Serving email

April 11, 2025. Lynn Broman

Who serves first?

You spin to see who chooses to serve first. It is a good idea to ensure everyone knows what “up” means for the spun racquet. Most teams give little thought to several options and simply have the right waller begin serving from the right.

The team that wins the spin has the choice to serve first or not. Give that choice some thought. If you are better returners than servers, or the opponents are not strong servers, why not choose to receive? Your first hand should be the stronger server. Serve to the weaker returner.

A pregame discussion about the weaknesses and strengths of your team and the opponents is valuable. What type of serve will be effective against each opponent? What is your focus for returning serve? Is there court positioning that will help gain an advantage?

Some changes can be made during a game. You cannot change first hand. You cannot change the receiver side. But you can change the side to begin each side in. You can change your positioning. You can change up your serve style. You can adapt your return of serve.

You can decide who is first hand and receiver side at the beginning of each game. The winner of the previous team can decide which team serves first.

Use the rules as you strategize.