<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (February 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (February 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point . A player will hit the ball with a racquet so it will fall into the diagonally opposite service box without being stopped by the net . Normally players begin a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the highest point of the toss). The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side . If the ball contacts the net on the serve but then proceeds to the proper service box, it is called a let; this is not a legal serve in the major tours (but see below) although it is also not a fault . Players typically serve overhead, but serving underhand, although rare, is allowed . The serve is the only shot a player can take their time to set up instead of having to react to an opponent's shot . But as of 2012, there is a 25 - second limit to be allowed between points . </P> <P> The serve is one of the more difficult shots for a novice, but once mastered it can be a considerable advantage . Advanced players can hit the serve in many different ways and often use it as an offensive weapon to gain an advantage in the point or to win it outright . Because of this, players above beginner level are expected to win most of their service games, and the ability to break an opponent's serve plays a crucial role in a match . </P>

Where does the tennis ball have to land on a serve