An unreturned serve is any serve that the receiver fails to put back into play, regardless of whether they touched it or not. This category includes both aces (where the receiver doesn’t touch the ball) and service winners (where they touch it but the return misses). It is a measure of the total effectiveness of a serve in ending a point instantly. A high number of unreturned serves means the server is getting ‘free points’ and saving a lot of energy. For example, if a player has twenty unreturned serves in a match, it means they won twenty points without having to play a single rally. This puts massive psychological pressure on the receiver, who feels they have no chance to start a point. Coaches look at this stat to see if a player is successfully using speed, spin, and placement to overwhelm their opponent. It is the ultimate goal for any player looking to dominate their service games with ease.
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