The 5 Greatest Serve and Volley Players of All-Time
The Best Serve and Volley Tennis Players Ever
In a tennis galaxy far, far away- before the Millennium- there were scintillating matches between serve and volley players on one side of the net, and baseliners on the other.
Believe it or not, retro tennis was a rainbow of contrasting styles and characters that animated courts across the globe.
Stefan Edberg’s famous serve and volley!
As racket technology advanced and courts became slower, it became easier to rely on a truer bounce and impart spin on the ball from the back of the court.
Serve and volley isn’t quite extinct, but it’s a bit Jurassic.
The crowd doesn’t really know what it’s missing until YouTube clips of the 1980s and early 1990s are studied.
The slugfest may rule now, but these champions of the quick kill will always be remembered.
In this article, read about 5 brilliant exponents of the art. These players could pull an opponent on a piece of string when S and V were played to perfection!
1. Pete Sampras
‘Pistol Pete’ was the consummate serve and volley player, a well-oiled machine that very rarely malfunctioned or lost its memory.
He made net-play look easy, but it wasn’t. Sampras remarked: “You have to be a good athlete, have great hands and great feet.
The shot itself is pretty easy, but you need good touch and intuition as to where the ball is going to go.”
Sampras could rely on his serve, including his second delivery, to constantly dig him out of trouble. It was a weapon that stood up to pressure.
His platform stance helped him rock back and place almost all of his weight onto his back leg, while the ball toss and shoulder turn kept opponents guessing.
He won 14 out of 18 majors, an incredible win rate which reflected the total dominance he had over his peers.
His very last Slam was a fifth US Open title in 2002, saving 10 out of 12 breakpoints against Andre Agassi.
His success ratio at Wimbledon, where he won seven times, was 90%, just behind the great Bjorn Borg.
2. John McEnroe
A self-titled documentary released in 2022 explained how McEnroe saw the tennis court as a giant grid where he could play out moves to gain a superior position.
This all started from a disguised lefty serve which could pin back players before they were hit by a double whammy charge and volley.
The seven-time major winner dominated tennis between 1979 and 1984 with the same creativity Seve Ballesteros possessed in golf around the same period.
‘Superbrat” as he was dubbed by the British press for his less than pleasant on-court etiquette, McEnroe had the hands of an artist.
Witness his total destruction of Chris Lewis and arch-nemesis Jimmy Connors in the 1983 and 1984 Wimbledon finals respectively.
These were examples of the most high-end serve and volley tapestry. Nothing tops the classic of 1981, where the American defeated the ice-cool Bjorn Borg in a five-setter.
3. Stefan Edberg
The Swede claimed six major singles titles with a graceful and balletic poise that is often forgotten, especially since Roger Federer came along and stole that mantle.
‘The Blonde Adonis’ won all of his Grand Slams (including three doubles titles) on fast courts.
He had a kick-serve and slice-serve that were precision rather than power, giving him time to pull the kill chord on the point with a backhand volley from heaven.
High or low, the Swede invariably stroked the ball away at the net with finesse, timing and superb footwork.
He won the Australian Open in 1985 and 1987 before the grass gave way to hard courts, and he claimed two wins in his epic trilogy of SW19 finals with Boris Becker in 1988 and 1990.
4. Martina Navratilova
Navratilova was a colossus of the tennis scene from the late 1970s to the late 1980s.
She even steamrollered her main rival Chris Evert on most major finals days, apart from on the slow courts of Roland Garros where she lost twice to Evert.
Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles, including nine Wimbledons, four US Opens and three Australian Opens.
Her game was built on an imperious serve and volley that was perfect for the quicker courts. Her execution simply made opponents look powerless.
She brought a new athleticism to the court and her greater fitness and coverage of the ground made the returning spaces even smaller.
It was only in her latter days, with the rise of Steffi Graf, that Grand Slam losses became more frequent.
Navratilova even won a Wimbledon singles match at the age of 47, when she briefly made a comeback.
5. Boris Becker
The German transcended the sport in many ways with his engaging personality and extreme competitiveness that was made for TV drama.
His style of play was based around a booming, arching serve that exploded, backed up with those memorable leaping volleys at the net that dominated English summers at Wimbledon.
As a 17-year-old, he became the youngest-ever winner of the gentlemen’s singles at Wimbledon in 1985. Becker appeared in seven SW19 finals overall, winning three of them.
He also picked up two Australian titles and one solitary US Open.
He may not have stacked up as many majors as Federer or Sampras, but both of those legends cite the man from Lemen as a huge influence on their style.
The LA Times once called him ‘the human U-Boat’ for those dives at the net. Most of them came off, too.
The Verdict - The Greatest Serve and Volley Players
GOAT debates tend to revolve, naturally, around silverware.
As serve and volley came from an elite group, the X-factor style almost transcends the trophies. It is a lost art that deserves a replay.
McEnroe brought showmanship, bad karma and exquisite craft into our homes. Edberg was the smooth-playing poker face that preceded Federer’s grace.
However, Pete Sampras must take the prize for execution, if not always the aesthetics.
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