I haven’t played much tennis in the past few years. In fact, I’ve only played tennis once in my adult life. I kissed that shit goodbye after a childhood of tennis lesson in the swampy Florida heat that was suffocating enough to drive me away from the sport forever.
But, I watch the shit out of professional Tennis whenever the majors are on ESPN. And I’ve watched enough tennis to know that this serve from Renzo Olivo is the best tennis serve I’m ever going to see. He obviously wouldn’t be able to pull this move off every time.
As pointed out on Deadspin, this is move that puts your opponent on tilt while nabbing a quick point. It takes them out of their comfort zone by disrupting the typical ebbs and flows of a tennis match, and it’s a power move.