Serve and volley is a style of play in tennis where the player serving moves quickly towards the net after hitting a serve. The server then attempts to hit a volley (a shot where the ball is struck without allowing it to bounce), as opposed to the baseline style, where the server stays back following the serve and attempts to hit a groundstroke (a shot where the ball is allowed to bounce before contact is made).
The serve style of play has diminished in recent years with the advances in racquet and string technologies which allows players to generate great amount of topsin on ground strokes and passing shots. Patrick Rafter was the last pure serve and volley player to win a grand slam. Also the slowing of court surfaces and deflation of the balls for greater rallies for the enjoyment of spectators has also put a dampener on the serve and volley style
