What is serve plus one in tennis, and how to use it

Serve wide. Hit to the open court.

Traced from real footage

See it, eight instants at a time.

Every frame is traced from real match footage, so you see the shape of the stroke, not a drawing of an idea.

Federer's serve, instant 6 of 8 — Federer's serve: eight instants traced from the footage, frame for frame. Hover or tap to flip; the dot marks contact.

Federer's serve: eight instants traced from the footage, frame for frame. Hover or tap to flip; the dot marks contact.

Try it

Move the idea yourself.

One instrument from The Program, free here. Drag it and watch the numbers change: models are labelled as models.

Serve +1 · pick the serve

Model

8.2 m

of the returner's side left open for ball 3, sideline to where they stand

Wide drags the returner off the court. Their reply comes from out there, and the whole other side is yours for ball 3.

Drawn geometry on a deuce-court serve: target, where the returner ends up, the cone they can reply into, and the open court ball 3 goes to. Alcaraz served wide on the point above, serving for the title.

Key facts

57%
In ATP’s 41-match analysis against right-handed opponents, Djokovic played a plus-one forehand on 473 of 945 second-serve points and won 271 of those 473 points (57%). A point could continue beyond that forehand.
ATP Beyond the Numbers, October 31, 2023
57.91%
The same article separately reports a season-to-date second-serve point-win rate of 816/1,409 (57.91%). That uses a different sample from the plus-one count.
ATP Beyond the Numbers, October 31, 2023
03
MCP’s “≤3 W%” concerns points the server wins on an unreturned serve or the third shot. It is not the same statistic as winning a point in which a plus-one forehand was played.
Heavy Topspin, MCP serve stats glossary (2019)
15%
A December 2022 ATP/TDI article reports second serves to the forehand rising from 15% in 2012 to 22% in 2022. Its analysis covered nearly 150 right-handed ATP players with at least 1,000 second serves against right-handers over ten years.
Golden Set Analytics for TDI, December 17, 2022
05
MCP rally length includes the serve and excludes errors: double faults count as zero and unreturned serves as one. The share of points in a rally-length group is a different measure from a server’s win percentage.
Heavy Topspin, Match Charting Project rally stats glossary (2019)

Why it works

A wide serve can move the returner away from the centre and open space on the opposite side. The return may still come back deep or down the line. Read its direction, height and depth before committing to ball three.

Choose an intended plus one before the toss, then adjust to the actual return. A short reply may let you attack the open court; a deep return can require another building ball or a different stroke.

An early, deep return can reduce the server’s time and help the returner recover. A wider receiving position changes the space available for a T or body serve. These are tactical options, not guaranteed replies.

The line to say on court
“The serve buys space. The next ball spends it.”

Drill: The serve +1 ladder

15 min · with a partner

Mark a generous wide zone inside the deuce service box and keep its size fixed. Take ten single-delivery serve attempts with the same chosen serve. Count zone landings; faults and out-of-zone serves stay in the ten.
Rehearse ten separate feeds, five short and five deep, in mixed order. Read each feed, then choose an attacking or building ball with margin. These feeds practise the next shot; they do not measure the effect of your serve.
Play ten live service points from the deuce side, using a second serve after a first fault, then switch roles. Count serve placements, balls three reached, plans kept or changed, and point results separately.

Number to beatServe-placement goal: 6 zone hits from 10 single-delivery attempts

More drills like this: serve, point play

Faults and fixes

Planning the serve but not the next ball

You have no starting plan for the reply.

FixChoose an intended plus one before serving, then adjust your position and shot to the actual return.

Going for the line on ball three

A small target can waste the space you created.

FixChoose a target with a margin that fits the return, your position and your control.

Running the same pattern every point

Repeated choices can become easier to anticipate.

FixPractise more than one target and chart which patterns you can execute.

Questions players ask

What does serve +1 mean in tennis?

It is the serve and the server’s first shot after the return, planned together. Choose an intended continuation, then adjust it to the ball the returner actually sends back.

What if the returner stands wider to cover the wide serve?

Look for the space left toward the T, or consider a body serve you can execute. Then watch the reply and how the returner changes position.

Why does a wide serve lead to a short cross-court reply?

It can create that opportunity, but the reply is not guaranteed. A returner can send the ball deep or down the line. Judge the actual return before committing to the plus one.

How do you defend against serve +1?

A controlled, deep return can reduce the server’s time to attack. The best available reply depends on the serve and your position.

What this doesn't cover

Win rates for serve patterns depend on the player and the surface. There is no universal number. The board’s reply paths are authored examples, not measured return frequencies. One source point shows a possible response, not how often it occurs. The private rally-length figure describes one Wimbledon final, not a tour-wide distribution. The ten-serve score measures placement only. Live-point wins and plus-one decisions are separate observations; unreturned serves and double faults offer no ball-three decision to grade.

Sources

Know the gameHow long are tennis rallies, and what to practiseMost tennis points are short: about two points in three end within four shots, and more than 70 % on grass, and the most common rally length is one shot. By surface the share runs from 65% to 77%. That means the serve, the return and the next ball decide most points, so they're worth a bigger share of your practice time.Serve and returnHow to hit flat, slice and kick servesYou hit flat, slice and kick serves from the same motion by changing where the strings brush the ball. Flat goes through it from 6 to 12 on a clock face, slice brushes around the outside, and kick brushes up and across from 7 to 1. The kick is mostly sidespin, and it isn't a slow serve. It's a different bounce.Serve and returnHow to hit a reliable second serve under pressureUse a familiar second serve at a comfortable, repeatable effort to a broad target. Keep the brush you have practised; full brush does not mean maximum effort. Slowing the action changes both pace and spin, and net clearance alone does not settle the trade. Judge both whether it lands and what happens in the point. Second-serve points won includes double faults; a rate calculated only on serves that land answers a different question.Play the pointHow to build a point in tennisUse open, build, finish as a practice framework: move the opponent, read the reply, then use available space when you can meet the ball in control. A shorter ball can let you step in, but height, your balance and the opponent’s position still matter. Keep building when the reply does not suit the planned finish.