Top-Notch Serve?

Zhang Guan quickly discovered that he had no extraordinary talent in tennis, just as he didn't in track and field. Fortunately, he had the skills of "physical coordination" and "physical flexibility"; otherwise, his attempt at learning tennis would have been truly disastrous.

Sharapova handed a towel to Zhang Guan and said, "Dear, forgive me for being blunt, but it seems like you really don't have a knack for tennis. How about you just help me operate the ball machine?"

"Operate the ball machine?" Zhang Guan sighed helplessly, acknowledging that his current serve was indeed inferior to a ball machine.

"Masha, I just wasn't serious! How about letting me try serving again?" Zhang Guan looked at Sharapova with hopeful eyes.

Sharapova sighed helplessly, "Alright, I'll give you another chance."

Zhang Guan stood at the baseline once more, picked up the racket, and prepared to serve.

"At the very least, I should learn how to serve! Otherwise, if Masha keeps looking down on me, I won't even qualify to practice with her in the future!" Thinking this, Zhang Guan searched for tennis-related skills in his system.

There were many tennis-related skills, including those for serving, returning, topspin, backspin, smashes, volleys, and various quick movements and step control. Zhang Guan had accumulated quite a few skill points from participating in numerous international athletics competitions like the Golden League, Grand Prix, and Super Grand Prix, earning over thirty skill points, plus twelve more from breaking three world records. He had also gained several skill points from indoor meets earlier this year, despite the reduced rewards. With all these, Zhang Guan had quite a stockpile of skill points available.

"I'll learn this 'Tennis Serve Enhancement' skill up to the master level. It only costs three skill points and might win me a smile from the beauty." Zhang Guan decided and upgraded the "Tennis Serve Enhancement" skill to the master level.

He then took a deep breath, steadied himself, and tossed the tennis ball into the air.

The quality of a serve is heavily influenced by the toss. The toss should not be too high or too low, and the ball should be placed correctly. The toss should be as smooth as possible, avoiding unnecessary movements like flicking fingers or wrists, which can destabilize the ball. Minimizing the ball's spin during the toss is also crucial; ideally, it should rise and fall straight, which is optimal for serving.

The timing of releasing the ball is critical too. The best moment to release the ball is at the peak of the hand's rise. Releasing too early can cause the ball to spin or wobble, while releasing too late can send the ball too far back, making it difficult to follow through with the serve.

The position of the toss also affects the serve. A forward toss increases the serve's power and speed but makes it harder to control the landing spot, risking the ball going out of bounds. On the other hand, a backward toss improves control and increases the likelihood of a successful serve, which is ideal for a more conservative strategy.

For beginners, it's essential to understand that "tossing" and "throwing" the ball are different concepts. Tennis requires a toss, not a throw. Zhang Guan had practiced many times to get the feel of this.

Sharapova, still smiling charmingly, silently evaluated Zhang Guan's serve. Tennis is a sport heavily reliant on talent, and she had already concluded that Zhang Guan had no natural talent for it, treating the practice as more of a game.

"This time, the toss feels pretty good, the height is better, much improved from before!" Sharapova thought to herself.

Next, Zhang Guan began his serve.

As the ball was tossed, his racket hand started to swing back. When the racket reached a certain angle, it appeared to hang down toward his back, with the elbow as the pivot. Simultaneously, he bent his knees, making his body form a "bow" shape. The angle of the backswing varies by person, influenced by height, arm length, grip habits, and more.

As the ball rose in the air, Zhang Guan's body formed a "bow," and in the next moment, he started to serve.

Tennis serves rely on the entire body, not just the arm. The whole body generates the power, leading the racket to strike the ball, with the final burst of power coinciding with the ball's impact. This is a coordinated movement, with the body rotating counterclockwise horizontally and the upper arm rotating upwards for a right-handed player. The serve involves a combination of pushing off the ground, twisting the torso, rotating, and swinging the racket. Professional tennis players often appear to jump during a serve, but this is a result of exerting force rather than a deliberate jump.

Professional serves include techniques like the common topspin serve, the reliable topspin-slice serve, and the challenging American twist serve. Zhang Guan, however, only knew the basic flat serve used by beginners.

Despite being a beginner's serve, the flat serve is the fastest among all serve types. It's powerful, with a low bounce, and can be a formidable weapon for tall, strong players. However, it has a low accuracy rate.

Many top tennis players use flat serves in their first serve to aim for an ace or score directly. If they miss, they often use a more controlled serve with spin for the second attempt.

"This time, the action looks pretty good! Much better than before. The contact point is quite accurate, and the motion is smooth! This serve qualifies as a decent one!" Sharapova thought, continuing to evaluate silently.

Then, Sharapova prepared to return the serve.

"Whoosh!" The tennis ball turned into a yellow streak, flying past Sharapova before she could react, her racket still not ready.

"That serve was so fast! The speed just now definitely exceeded 120 mph!" Sharapova looked in surprise at the ball bouncing off the fence and rolling on the ground.

Top male tennis players usually serve at speeds around 120 mph, with players like Federer and Nadal often serving over 125 mph on their first serve. Their second serves are generally about 10 mph slower. However, Zhang Guan was just a beginner, and even female players far outstripped his initial serves. Sharapova had never seen a beginner serve at 120 mph.

For female players, a typical first serve speed is around 105 mph, with the second serve potentially dropping to 90 mph. The fiercest server among female players, Venus Williams, has a record serve speed of 125 mph. Therefore, returning a serve over 120 mph is challenging for a female player.

"That must have been a fluke! It has to be! His previous serves were so bad, how could he suddenly serve that fast?" As a Grand Slam champion, Sharapova felt a bit frustrated and unwilling to accept that she failed to return a beginner's serve. She shouted to Zhang Guan, "Do it again!"

This time, Sharapova focused solely on returning the serve.

With another toss, Zhang Guan bent and served again.

"Whoosh!" Another yellow blur shot across.

"Here it comes! Still so fast!" Sharapova was startled but more focused this time. Despite Zhang Guan's serve being the simplest flat serve, Sharapova managed to react. She quickly moved her feet and barely managed to return the serve.

"Oh no! That return was terrible. It'll either get volleyed at the net or be hit with a counter-angle!" Sharapova instinctively judged her return.

Meanwhile, Zhang Guan ran forward and attempted to return the shot but hit the net.

The ball didn't make it over!

"Hahaha…" Sharapova suddenly laughed joyfully, realizing that Zhang Guan was just a beginner. Despite the impressive serves, his returns were still at a novice level. Even her poor return was enough to stump him, something any professional, even at the lowest level, would have handled easily.

Zhang Guan felt awkward, recognizing that his poor return had squandered a good opportunity.

"What are you laughing at? If this were a match, it's just 15-15 now, and it's still my serve. I'm getting serious now." Zhang Guan took his position, ready to serve again.

"Master-level tennis return." Simultaneously, Zhang Guan spent three more skill points to learn another skill.

"Wait!" Sharapova suddenly stopped Zhang Guan, asking, "Your last two serves were at the level of a professional male player. How did you do it?"

"Talent!" Zhang Guan smirked confidently, saying, "I'm a genius! Get ready; I'm serving now!"

Zhang Guan's third serve, like the previous two, exceeded 120 mph.

Sharapova quickly reacted. This time, her return was better, with improved angle and placement.

However, Zhang Guan's performance had also improved significantly…