TECH Talk: Kevin Anderson comes out of retirement to make a deep run at Hall of Fame Open 

FLASHBACK: Kevin Anderson wins the 2021 Hall of Fame Open at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

Last year in May, the pro tour said goodbye to South African favorite Kevin Anderson as he left tennis to enjoy life in retirement.

Little did the tennis world know that just 14 months later, he would accept a wild card to play at the ATP 250 Infosys Hall of Fame Open. At 37 years old and still standing tall at 6’8’’, not only has Anderson given tennis another go but he’s hungry for more victories.

Often compared to the towering John Isner (6' 10"), Andy Roddick (6' 2") and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (6' 2"), Anderson is known for having one of the biggest serves on tour.

The Shot

Similarly to many tall players, Anderson’s serve is technically packaged to conform to his height.

And unlike shorter competitors—like Argentina's Diego Schwartzman (5' 7") or the retired David Ferrer (5' 9")—Anderson doesn’t have to generate as much power with his lower body because he’s naturally hitting the top of the ball.

Instead, he is syncing his toss arm and serving arm at a quicker pace than most players. This means his serve swing is quick and to the point.

But let’s talk about why that synchronization is crucial to the Anderson serve. If the toss is high but the swing is short, the server will either swing and miss the ball (and get hit in the head by it), or they will be forced to wait for the ball to drop, losing the momentum and strength that the swing builds up. However, if the toss is short but the swing takes its time getting up to the ball, mishitting it is inevitable.

With Anderson’s serve, the toss is naturally high as his wingspan has a long reach, so his serve swing is short to make sure he is reaching up to the ball at the right time.

The Strategy

It's simple: Serve big, work less.

As anyone with a successful serve knows, the strategy is to set up an attackable return to be in the offensive position. Ideally, of course, the serve is so good that it is unreturnable entirely.

The former world No. 5 and two-time Grand Slam finalist is very in tune with his serving strengths. He identifies early on which serves work to his favor and problem-solves the right moments to capitalize on this observation.

He has 7,683 aces under his belt on the pro tour, and a whopping 77% of first serve points won. Not only does he know which serve to use and when, but he knows how to maintain the attack when the ball is returned.

The Lesson

Stretch every day so that when you reach 6’8’’ you can also capitalize on serving games.

And just in case the stretching doesn’t exactly add up in height, remember that identifying your toss and swing types will help you better understand how to synchronize the two together for the ultimate serve.