Jack Kramer
• Pancho Gonzales
• Roscoe Mountain Tanner
• Boris Becker
• Pete Sampras, had the best second serve and arguably the best first serve among modern players
• Goran Ivanisevic, won Wimbledon largely with his serve
• Ivo Karlovic
• Greg Rusedski
• Joachim Johansson
• Andy Roddick, the fastest serve in history at 249.45 km/h (155 mph)
• Steffi Graf
• Venus Williams, fastest serve in women's tennis.
• Serena Williams