Targeting : Where and Why - The Serve

Be sure to positively identify your target before hitting the ball...

This is the first of my posts describing skills and drills sessions that I am leading with a group of experienced players. This week's post comes after the first session held on Tuesday. Future articles will be posted on the Monday preceding the S&D sessions. Tuesday's session focused on the serve targeting strategies. 

One reminder before starting - there is a set of premises that guide us in through the decision-making process. These were covered in the article Targeting: Where and Why.

Serve Targets

Beginners

The serve should be the easiest shot in the game. The ball is in your hand and is not moving. You serve only when ready and you have picked your target. That is why the targeting for a serve can get very specific. The first target is the service court, the rectangular area in which your serve must land in order to avoid a fault. Getting the serve in is a must. Player Red A must get his serve in the green area when serving Player Blue A. That should be the sole focus of beginning players.

Intermediate

As players advance in skill levels, their targets should become more specific. Players at skill levels 2.5-3.0 should start to think about serves that help the goal of controlling the net. That means hitting a deep serve, somewhere in the 1/3 of the service court nearest the baseline. A deep serve accomplishes 3 important things. First, it reduces the horizontal options for the returner because the net covers more of his field of opportunity. Second, it will increase the difficulty for the returner to get the net simply due to the increased distance he must move. Third, a longer return gives the serving team more time to move to their ball and make a more controlled third shot.

Advanced

Similarly, players advancing to the 3.5-40 (and maybe even 4.5) skill levels should get even more specific. There are 3 primary targets to create advantages.

Target 1 - The serve to the deep "T" (the intersection of the baseline and the centerline) creates 3 advantages when Player Blue A is right-handed. First, the same advantages of a deep serve as discussed above are gained. Second, the serve forces Blue Player A toward the middle of the court. This opens the right side of his court to a hard third shot. Third, a right-handed player will be forced to hit the return with his backhand, generally the weaker side.

The server (Red Player A) can move to his side of the centerline in order to create a better angle to target the T serve. Opponents recognize the advantage of the move, though, so service positions and targets should vary. 

Target 2 - The serve to the deep corner also creates 3 advantages when Player Blue A is left-handed. First, the same advantages of a deep serve as discussed above are gained. Second, the serve forces Blue Player A off the court. This opens either the middle of his court - when the returner's partner holds his position on the left side - or down the line behind the returner's partner when he adjusts to the returner's off-court position. Third, a left-handed player will be forced to hit the return with his backhand, generally the weaker side.

The server (Red Player A) can move to his sideline in order to create a better angle to target the corner serve. Opponents recognize the advantage of the move, though, so service positions and targets should vary. 

Target 3 - The serve to the short corner creates 2 advantages when Player Blue A is left-handed. First, the serve forces Blue Player A off the court. This opens a lot of his court, with the open area determined by the returner's coverage adjustment. Second, a left-handed player will be forced to hit the return with his backhand, generally the weaker side.

This serve must be hit softly in order to clear the net and still land short. Often, a soft short serve actually creates another advantage when it fools the opponent as a "change-up" to the harder deeper serve. There is a risk, however, if the serve is not perfect and the returner is not fooled. He has the opportunity to hit a short return and gain immediate control of the net. This serve should be used sparingly.

As a side note, serving to each of these targets with added side spin makes the serve even more effective.

High Advanced

Interestingly, top level players do not generally use specific targets other than keeping it deep. Play at that level does not allow for any advantage to be gained with the serve. Players generally do not take any significant risks and just get the rally started with deep down-the-center of the service court serve.

What about Stackers?

The previous discussion was based on opponents playing with traditional positioning. Does targeting strategy change when the opponents stack? In a word - yes. Stacking with both players on the same side of the court creates opportunities to jam them together or leave most of the court uncovered.

Either serve to the sideline exposes the entire left side of the court. The short soft serve to Target 2 may even result in players standing side-by-side off the court.

Please note that the court diagrams above and strategies are all for the right service court, but they also apply to the left court as well with the only difference being the impact on right-handed or left-handed players.

For additional information on this topic, please see Service Strategies, one of my first articles.