Can You Serve Underhand in Tennis? Yes, If the Ball Never Bounces First

Everything else about serving stays the same. You still stand behind the baseline, serve to the diagonal box, and avoid foot faults.

What Rule 16 actually says

Rule 16 of the 2026 ITF rules reads: "The server shall then release the ball by hand in any direction and hit the ball with the racket before the ball hits the ground."

Nothing in that sentence mentions an overhead swing or a toss above the head. "Any direction" covers tossing the ball up, dropping it down or flicking it sideways. The USTA reads it the same way: as long as the racket hits the ball before the ground, it does not matter whether the release was upward or downward (USTA underhand serve ruling).

One more line in Rule 16 matters for some players. A player who can use only one arm may release the ball with the racket instead of the hand.

What is still a fault on an underhand serve

What you do	Ruling	Rule
Drop the ball, let it bounce, then hit it	Fault	16, 19a
Swing and miss while trying to hit it	Fault	19b
Touch the baseline or the court with a foot during the motion	Foot fault	18, 19a
Walk or run during the motion	Foot fault	18a
Serve hits the net post or a singles stick before landing	Fault	19c
Serve hits you or your doubles partner	Fault	19d
Toss the ball, then catch it or let it drop without swinging	Not a fault, serve again	19, Case 1

The bounce rule catches beginners most. A drop-and-bounce serve feels natural because it is how you start a rally in practice. In a match it is a service fault every time.

The foot fault rules do not change with the swing direction. If you need the details, see the tennis foot fault rule.

Can the receiver complain that it was a "quick" serve?

This is where most underhand arguments start. The rule is about readiness, not about the style of the serve.

Rule 21 says the server must not serve until the receiver is ready. It also says the receiver must play to the server's reasonable pace. A receiver who attempts to return the serve is considered ready. If the receiver really was not ready, the serve is a let and is replayed (Rule 22b).

The USTA Code for matches without officials says the same thing in plainer terms. If a player attempts to return a serve, "even if it is a 'quick' serve," the receiver is presumed to be ready (USTA Friend at Court 2026, The Code, item 29).

So if you swing at an underhand serve and miss, you cannot claim afterwards that you were not ready. If you were not ready, do not try to play it.

The most famous underhand serve: Chang vs Lendl, 1989

At Roland-Garros in 1989, 17-year-old Michael Chang played world No. 1 Ivan Lendl in the fourth round. Chang lost the first two sets and then started cramping in the fifth set (Roland-Garros match archive).

Serving at 4-3, 15-30 in the fifth, he hit an underarm serve. Lendl got to it, but his forehand return lacked depth, and Chang won the point with a forehand pass. Chang won the match 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 and went on to win the title. Roland-Garros quotes him on the serve: "I knew I had to try something. When I'd go up for a serve, I'd cramp."

The point of the story for club players: the serve was legal, and playing through an injury is one reason to use it. The USTA ruling linked above answers a question from a player who hurt a shoulder mid-match and switched to underhand.

The wheelchair exception

The ITF Wheelchair Tennis Rules allow one version of the bounce serve. If conventional serving is physically impossible for a quad player, the player or another person may drop the ball and let it bounce before it is struck. The same method must then be used for the whole match. This exception does not apply in standard tennis.

Tennis vs pickleball serves

Players who switch between the two sports often mix up the serve rules.

	Tennis	Pickleball
Underhand serve	Allowed, not required	Required for the volley serve (upward arc, contact below the waist)
Overhead serve	Allowed	Not allowed
Letting the ball bounce first	Fault (standard tennis)	Allowed with the drop serve, any number of bounces
Serve clips the net and lands in	Let, serve again	Legal, play on

Pickleball rows: 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook, Rules 7.C, 7.D and 7.E. For the full pickleball checklist, see how to check if your pickleball serve is legal.

Related rulings

A serve that hits your doubles partner is a fault; other cases are in what happens if the ball hits you in tennis.