is the underarm Serve legal in Tennis?

The Underarm serve in Tennis is finally back after a long time

is the underarm Serve legal in Tennis? First of all The underarm serve in tennis is when the player hits the ball in the lower position closer to the knee so He doesn’t make the Toss movement at all, and it becomes tricky and nonreadable for the opponent

In General, The Underarm Serve is absolutely legal in Tennis…

The Underarm serve was shown first time in Roland Garros 1989 by the young man Michael Chang. He did it in his match where He defeated Ivan Lendl who was the world number 1 then, and yet He made another achievement by beating Stefan Edberg in the final to set the record for himself as the youngest Grand Slam winner of all time at the age of 17 years, 3 months, 21 days.

But the Underarm serve is back with Nick Kyrgios who was the player that made it more popular as he used it against top players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and so many more…

The underarm serve is played with less effort, less control, and lack of power, its only advantage is to distract the opponents’ momentum and rhythm, and of course, if a player is far from the baseline to win an ace like what Nick Kyrgios did against Rafael Nadal

“Well, I actually remember the first time I played the underarm serve was against Rafael Nadal in Acapulco, and He said what He did here was disrespectful, and I’m like what is going on, I am glad people know it’s a great way to win the point, and that’s it.” Nick Kyrgios says

• Why do Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal hate each other?

Rafael Nadal criticizes the Underarm serve

There are many Tennis players who criticized the underarm serve, and the famous one is Rafael Nadal who mentioned it’s a clear disrespect for the opponent, when Nick Kyrgios used it in ATP Acapulco in 2019

and here is what Rafael Nadal said after the underarm serve by Nick Kyrgios:

“Nick Kyrgios lacks respect for the public, the rival, and towards himself.”

Rafael Nadal says

• Nick Kyrgios: I wanted to hit Nadal in the chest

Some players have criticized the underarm serve as disrespectful. But Daniil Medvedev, who used it against Alexander Zverev in the London ATP Final, defended the shot, saying that he himself used it purely for its strategic value, not as any kind of disrespect to his opponent.

In the end, The question of is the underarm Serve legal in Tennis. as we mentioned is a legal shot and no umpire had warned any player who hit it, it’s just a matter of how players deal with it between who has no problem with it and who considers it as a disrespect.