Body Serve
Serve | Lob Serve | Smash Serve | Body Serve | Backhand Serve
The Body Serve is a rather ungentlemanly Serve but a very useful shot that should be used several times during the course of a match.
The Body Serve is hit hard so that it comes down the middle of the court towards the body of the person at some speed, looking to force them into a weak or rushed return.
A Body Serve typically goes behind the person or comes directly at them. The idea is to catch your opponent out and cause them to turn or scramble and play a weak return. More often than not Body Serves are very effective as they are hard to deal with, particularly for less mobile players.
Play a Body Serve in two quick steps:
- Aim for the middle of the front wall – With the Body Serve, you are obviously not looking to hit the side wall like the other common Serves and so you need to aim more for the middle of the front wall.
- Hitting the ball like a Volley – As when hitting a Smash Serve, try to hit the ball as if you were hitting a Volley. With your racket about the same height as the ball and with a constant swing height, you can generate the required power. As with the Smash Serves, avoid going for a tennis style overhead Serve. Not only does it leave you off balance and vulnerable to a quick Return of Service, it is usually inaccurate and has been known to cause people shoulder pains.
→ Check out our other related pages:
→ Recommended posts for those looking at Serve & Return of Serve:
Varying the Serve in Squash, Which side should you Serve to first?, The Importance of the Backhand Serve, Watching the ball on the Return of Serve