7 Ways To Decide Who Serves First In Tennis
One of the formalities at the beginning of each match is to figure out who will serve first, and where each person will start the match. Most people have at least one or two methods of figuring this out that they go to consistently, but there are plenty of options out there.
Here is a closer look at some of the most popular ways to determine who serves first. At least one of these will prove to be a popular solution, and it allows for everything not to feel quite as monotonous.
1. Coin Toss
This is how the professionals do it. A coin toss is about as simple as it gets, and as long as some of the simple rules are covered, there will be no discrepancies.
Make sure that the other person knows when to call heads or tails, and how the coin eventually gets picked up. Some people prefer to flip a coin and let it bounce on the ground to see the result.
Others like flipping a coin, catching it, and then flipping it onto the back of the hand. This ensures that the coin doesn’t roll or bounce somewhere crazy, but not everyone is a fan of that method.
For special occasions, there are coins with specific designs for heads and tails. That makes it a little more complicated, but the majority of people will be using a standard coin.
Who calls the coin flip? In professional tennis, it comes down to who the umpire picks. Usually, it tends to be the underdog of the match who gets to call heads or tails. Rafael Nadal is one example of a player who rarely makes the call. He tries to always defer to his opponent.
In high school or college matches, the visiting team gets to make the call. At the recreational level, it usually comes down to whoever is not the one flipping the coin. If one person decides to supply the coin, the other person makes the call. None of these rules at the recreational level are etched in stone, but it is something to remember.
2. Racquet Spin
Just about every single tennis racquet has something on the but cap that will signify up or down. Maybe it is a logo, a picture, or written words. Whatever the case is, spinning the racquet and asking the other player to call up or down, M or W (Wilson racquets), or some other variance is the way to go.
Just like with the coin toss, there are different methods of spinning the racquet. Some people will spend the racquet on the court, and let it fall. Others will simply spin it in their hands, covering up the butt cap to reveal it later once a person tells them to stop.
The advantage to this over a coin toss is that everyone has a racquet at the court. There is a chance that finding a coin could be a bit more problematic once actually on the court and ready to start.
Just make sure that with a racquet spin, no one should ever be putting their racquet at risk in doing it. Try to be a bit careful with the spin, especially on hard courts. Throwing the racquet down and spinning it is a great way to cause a bunch of unwanted scratches.
3. Rock, Paper, Scissors
This goes by a few different names, but the concept is virtually the same every time. Playing this game will allow people to decide who will serve first, and it takes a few seconds at most. The rules are simple, but to ensure that everything goes smoothly, the basic rules do need to be laid out.
This is what happens with each type of move.
Rock:
- Rock breaks scissors, but paper smothers rock.
Paper:
- Paper smothers rock, but scissors cut paper.
Scissors:
- Scissors cut paper, but rock breaks scissors.
A winner-takes-all is the quickest way to determine who serves first, but a lot of people like playing best out of three. If two people play the same thing, play additional rounds out until there is a difference. Just make sure that everyone is on the same page as far as when they are revealing their play. That’s right; cheating is a thing in rock, paper, scissors.
Some people will try to delay showing their choice just a little, waiting for the other person to tip their hand and show what they might play. Clear up whether people want to “shoot” their choice at the count of three, or after counting to three and then saying “shoot.”
4. Rally For The First Serve
This method comes from table tennis and isn’t use that much in standard tennis these days. However, it is a competitive way to determine who will get to serve first.
Right at the end of warming up, rally to determine who will serve first. Feed the ball to the other player, and then hit a few back-and-forths before officially starting the point. Whoever loses the point, wins the chance to pick whether they want to serve or receive first
5. Location Of Sun
This is strictly for casual matches. Some people will be playing and figure out that the sun is in a blinding position for serving. Therefore, two players might decide to bypass traditional rules and serve on the side that is not affected by the sun.
In this scenario, the person who is on that side will automatically serve first. Then, players will switch sides differently than in traditional tennis. Whoever is serving during that game will be on one specific side, until the sun moves out of the way.
6. Picking Numbers
Hold a number behind the back and then ask the other person to guess has been a pretty simple way to make decisions in all types of sports. This usually tends to be more common in team sports, but it is useable in tennis as well.
There is that rare case where a person might try to pull a fast one and change numbers behind the back. That’s why if it is an ultra-competitive match and two people don’t know each other, another option should be picked besides this one.
7. Visitor’s Choice
If one tennis player is visiting another at their home court, some people bypass the spinning and flipping altogether. Instead, they simply give the honors to the visitor without them having to do anything for it. Since those at home seemingly have a little bit of an advantage by not having to travel to the match, the player can get their choice to start the match.
This is the simplest method, but really only works for casual matches. No one is going to suggest this method in a tournament setting at any level.
Understanding The Winner’s Choices
At the highest level, winning a coin toss or any alternative usually leads to that person serving first. However, there are options out there for players, and they don’t need to feel locked in with one particular choice.
The winner of the coin toss has the choice of picking between serving or receiving. Maybe some players feel like their serve is not strong enough to start out with, so they would instead like their opponent to serve first. Another possibility is that a person wants to put some pressure on their opponent early, hoping that they will give up a break of serve and grab the edge.
If a player decides to pick to serve first or receive first, that is their choice. There is also the opportunity to pick what side, but that’s only if they defer serving preference. Occasionally, people will try to get away with deferring serve and picking aside. That’s not allowed, and should be discouraged if people try that.
Sorting Out The Serving Order
It seems like one of the simplest steps to starting a match, but there are many different ways to get to the same spot. The goal should always be to keep things moving and start the match as quickly as possible. Spending too much time on deciding who serves first seems counterintuitive. Don’t drag things out more than a have to be.
Once a person finds something that works, stick with it. Some people will find it fun to be creative once in a while, but don’t get to the point that it is not very pleasant to others.
