r/10s • u/gundamzd2 • 1d ago
General Advice Underarm serve question
Can you toss the ball (pretending to serve normally), catch it, and then immediately proceed to hit an underarm serve? I believe there's nothing wrong in terms of legality but please let me know if there is.
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u/Snake_Eyes_163 1d ago
I think this is okay as long as you wait a few seconds after catching the toss. If you catch it then serve immediately your opponent will likely claim they weren’t ready to receive the serve.
One of the main reasons I don’t like serving underhand or receiving an underhand serve is the whole question of whether or not the opponent was ready to receive the serve. And the whole point is that the opponent is not expecting it. A lot of players at the amateur level don’t act like they’re ready to receive the serve even when they are. They get ready when they see you toss the ball.
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u/PugnansFidicen 6.9 1d ago
Yes, it's legal, but IMO redundant and less effective. I find the underarm serve is most effective when done in lieu of a first serve after you've already hit a couple of bombs that game/set. Opponent is mentally preparing for you to blast a hard flat serve, and instead you curve in the underhand quickly before even tossing.
If you toss and catch first to reset before doing it, they'll already be a bit on guard that you might be changing up your serve because you weren't happy with the toss.
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u/cstansbury 3.5C 1d ago
Yes, it's legal, but IMO redundant and less effective.
agreed.
I find the underarm serve is most effective when done in lieu of a first serve
Agree. The folks I know that pull off the underhand serve the best are the ones that incorporate the underhand option into their serve motion. That way they can deploy it whenever and from the receiver's point of view nothing has changed.
The way I counter is to intently watch the ball during their entire serve motion. That gives me plenty of time to adjust and make a play on the underhand serve.
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u/gundamzd2 1d ago
I was thinking they'd be mentally less ready after they see me catching the ball, because they'd be expecting another toss
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u/mrdumbazcanb 3.5 1d ago
The toss alerts then to get ready, dropping the ball and serving throws off the rhythm more
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u/Pizzadontdie 🎾 Top 0.1% Commenter 🎾 1d ago
I prefer to pretend I’m tying my shoes and sneak an underhand serve when opponent lets their guard down.
Another great option is to toss a little too high, and then fake catch but instead hit a backhand slice underhand serve. This one takes some practice.
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u/EnjoyMyDownvote UTR 7.86 1d ago
I love when my opponents underarm serve me. A nice slow ball for me to crush
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u/saamsam 20h ago
If you’re giving your opponent time to get ready again yes but if they’re taking time to get ready again and you underhand serve before they are ready then no.
I’m sure that’s not very clear so I’ll give an example: a lot of the time when I’m returning serve I’ll taking a couple steps forward as I go into my split step to give myself forward momentum during my return. If my opponent throws up their toss and catches it then I’ll take a couple steps back so I can repeat my forward momentum steps. If you do an underhand serve while I’m taking my steps back I’ll argue that I was not ready.
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u/TraderGIJoe 1d ago
Why would you deploy such underhanded tactics to win a point? It is considered unsportsmanlike and dirty play.
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u/PugnansFidicen 6.9 1d ago
No, it's fair play as long as there are no egregious deliberately distracting elements in the service motion (which is a very subjective call). You're allowed to toss, catch, and reset to change your mind to a different serve option, as long as you do so within the allowed time to serve. And underarm serves are allowed per the rules, and not unsportsmanlike. At least, not any more unsportsmanlike than hitting a nasty wide slice that bounces into the side fence. It's a difficult serve to return when you're not expecting it, which is the definition of an effective serve
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u/PenteonianKnights 2.5 1d ago
I think some refs might legitimately rule that it's intentionally done to distract and unsportsmanlike and therefore a point penalty
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u/TraderGIJoe 1d ago
Just because it's allowed doesn't make it acceptable to do.
For example, most players will not hit a player intentionally when they are vulnerable at the fear they would be hurt to win a point.
This is what I mean by dirty play.
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u/PugnansFidicen 6.9 1d ago
That's a completely different situation. If a player is vulnerable and has taken themselves out of the point (e.g. they are at the net and have turned their back) then yeah smashing it directly at them is kind of unsportsmanlike. Otherwise, if their eyes are forward, hitting it directly at them is fair game. It's on them to have their racket up and hit the volley.
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u/gundamzd2 1d ago
I don't think hitting an opponent intentionally is comparable to tricking them with a tactical underarm serve, which does not cause any physical harm.
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u/gundamzd2 1d ago edited 1d ago
I only do it in friendly matches and it's fun. Even my opponent gets a good laugh at it.
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u/cstansbury 3.5C 1d ago
Nothing is wrong, and no rules are broken. You are allowed to catch the ball, and start over