Flat and Slice Serve when playing Tennis

The flat serve is usually used as the first serve and is the fastest serve in the game. Male professional players can serve the ball on a flat serve as fast as 125 miles per hour. This serve was known prior as a cannonball serve and this is performed by swinging directly through the ball without any spin on the ball.

The flat serve must be hit close to the net since there is no spin to help it dip into the service box. Therefore the margin for error on this serve is very little and the reason why players generally use the serve only on their first serve. And it usually is hit down the center part of the court since the net is at its lowest (three feet) height.

The slice serve is accomplished by brushing through the ball in a rightward motion at contact. And a lefthander will do the same but in a leftward motion upon contact. This causes the ball to have a sidespin and making it either skid to the left or right and slice away from the opponent. The ball is usually hit at the players two or three o'clock position and to the right of the player's head. There is little margin if any for error and this serve is also usually used as a first serve by players since the risk is higher. Many players have perfected this serve and hit the ball with such speed that it is impossible for the opponent to hit the ball back.