Through GMCB Photography, Gigi Cowan-Bondick serves as a wildlife, outdoor, and brand development photographer. Beyond her professional activities and various nonprofit work, Gigi Bondick enjoys staying active by playing tennis weekly.

1. UNDERSTANDING
THE FOUR SERVES
OFTENNIS
Gigi Bondick

2. Introduction
• ThroughGMCB Photography,Gigi Cowan-Bondick serves as a wildlife, outdoor,
and brand development photographer. Beyond her professional activities and
various nonprofit work, Gigi Bondick enjoys staying active by playing tennis
weekly.
The serve is the only shot in tennis over which a player has complete control; a
player can plan the shot in advance and is under no pressure from an
opponent’s shot.As players develop their games, it is important to appreciate
the different types of serves, understanding both the advantages and
disadvantages of each.
The basic serve is the flat serve, also the easiest to learn.With little to no spin,
flat serves generally have low net clearance and, therefore, little margin for
error.That said, the lack of spin allows flat serves to travel across the court
faster, making it a powerful weapon for severs who manage to control it.
The slice serve can be viewed as almost the opposite of a flat serve. Extreme
sidespin causes slice serves to cut diagonally across the court at a striking angle
while sacrificing much of the speed associated with a flat serve.

3. Tennis
• Slice serves provide players with a high degree of control and can
pull returners off the court when the slice travels out wide.
However, returners who catch on to repeated uses of the slice serve
can take big cuts on the relatively slow-moving balls.
Finally, players should learn the topspin and kick serves.The
topspin serve moves in a straight trajectory comparable to that of a
flat serve. However, the added topspin allows for greater net
clearance and a high-bouncing shot for returners to deal with. A
kick serve, meanwhile, incorporates both topspin and slice,
resulting in an unpredictable, high-bouncing shot.The most
difficult serve to return, kick serves are also the most difficult to
master.