Top 5 WEIRDEST Tennis Serves

The most weird, unusual and unorthodox serves on the pro tennis tour.
Which one is your pick and who did we leave out?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section!
Alexandr Dolgopolov
John McEnroe
Jay Berger
Karsten Braasch
Brian Battistone

[@MichterPianopunster16]

Brian Battistone’s serve looks like a volleyball serve lol!

[@anuragchandra7838]

His racquet has two handles.😟😆

[@mfreemanflynn]

I’ve played him a couple of times in dubs and his serve is very very heavy and bounces high also. Didn’t go very well for me either time I played against him but he’s a class act and wields that two handed racquet like he was born with it.

[@farisellahibakhsh5852]

Yeah his racket is very weird too

[@NN-zf7np]

He could have just learnt how to toss the ball with his left hand just like every other player and thus could have avoided playing with two handles

[@khmak9387]

@@anuragchandra7838 Just realised that! Did he have it custom made?

[@chrisheppenstall5504]

Delbonis could be in this list for sure

[@danielmata9178]

His serve is nice, he just toss it until the moon haha

[@manu-uo7gk]

Worst serve ever Delbonis hahahaha, so ugly

[@jasonixo1902]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@PeterNash99]

And Pierre Huge Herbert

[@The22zin]

delbonis should be top1

[@skeche]

I didn't think serves could get any more weirder, until Brian Battistone

[@Coach_jordi]

I played his son in a tennis camp when I was younger. He also used the 2 handled racquet and tossed the ball with his right hand. It was so strange

[@Yannaraskala]

All of them seemed perfectly fine to me except the last one.

[@knightcy1]

You made this video without visiting my tennis club

[@Cman861]

😮

[@cupidok2768]

Is that volleyball serve

[@theplatinumog3283]

I played Brian Badistone in a professional tournament in Moraga. 2 handles on his racquet! Was absolutely crazy. He was selling them out of his tennis bag to make more $$$ He seemed like a cool dude. We played Badistone and Wettengal and got smoked!

[@frys987]

it must be long time ago. Wettengal played with him at Indian Well qualification match long long time ago. Wettengal coached at San Jose for a while.

[@theplatinumog3283]

@@frys987 ya, jeez... I was playing professional tennis, so it must have been a decade ago or so lol I am an old man at this point. My friend Bella actually got a win over him. It was in mixed doubles though, not sure that counts. =p

[@frys987]

@@theplatinumog3283 salute you. I know how tough to be a tennis pro. if you are top 150, you may break even. if you are top 500, tournament money close to ZERO. Most of pros choose coaching to subside their tournament expense.

[@theplatinumog3283]

@@frys987 Don't feel too bad for me bro. I certainly didn't win enough tournament prize money to retire. However, traveling around, staying at different player housing situations, and teaching on the side... these were the best years of my life.

[@LordStanley94]

@@theplatinumog3283 did you play club tennis overseas? Bundesliga in Germany 🇩🇪 , or in Austria 🇦🇹 ?

[@rahulbalakrishnan8760]

Brian Battistone serve is super weird!!

[@amirazry4166]

Just look at his racquet..have 2 grips😣😣

[@user-fs9dt4tz1w]

Volleyball inspired. I had the same coach as him and his brother. Our coach told me to try to convince him to give up his unique motion. I told him to continue and work on making the toss reliable. If he could have controlled the toss he would have had a huge serve and big advantage. He would effectively be over 7ft tall!

[@hikguru]

Most teaching pros would have cringed at their service motions and changed it to the point of being ineffective. But it is a style that worked for them and helped them become some of the best players in the world. Just goes to show that Federeresque form is not for everybody. Each player is different.

[@leom5671]

Literally aced this 4.5 ntrp guy all game but still loses cause my backhand was shot that day. And afterwards has the audacity to tell me that my serve sucks cuz it’s not like Federer’s

[@nathantaylor6853]

Even Federer has things about his game that coaches on youtube say the average player shouldn't copy. Being the best doesn't necessarily mean having the most optimal technique

[@robcarter55]

@hikguru Yep if you do everything ordinary you will likely at best a good ordinary player

[@theacechip]

I' d put Sampras ahead of Fed, just a notch.

[@Carol-mw8fw]

Battistone hasn’t just got an weird serve, he has a weird racquet! It’s a double-handled racquet clearly specially made for him 😊

[@christopherwellman2364]

What's a double handle?

[@airkuna]

@@christopherwellman2364 you can see it in this video when he's serving!!

[@BassByTheBay]

Never heard of the guy till seeing this video. Is that racquet legal in the ATP tour?

[@ultimpower9350]

​@@BassByTheBayyep

[@adamcravets5408]

He bought the rights to the racket from the creator. He tried to sell them but they haven’t done well.

[@Chris-qe7yt]

Dolgopolov looks like he is trying to hit the fast serve in Wii sports

[@icebear326]

McEnroe isn't even a weird serve he just coils his body a bunch right away

[@jahno7154]

John McEnroe had one of the best service actions of all time in world Tennis.

[@carolineholmes4524]

I was thinking the same....not weird at all.

[@Danimal1177]

I knew Braasch would be on this list. It's like he's trying to get on a horse. And he still had no problem beating both Venus and Serena.

[@kelliebrooks9094]

Wow the two handed racquet switch....that dudes got to go in the tennis hall of fame....that is insane difficultly on technical holy forkin wow....i teach tennis skate vert an jump supercross i wouldnt dream of trying to pull that off sick move....an best hes nailing it as jumps into the court...bravo...crai. z

[@SirRyneaux]

I remember Jay Berger. He also used a really old Prince racquet as well for the time.

[@uncletony6210]

Prince Pro aluminum.

[@twinwankel]

Dolgopolov is conventional. He just has a low toss. But that's not weird.

[@Gilgarth]

The weird thing about it for them is probably that he does it so casual

[@andrewdonaldson8369]

Roddick is a lot weirder than Dolgopolov. What about the dudes who throw the ball like 15 feet up like Del Potro?

[@Gilgarth]

@@andrewdonaldson8369 Delbonis wants to have a word

[@mauroflorio2254]

@@andrewdonaldson8369 dont forget about dominik hrbaty high toss

[@rikuperhoniemi8639]

@@andrewdonaldson8369 Steffi

[@CapybaraGamingChannel]

good straight to the point video finally

[@kentuky1233]

Mariano Zabaleta should also be here. Reached top 20 with a very weird serve.

[@richardgreen3160]

When John McEnroe first played on grass courts the front of his left foot used to gradually score a line in the turf in each serving position.

[@tikycz8261]

I sow him few times in futures and i must say one of the weirdest serve i ever come across but if its working what change it

[@veda7279]

My man literally jump smashing a serve 🤣

[@edvoon]

Jay Berger's serve is basically the beginner's server that we all learned ^_^

[@HedgingBoy]

Liked the video just for the last guy!

[@Arjun7862009]

From the new generation Federico Delbonis and Oscar Otte should be on this list.

[@KasusEpykMusykII]

McEnroe' serve was art.

[@thebigmonstaandy6644]

if Battistone would hit the ball on highest point of his jump, he would have very strong serve

[@bibukov1]

Это в 70-е не было чёткого представления о технике ударов, потому все и мудрили как могли. Сейчас биомеханику удавов разобрали по винтикам, потому теннис стал намного более техничным. Сейчас любой из топ-500 пройдёт бывшую "первую ракетку" типа Борга или Лендла. Вся соль в более совершенной технике.

[@alessanderdutratenis]

Exatamente, hoje em dia a biomecânica ajudou muito na elaboração da técnica mais eficiente e sem trazer lesão aos jogadores.

[@mddistribution30]

The Jay Berger serve, Andre Agassi at Wimbledon 93, when he was defending champion, he served like that just for that tournament because he was suffering from a wrist injury. Apparently he felt serving like that gave him some relief. He never served like that again and needed surgery for the wrist later in the year. Watch clips of agassi at Wimbledon 93 you'll see what i mean

[@pjakobsen]

McEnroe does not belong on the weird list, but on The Too Talented To Copy list. Amazing service motion.

[@andychen3322]

I think Philip Kohlschrieber has a similar motion

[@SpringerHerten1]

The Braasch serve is called "Korkenzieher" ;-)

[@juaneer]

Corkscrew??

[@enematwatson1357]

@@juaneer Yes. Literally cork puller.

[@ErnestoJavier85]

it looks like a foot fault, even quite clean

[@danielklett5065]

Brian looking like he combining basketball with Tennis

[@axellopez2280]

Hey Tennisplanet , could i use this clip for a video on instagram with no comercial purpose? Thank you!

[@robcarter55]

Was hoping to see marion bartoli in there but i suppose having only 5 pages on your list.

[@txsurfnturf]

I was thinking maybe Boris Becker. But, he seems pretty tame after watching this video.

[@knightatthecrossroads222]

M. Šrejber could be there too. His two steps and jump was not convetional too and some even saw a disturbance of the oponent in it.

[@romanplavka9399]

Was gonna mention him as well.

[@MeStevely]

Roy Emerson had a weird serve, but probably not many remember him. I suspect if any footage exists, it would be in black & white!

[@baldassarealessi1007]

Thank you Tennis Planet

[@khmak9387]

No wonder he could defeat both Williams sisters in the same day!

[@twinwankel]

He played a round of golf and had two beers before beating Serena 6-1 and then Venus 6-2. If a 203rd rank player can't get any higher because of his weird serve, it stands to reason that the serve had nothing to do with failure or success, depending on how you look at it. According to Braasch, the Williams sister could not beat anyone man outside of top 500 and he played like someone in the top 600 to keep things interesting. And it seems to me that at the current state of the Williams sisters, they probably can't beat any man on the ATP.

[@khmak9387]

@@twinwankel I know. It was just a joke 😐

[@doggyd3736]

Yep Delbonis for sure should be in the top 5.m. Would have Cam Norrie in top 10 with his over pronounced motion

[@kelliebrooks9094]

Brian serve is nuts thats olympic gold medal every part of it how he gets an stays focused on the ball thru all of that is Gold medal ...a few the toss,the leap an the swing that 130 mph to hes destroying it...on contact....wow

[@AlphaBravoCharlie777]

Dogolov serve is a pretty simple action. Nothing weird about it. There was this German guy who took Sampras to 5 sets in Wimbledon. Nothing beats that style

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

Jay burger actually had a pretty standard normal serve, the I believe he was serving like that in this video was because he had elbow issues.

[@ImWine]

Weirdest is mine, it’s out 110% of the time

[@vladraduandrei5227]

same, or in the net..My fh and bh are fine , but my serve is just smth else

[@yanirahowell8011]

How about Berretini and Brooksby?

[@caio7487]

You forgot to include Delbonis on this list haha

[@joramponi249]

Aren’t the double step serves prohibited now?

[@peterk3474]

I'd think the volleyball serve would takeover tennis. Just need one tennis player to make that breakthrough.

[@jonathanshannon5343]

Who was the guy who did the funny little dribble between his legs every time before he served?

[@dropshot5791]

The weirdest if from a Moroccan player former 800 ATP I believe, he serves with 2 hands!!! Too bad there is no video of him, but I know him personally.

[@hyper5448]

That jump is called the jump smash

[@Tommmmmmmmmmmm]

Lol Battistone uses his racket hand to do the ball toss as well. also what’s this the two racket handles?

[@theplatinumog3283]

I played against this dude. He mostly hit backhands and volleys with that 2nd handle. Was pretty trippy.

[@richardilsley8424]

Me: Those are the weirdest serves i've ever seen Brian Badlestone: hold my beer

[@justdev8965]

It's Bladophone*, not Badlestone, get it right, geez

[@Chronic-Rain]

John McEnroe’s serve form is called the American Twist

[@alaeddinetmar5714]

Nick Kyrgios: „am I joke to you?“

[@suatkayatennis]

Lorenzi,Herbert and Delbonis also.

[@tennispassionate386]

Was waiting for pierres hugues herbert lol

[@PeterNash99]

me too

[@petershin5419]

Thr last guy looks like Volley ball serve.

[@CabezaDeRes]

Falta el saque de Taylor Dent 👍🏼

[@tri5800]

Are 1&2 illegal?

[@colesmith7509]

How Braasch ever get to that level without coaches correcting that... like wtf

[@dougj102463]

Is Mr. Battistone’s serve even legal?

[@tennisplanet6037]

Yes it is legal as his feet are off the ground

[@Left-Foot-Brake]

@@tennisplanet6037 Is a racket with two handles legal?

[@tennisplanet6037]

Yep perfectly legal as per ITF rules

[@theplatinumog3283]

Ya, the chair umpire didn't seem to have a problem with it while he was whoopin my ass. 🤣

[@ridgero]

Jay Berger & Sara Errani share the same motion

[@MarcoSpeaksNadsat]

McEnroe's serve got more exaggerated the older he got. It was pretty normal and face forward in his early pro days

[@TooleyPeter]

Nonsense. You don't know what you're talking about.

[@MarcoSpeaksNadsat]

@@TooleyPeter Clearly YOU don't know what YOU are talking about, and have made an effort to show everyone. Look at Ilie Nastase vs John McEnroe 1978 Forest Hills on u tube.

[@TooleyPeter]

@@MarcoSpeaksNadsat You are correct and I am wrong. My humble apology and sincere thank you for directing me to that vintage footage of McEnroe's 'normal' serve. I read somewhere yeas ago that he changed the stance due to a back injury but that seems apocryphal now.

[@MarcoSpeaksNadsat]

@@TooleyPeter lol no worries.

[@hakesong]

Wtf was battistone’s racket grip???

[@Tonyaxe13]

dude that came in 2nd is crossing over the center hash mark thing when he makes contact with the ball. thats a fault , I believe. It's one on my book, anyway. ( not that its not the goofiest serve ever )

[@mauziki]

McEnroe's is sheer sublimity.

[@TheYoudhruv]

Dolgopolov's slow motion serve is much faster than other players. Lol

[@thebigmonstaandy6644]

yes.same for Kyrgius. Such serve allows great speed without being strong

[@onigate]

does Battistone's racket have two handles? 🤔

[@fabz1509]

Interesting that none of the players from WTA were presented. Kenin for one.

[@whatsfordinner1695]

ohh u guys haven't visited my local tennis club lol

[@ssaski800]

Sjeng Schalken had a peculiar motion for his serve if I were to add to the list.

[@poofykins]

#1 should be illegal AF. he's using a 2 handled racquet, and each handle has an angle so he can get a different torque that a normal racquet can't get...same thing on his forehand, you can get more whip..and the 2 handed back hand has a HUGE advantage because the hands can be spaced apart more which allows more reach and power. If i were a pro matched up against that guy i'd be like NOPE you aren't using that.

[@kelliebrooks9094]

I practiced the great player of the seventys an 80s...Borg...Tanner..Mac...connors...i really didnt see Laver play...but from memory i did 4 or 5...i discovered Tanners to be the most diabolical...on clay hard tru or grass it was unreturnable....what i think he was doing....what is weird serves is these pros who throw the ball really high that has to make watching an tracking the ball hard....macenroes serve the i famouskick serve from hell...when u do it right it is magic...but throws ur back out....ur hitting with a reverse grip slashing up thebackside of the ball coming over it an off the side of the ball to give it look of top spin but the crazy side step bounce an movement 4 to 5 feet ....if u notice he either learned it ot someone taught it to him because he never had it in the beginning of his career....the one thing on macs serve is he uses the same toss disguising in court or out...u dont know where its going...i think to in this video hes switched to a more powerfull graphite racquet here...which is 15 more mph when u hit it cleanly in the middle of the strings...Borgs serve was a good placed top spin..he was good at picking off the edges of yhe boxes...with good power....high tosses are weird it like micheal Jordan is gonna do an ollie opp dunk off one of those high tosses....theirs a lot of weird service motions over the years habits people picked up that coaches dont want to change....fear of inconsistency an comfort...

[@damachine3]

Please tell me you were on drugs when you wrote this rambling, incoherent, mess

[@Grivian]

A serve is like fingerprint

[@Dennis-highlights]

Funny that After Federer everyone has similar serve

[@definitionsupervillain4583]

McEnroe serve and Hugues Herbert serve is very very similar

[@yannickdrmda5295]

Battistone must had a lot of foot faults called, it's really hard to tell from this short vid if it's good

[@jamesyu9926]

No. As long as his feet are in the air past the service line it’s legal. Most pros feet are off the ground past the service line even before contacting the balls.

[@totaldramataco4961]

Look at Sapfo Sakellaridi’s serve

[@antoinev9733]

Jay Berger the amat'tennis serve :)

[@metuberob]

last one is kinda like a tennis gilmore

[@punisher5944]

Dominic Hrbaty!

[@punisher5944]

@@pascalprevot1050 yeap)))

[@opticalmixing23]

Hey if you can still get the ace, do whatever works

[@darsh7164]

Kyrgios is so good that he isn’t even on the list

[@karlomarkouy4407]

Goran Ivenisevic too.

[@RexDue1976]

Trainor of Federer ljubicic ravishing serve 💪

[@jamesball5743]

Happy Gilmore serve

[@seltaeb3302]

Yup, nos 1 is definitely nos 1.

[@stephendoley1829]

😂casting spell.. Tennis 🎾 used as a wand

[@senthilveeran1723]

When you want to become a volleyball player but forced by your parents to choose 🎾....😅😅😅

[@michaelmcdonald9847]

McEnroe looks like Jamie Lee Curtis in the movie Perfect

[@NoName-up1px]

No Herbert??

[@jacobopolanco5392]

Missing Federico delbonis

[@VashTheStampede4K]

*Battistone plays volleyball, not tennis.* 🤣😂🤣

[@rjamesyork]

No. 1 is weirder than the other four combined.

[@theenglishalpinist5031]

Brian who?

[@guiverno1984]

& R. TANNER? 🤔 must be here fo sho!

[@filippogioiellomentaltennis]

Brian Battistone's raquet reminds me crutches for injured or something that has to do with the hospital or for the handicapped, absolutely awesome raquet! Blahhhh

[@junpan2463]

Wow, the top1 player's racket is weird. It looks like two handles.

[@user-xz4hg3bd8i]

John McEnroe

[@nomoreserfs]

No Stefan Edberg?🤔