Flat serve

A flat serve is one that is hit with minimal, if any, spin. The biggest advantage of a flat serve is the ability to hit the ball with a lot of pace, or speed, which gives your opponent very little time to react.

Because players apply little spin to the ball, flat serves are harder to hit into the service box. As a result, this is typically a shot that is hit only on a player’s first serve to ensure they can hit a more reliable serve, such as a kick serve, on the second serve.