Serve-and-volley
A tennis tactic where the server follows their serve to the net, aiming to win the point with a quick volley.
Definition
In serve-and-volley, the player who serves immediately moves forward toward the net rather than staying on the baseline. The plan is to put the returner under pressure and then finish the point with a volley before the opponent can set up a strong passing shot.
Once a dominant style on fast grass courts, serve-and-volley is now used more selectively, often as a surprise or on a strong first serve. It contrasts with baseline play, where points are contested mainly from the back of the court, and it also appears in doubles and in net-focused racket sports such as padel and pop-tennis.
Where you’ll hear “serve-and-volley”
Sports that use this term:
Tennis
A singles or doubles racquet sport that blends agility, strategy and stamina on court.
Padel
A sociable, doubles-first racquet sport played in an enclosed court where the walls stay in play.
POP Tennis
A friendly, easy-to-learn racquet sport on a smaller court with solid paddles and a lower net.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Serve-and-volley to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Techniques
Go deeper with Serve-and-volley
Everywhere else on the platform that covers Serve-and-volley — assembled from what actually references it, so nothing here is a dead end.
Take it away
Open data and the whole-platform view of this subject.
How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Term
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
Evergreen, first-party explanation — it makes no claim that needs an external source. How we handle sources and reviews.