Mouratoglou says underarm serve “as respectful as a drop shot”
Coach Patrick Mouratoglou has weighed in on the underarm serve debate, explaining why the tactic isn’t disrespectful, and how it can best be leveraged
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Perhaps the most contentious shot that can be played on the tennis court is the underarm serve.
Players such as Alexander Bublik, Nick Kyrgios and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina have popularised the shot in recent years, adding it as a regular weapon in their armoury. Others have remained critical, viewing the underarm serve as unsportsmanlike and disrespectful to an opponent.
Tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has weighed in on the debate, giving his view on whether or not the underarm serve should be considered a viable part of the game.
“I think the underarm serve is a real weapon,” declared Mouratoglou on his Instagram channel recently, where he has over a million followers. “We don’t have more because some players feel it’s disrespectful to play this shot, which is something I completely don’t understand.”
Underarm serves are not disrespectful, says Mouratoglou
Expanding on this point, the founder of Mouratoglou Academy explained why he doesn’t believe the underarm serve is disrespectful.
“It’s as respectful as a drop shot. Why would a drop shot be disrespectful? Why would an underarm serve be disrespectful? It’s not at all, it’s just a shot that is probably sometimes the best shot to do against some players.”
While the likes of Bublik, Kyrgios and Davidovich Fokina may have gained the limelight in recent years for their use of the underarm serve, Mouratoglou points out that the tactic has its roots far earlier in the sport.
“If you look at the history of our sport, there is one that is very famous, the one of Michael Chang in Roland-Garros against Ivan Lendl,” said Mouratoglou. “He did it because he was cramping, and he just wanted a free point and he thought if I do something crazy, maybe the guy is going to miss. And this is exactly what happened.”
Following that match, Chang himself gave an explanation of his decision to utilise the underarm serve, saying, “At 15-30, spur of the moment, I was just like, I’m going to throw an underhand serve in here. Let’s see if maybe I can scrape a point.
“I hit the underhand serve, Ivan was kind of surprised about it, moved, kind of got squeezed in because of the spin and had to come in because the serve was so short. I hit a passing shot, clipped the tape and it went off the top of his racket and the crowd went absolutely nuts.”
What makes underarm serves so effective
Far from being disrespectful, Mouratoglou asserts that underarm serves are actually an intelligent tactic that can be woven into a player’s game for use against certain opponents.
“It’s a shot that surprises because it is unusual. But it’s also a shot that makes sense for players who return from an extremely far position, like for example Daniil Medvedev.
“It has a lot of advantages because coming from so far away, they’re going to end up hitting the ball low when they reach this underarm serve. If they hit the ball low, the only thing they could do is push the ball and then they’ll be at the net in a very vulnerable position.”
Mixing underarm serves in alongside regular serving can add a new, challenging dynamic for the returner to deal with.
“So if you think about it, when you hit a return of serve, you have three options,” explained Mouratoglou. “The server can serve your forehand, your backhand or body. If you hit dropshot, it’s four options. It’s different.
“The attitude of the player returning cannot be the same. He knows that he will have to run to one side, but he might also have to run forward. So he cannot feel as relaxed as he is when he has only two options of running.”
Big names in tennis agree with Mouratoglou
Despite what seems like a general consensus that the underarm serve is an underhand tactic (pun very much intended), there are plenty of big names in tennis who agree with Mouratoglou.
Roger Federer once said, “Underarm is definitely a tactic, I believe. Especially when guys are hugging the fence in the back. From that standpoint, you shouldn’t be ashamed if you try it out. Just look silly if you miss it sometimes. Why not try it?”
Andy Murray also spoke on the matter earlier in his career saying that he personally has no issue with players using the shot, before pointing out that “no one says it’s disrespectful for someone to return from 5-6 metres behind the baseline to try to get an advantage.”
Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, has been more guarded with his comments regarding the underarm serve. Several times across his career he’s been on the other end of underarm serves, and at times has appeared irked by the tactic.
“If you do it with the goal to improve your game, or like a tactical thing, I support it 100 per cent,” the Spaniard said when questioned about underarm serves during Roland-Garros 2020. “If you do for the disrespect of the opponent, is not a good thing.
“Everybody knows internally if you are doing it in a good way or in a bad way. For me there is no discussion about that. It is part of the rules, you can do it 100 per cent. It is about yourself, if you feel good doing or not. Depends.”
With the increase of players returning deep, regardless of how players feel about the tactic, it seems the underarm serve is here to stay in tennis.
