In this article I will specify my philosophy and some of the strategy I use when serving in three-wall. I believe the serve in 3-wall often ends up being the most important element of the game, particularly when you have otherwise evenly matched opponents. A devastating serve works for you in numerous ways, including accruing easy points through unreturned serves or easy put-aways, demoralizing your opponent, and conserving energy.
The serve also sets the tone for the ensuing rally and says something critical about a player. Players whose serve does little more than put the ball in play are likely to be less aggressive during a rally as well, and often rely on retrieving, wearing an opponent down, and scoring on opponent hand errors to win points. Players whose serve has distinct purpose are likely to be more offense minded, and focused on getting ahead in a point quickly and continuing to press that advantage.
For this reason, the goal of a serve is not to put the ball in play – it is to get on offense. At the very least, a majority of the servers second shots (the third shot in the rally) should be taken with his or her strong-hand in the front half of the court. At best, a majority of your second shots should press an advantage that keeps your opponent off balance and scrambling to make a defensive return. For these reasons I define a good serve rather loosely. I believe a good serve is any play that puts the server on offense for his or her next shot. In this article I will address several aspects of developing a good serve, including assessment, strategy, and troubleshooting.
The first priority in improving your serve is assessing your current service game. Consider video-taping a match and answering the following questions on e
ach service; 1) which serve did I use? 2) Was I able to hit an offense shot with my opponents return? 3) If not, which of the following mistakes did I make: poor accuracy (e.g., hit the side-wall, not deep enough, poor balance), poor power, poor decision making/poor choice of serve, taking insufficient time to prepare to hit the serve (i.e., poor pre-serve routine). Answering these questions will give you a baseline of serve effectiveness, and a certain sense of where you need to concentrate to improve your service game. I will address each of these questions in turn, because embedded in each of them is the key to developing greater effectiveness from the service box.
Service Mistakes: Assessing your game:
Service mistakes come in a few categories, the most serious being a lack of accuracy. The most egregious inaccuracy (other than an out-serve) is hitting a serve that bounces and then hits a side-wall or otherwise sits slow and high, allowing your opponent to step into his or her shot and use an aggressive motion while you are in the front court. Another form of inaccuracy is not hitting your serve deep enough. The problem with an insufficiently deep serve is that your opponent has time to read the serve after the bounce (making a hook ineffective) and he or she can step forward into his or her swing. Again, your opponent will be able to hit the ball hard from a position of good footwork while you are in the frontcourt. Poor power is a problem many players face, particularly as age becomes a factor. While increasing power is an option, it is too broad a topic for this article. I believe that power is a great weapon on the serve, but not nearly as important as an accurate serve. A player with limited power can still have a deadly serve provided he or she makes a good service choice and has great placement. Players with limited power get into trouble when they try to hit the serve as hard as they can, and thereby sacrifice accuracy. See the section on Troubleshooting if power is a problem with your serve.
Poor choice of serve includes a number of fundamental mistakes that can be corrected with greater service planning. First, it is important not to repeat the same serve over and over. The Returner can get into a groove and start to anticipate even a well placed, powerful serve. Care should be taken to mix service choices in such a way that your opponent is never quite sure what is coming next. This might mean hitting serves up the left or right side, as well as short or deep in the court. Second, players are often quite skilled in returning the ball from a specific side and/or with a specific stroke or motion. Some players have an outstanding overhead swing, making a serve that needs to be struck from over the shoulder a less effective choice. Many players have developed consistent defensive shots with their off hand, but may be less comfortable hitting defense off the serve with their strong hand. Some players have an excellent punch-shot or driving side-arm motion, making low serves less effective. It is in this area that pre-game observation and experimentation during the match can be very helpful. Your opponent may struggle to read a hook-shot, or have less confidence returning from his or her strong side. A third mistake servers make regarding choice is a lack of options. This is addressed later in this article, and can be corrected by increasing your arsenal of serves.
A lack of decision making or failing to take sufficient time to plan and visualize the serve you are going to hit is a very frequent mistake, and often responsible for inaccurate and repetitive service choices. You have 10-seconds from the time the referee calls the score to put the ball in play, and you’d be surprised by how much planning can go into ten-seconds. If, in your analysis, you find yourself calling the score and then immediately stepping up to serve without pause, it is likely you will hit an overused, unplanned, uni-dimensional serve that your opponent has seen many times before and has little fear of facing.
What makes a great server?
I think the bottom line of what makes a great server is how you feel when you are standing at the receiving line in a closely contested match. In my experience, these are elements I have observed in individuals I fear from the long line. A great server takes his or her time and knows prior to committing to putting the ball in play the serve he or she intends to hit. He or she stands in the same place, bounces the ball the same height, strikes the ball with similar power, and takes the same motion every time a specific type of serve is hit. He or she has the same pre-serve routine on every serve. He or she has a variety of options from multiple positions in the service box. He or she takes note of what is working and what is not working with a specific opponent, on a specific day, or at a specific point in the match and adjusts accordingly. He or she knows how to spin the ball in both directions (natural and reverse). He or she can, to some degree, mask or shield the serve such that it takes an opponent a split second longer to recognize and react to the serve. Finally, he or she prioritizes placement over power. While the truly great servers have both power and placement, all great servers know where to place the ball and it is always deep and off the wall if that is the intended serve. As you read the above descriptions, consider what other people might observe about your own service game. I encourage players to ask questions of their opponents to gain greater insights. This knowledge that can be compared to the analysis you made from your video. For instance, with video you can see how your opponent reacts to your serves as a gauge of effectiveness.
Types of Serves:
There are many types of serves hit from a range of positions in the service box. The types of serve you decide to hit and the percentage of times you utilize various serves should depend on your success. Serves can generally be grouped into four categories: short serves, deep serves, overhand serves, and specialty serves.
Short Serves
Short serves need to be hit such that the ball travels low and clips the sidewall close to the floor relatively soon after passing the short line (i.e., the ball ‘cracks out’) or takes a second bounce close to the side-wall and as short as possible. Vince Munoz hit an outstanding short serve to the left, a serve he hit when serving from the left side of the service box so the ball had a minimal distance to travel. Short serves are tough to hit due to the motion and power required. There is also risk involved, as a poorly executed short serve is an easy shot for the Returner. A poor short serve happens if the ball bounces first and then hits the sidewall, or if your opponent reads the serve early and easily gets into position to make a shot. However, these serves are devastating because they require an opponent to respect the short ball by moving their normal return of serve position further into the court. This can make your deep serve far more effective, as a deep ball will bounce close to his or her feet and require an off-balance or scoop-return. Short serves are also a great way to make aces.
The key to the short serve is two-fold. First, you will need to strike the ball using a fundamentally solid killshot stroke, but make your point of contact high enough so that the first bounce is just over the short line. The height of the bounce will depend on your power; I tend to strike the ball when it is around a foot high. The killshot swing plane will allow the ball to travel into the frontwall parallel with the floor. Second, your forward foot (the left foot for a right handed player) will need to step directly towards the angle you want the ball to take towards the front wall. In short, step towards the line you want the ball to take. I recommend experimenting with hitting these short serves to the right and left from two positions: the left third of the service box and the right third of the service box. One way to practice is to throw the ball rather than hitting it, and altering your swing height and step until you find the right position. I highly recommend reading some of the teaching material available through the USHA Player Development Program to learn aspects of a proper killshot stroke.
Deep serves
The deep drive serve is usually the go-to serve for most three-wall players for several reasons. First, a good deep serve needs to be returned from deep in the court, giving the Server plenty of time to adjust to the returned ball and make a shot while the Receiver has a maximum distance to cover in order to retrieve an attempted kill shot. Second, the deep serve is tough to return effectively because the ball needs to be struck by the Receiver soon after the first bounce. It will often require the Receiver to hit off his or her back foot. An effective deep serve will land within a couple of feet of the long line and miss the sidewall. Deep serves become devastating if you can add spin to the shot. Because players are often taking the ball soon after the bounce, a hook serve will create numerous hand-errors even if your hook only changes direction slightly. While many articles have been written on how to hit a hook shot, I believe the only way to learn is to ask someone how he or she does it and then practice. It’s popular belief that hooking the ball causes elbow problems. All I know is that I have been hooking the ball for years and have never suffered elbow problems from spinning the ball.
Deep serves can be hit to either side, although the traditional deep serve is to the weak hand of your opponent. If you are a player that can control the spin, hooking the ball so it runs along the wall and out of play (or “out the back door”) is a very effective means of acing your opponent. A hook that moves towards the wall is also very effective, but should be used with caution as this serve can become an easy return if it hits high on the side wall and your opponent can step in to hit it. A hook that moves towards the wall can be hit so it lands further into the court (i.e., 3 feet from the side-wall), which is also effective because your opponent is expecting the ball closer to the sidewall. A deep serve to the strong-hand side makes a great balance to the weak-handed direction. Even when used sparingly, this serve requires you opponent to stay more central in the court and keeps him or her from getting into a groove returning from one side only. If you are having trouble getting a consistent deep serve in, see the Troubleshooting section.
Another deep serve that is effective when used sparingly is hit directly at your opponent’s feet with spin. I often hit this serve from the left third of the service area to avoid screening the ball. When hit properly, this serve is often a surprise to the Receiver and can handcuff even top-level opponents. What makes this serve hard to return is how close it comes to the Receiver’s body, and the fact that players are accustomed to moving laterally when they return the serve. As with other deep serves, the ball must land close to the long line.
Overhand serves
For players with a strong overhand, an overhand drive serve is very effective and requires opponents to return the ball using an overhand stroke. If your opponent is weak from this position, an overhand drive or lob is often a better option than a drive serve. The overhand serve can be hit from any position on the court, but again it will be critical to keep the ball from clipping the sidewall. Kendal Lewis uses a very effective overhand drive that bounces at around the 35-foot mark. He hits this to either side, which requires the Receiver to respect both corners and keeps him or her from cheating to a side. Kendall’s power and height only add to the deadliness of this serve, as the Receiver has to guess whether it will clip the side wall, charge in rapidly to hit it on a short hop, or retreat well behind the long line to hit a return from his or her back foot.
Softer overhand lobs can also be effective, but these serves need to be hit from a position right along the sidewall. Otherwise, the Receiver can step into the shot and take it in the air, leaving the Server in a defensive position. Andy Schad hits a very effective lob along the left wall. His serve can be hit hard or soft, and typically bounces around the 35-foot mark right at the spot where the wall meets the floor. As with all other serves, it is important for you to concentrate on placement over power.
Specialty serves
Specialty serves are also useful, and important to have in your arsenal depending on the opposition. For example, some Receivers will step well into the court (particularly in doubles) to cut off an overhand drive or lob serve. If that player has quick reflexes and/or surprises you by moving in or staying at the deep line in an unpredictable pattern, it can be easy to get out of your service rhythm and start making the classic service mistake – namely, trying to hit your serve as hard as you can and losing accuracy.
There are a few specialty serves worth mentioning. First is the two-wall deep serve to the center of the court that is useful if you are playing doubles against opponents whose weak sides are both in the center of the court (i.e., a lefty playing the left and a righty playing the right). Although more effective in 4-wall, this serve requires your opponents to return from the weak side and can create confusion if your opponents fail to communicate properly. Second is a deep two-wall serve to the corner of the court opposite the corner the ball hits at the front wall. This serve is struck similarly to a z-serve in 4-wall, but hit slightly deeper and at a more shallow angle so that the ball never hits a third wall. Similar to the 2-wall serve, this z-serve needs to be hit so it lands deep in the court and moving quickly towards the wall it will narrowly miss. For a righty, this serve is best hit into the left corner and crossing to the deep right. What makes this serve so effective is that it makes your opponent move first to one side and then to the opposite side of the court. For a righty, your opponent will first move left, only to then realize the ball will be on the right side of the court. As most 3-wall players also play 4-wall, the instinct will be to wait for the ball to come off the sidewall. When hit properly, the ball never hits that third wall and your opponent is left wondering what just happened. This is another serve best used sparingly. If your opponent reads the serve, he or she can move quickly into a position allowing an overhand stroke that can be hit with power.
Trouble shooting:
When your deep serve that is not deep enough:
1) Striking the ball too low. Players who fail to get the ball deep enough are typically hitting the ball with too low a bounce. I believe most players continue to use their 4-wall service bounce, and in an effort to get the ball to the long line they will either try to hit the ball harder or hit the ball on an arc. If you are trying to muscle the ball to the back line, you are probably loosing power rather than increasing power. Jack Nicholas once talked about power and said that when he needs to give the ball a little more distance, he tries to relax and unwind smoothly rather than trying to crack the ball as hard as he can. The reason is that muscle tension decreases power, and trying to crush the ball increases tension. I try to hit my serves with 80% power, and if my serve is falling short I’ll hit it from a higher bounce. For some players, this might mean using your overhand stroke.
2) Failing to focus on where you want the ball to take its first bounce. Called “visualization,” this technique provides a specific target and motion for your body to imitate when you hit your serve. Try to visualize the exact spot on the floor where you want the ball to land as you are setting up to serve.
3) Arc the ball rather than trying to hit the typical side-arm stroke (e.g., a motion that carries in a relatively straight line to the front wall). The arcing serve is less preferable for many reasons, but is still more effective than a serve carrying less than 36-feet.
4) Punch the serve to get more power. While I have had little success with this serve, Golden Masters player Richard Solomon uses a punch serve with both power and accuracy. If you have a good punch shot, experiment in practice with a punch serve.
5) Try and hit your serve a specific distance too long. If your serve is always around 6 feet short, concentrate on a point as many as 6 feet past the long line and try to get it there. Your short serve will now make it all the way to the long line, and if it travels too far you still have one more chance to make a safer serve.
You deep serve has poor accuracy
If you are hitting the sidewall with many of your serves, these might be part of the problem:
1) Over hitting the serve. Try hitting with 80% power.
2) Poor body position when hitting the ball. If your right-handed serve is hitting the left side-wall, you may be hitting the ball at a point too far in front of you (in baseball terms, you’re ahead of the ball) such that the impact point is past the midline of your body. This problem limits both power and accuracy, causing you to ‘pull’ the ball further left than your intention. To practice the proper position, stand with your shoulders parallel to the side wall and hit drive shots straight forward and back to you while purposefully placing your drop such that you hit the ball directly at your midline – right in the middle of the body at your bellybutton.
3) Poor position in the service box. Try moving further towards the right or left wall to adjust your serve. Moving to the right wall can be helpful if you continue the same motion, but moving closer to the left wall may also work if you try to serve a shallower angle.
4) Not taking your time. The serve is the only shot that can be hit from a very deliberate position. Capitalize on this by using good planning and a consistent pre-shot routine.
5) Visualize the serve. Sometimes on a bad serving day I will visualize the exact spot on the floor I want the ball to bounce. I have found this to be far more effective than hitting towards a general area, like ‘hit it deep’. Other players will sometimes hit towards a certain spot on the front-wall, although personally I have not had good results with that technique.
6) Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. Comments like “keep it off the wall’ or “don’t hit it short” create negative imagery and negative expectation. Focus on what you want to see happen, such as “hit it several feet inside the court” or “put the bounce a foot from the short line” or ‘hit that spot on the floor’.
7) Lack of practice. Rather than only playing matches, get to the courts early or on an off day and do nothing but practice. Bring 10 handballs and a few targets – I will sometimes use a chipping net I got for golf and hit the same serve using the ten balls until I make a satisfying ratio of proper serves. For example, I refuse to work on anything else until I have successfully hit that serve 8 out of 10 times.
8) Taking a bad step. Your forward foot needs to step towards the angle you want the ball to take to and then away from the front wall. If you are hitting a sidewall, consider taking a forward step at a shallower angle.
Short serve doesn’t travel far enough
Bounce the ball higher. You will need to hit the ball in a line into the front wall, and the ball will then drop a certain amount based on your power. If the ball is not making it to the wall on the fly, bounce it so you can hit it a few inches higher.
Short serve doesn’t crease the wall
1) You might be stepping in a slightly wrong direction. Focus on the angle you want the ball to take and step directly towards the spot on the wall where you want the ball to go.
2) As with other serves, you might not be visualizing the serve and/or taking your time to prepare for the shot. Never rush a short service motion.
Opponents keep cutting the ball off by taking your serve in the air
This is a tough situation. As a Receiver, I will often move to cut off the ball for several reasons. First, cutting the ball off just once will leave the Server always wondering whether you are about to do it again. For this reason, even a failed cut-off return can pay off. Second, some serves are tough to return on the bounce – such as a deep hooking serve or deep lob – and by taking them in the air you remove the bounce from the equation. As the server, how to handle this depends on the type of serve that is being cut off.
If your overhand is being cutoff, you can try the following:
1) Move closer the sidewall so that the bounce jams your opponent in the wall
2) Hit a serve that strikes the sidewall at the approximate depth of your opponent. Much like a 2-wall pass, this serve will often jam your opponent.
3) Hit the serve with a mix of power – sometimes hit it on a drive, and sometimes hit it on an arc.
If your drive serve is being cut off, you can try the following:
1) Switch serves for a while. If your deep serve to left is being cut off, serve a few to the right or short left.
2) Hit a hooking serve at the Receiver’s feet.
Hopefully this article offers some guidance towards improving what I believe to be the most important part of a solid 3-wall game. Capitalize on the controlled opportunity offered by the serve by hitting a deliberate, planned, and purposeful serve. Quick points, pressing the offense, and frustrating your opponent are the rewards of a solid service game. One of the fundamental goals of my game is to make my opponent work hard for his points, while I score with seemingly minimal effort. Always remember the goal of your serve – to get an offensive shot. While it is always more fun to play than practice, if you want to see a dramatic jump in your ability consider the recommendations in this article and start taking a more mindful approach to your service game – it will be worth it!