WIMBLEDON, England -- Carlos Alcaraz marched into his third straight Wimbledon final on Friday, utilizing all the tools in his box as he beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) to set up a clash with Jannik Sinner.
In addition to the punishing forehands and deft drop shots was a lesser-spotted beast, the serve-and-volley. Once a fixture on the grass, it's now a dying art.
But it's not dead.
"I am just serving really good and I am just feeling really comfortable doing serve-and-volley," said Alcaraz, who won 16 out of 20 serve-and-volley points against Fritz. "I think I won a lot of serve-and-volley [points] that I did today, just not letting the opponent get into the point, to get the good rhythm.
"It's something that I am just doing a lot. I think on grass it is a surface that we can do it more often. I'm just really feeling comfortable doing it."
Until the turn of the century, it was customary at Wimbledon to see a straight line of worn grass from the baseline to the service box as players served and volleyed, a hugely successful tactic on a surface where the ball stays low.
But, after complaints that the men's event had become too boring, Wimbledon made changes to the grass in 2002 that made the ball check, slowing it down. The balls have also changed over time, fluffing up more than in the past, and improvements in racket and string technology have made it easier to return serve.
In 1997, the first year that Wimbledon kept such records, 60% of points in men's singles were serve-and-volley. That total fell quickly in the years that followed, falling to 10% in 2008. Between 2008 and 2024, the percentage ranged between 6% and 10%, and in 2025, it's just 4%. In the women's singles, 12% of points were serve-and-volley in 1997; in 2025, it is just 1%.
But while the days of players charging in after every serve may be over, serve-and-volley is just as successful a tactic as it was in 1997.
Heading into the final, Alcaraz has served and volleyed 11% of the time, more than any of the other seven quarterfinalists at Wimbledon. He also has won 61 of 77 points doing it, a success rate of 79%, well above the average this year of 67%.
Alcaraz has also been using it increasingly often in the second week of the tournament. In the quarters, he won 18 of 20 forays to the net after his serve and almost as many against Fritz.
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic served and volleyed 64 times through his six matches, winning 45 of them at 70%. He used the strategy most of all in his semifinal defeat by Sinner, winning 15 of 23.
Grigor Dimitrov, who pulled out injured when leading world No. 1 Sinner by two sets to love in the fourth round, won 36 of his 48 serve-and-volley points -- 75%. Ben Shelton tried it 37 times, winning 26 of them, or 70%, to the approval of his father and coach, the former pro Bryan Shelton.
Doing it in front of those who taught you how 🥹
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025
Ben Shelton is enjoying a fantastic grass court season - and he credits his father, former professional Bryan, as his inspiration for playing on the surface ♥️#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/w0DX0VZtuO
"He kind of inspires the way that I'm playing on grass, the way that I'm moving forward, how I'm cutting off angles, wanting to mix in the serve-and-volley vintage style of tennis every once in a while," Shelton said about his father after his fourth-round win.
With the exception of 1999 and 2000, when it dipped to 51% and 59% respectively, the serve-and-volley success rate at Wimbledon has been consistent, staying between 65% and 71% every year from 1997 to 2025.
Former world No. 1 Pat Rafter, who popped back into Wimbledon for a brief corporate gig last week, still thinks serve-and-volley can be a huge weapon on grass if used smartly. As does another Australian, Jordan Thompson, who served and volleyed more than anyone at this year's event -- 31% -- on his way to the last 16.
"The grass is still slow, but it's grass, so not letting the ball bounce, taking it out of the air, it's going to pose a problem for any guy," Thompson told reporters. "It creates so many problems. [A lot of players] wouldn't have seen that before.
"Personally, I like seeing the serve-and-volley style. I like seeing slices come in. I like watching Dan Evans play. I think that's proper tennis, and that's the way I want to play.
"It's good on grass. I wouldn't say it's great on clay or the slow hard courts that we've got now. But certainly, coming forward on your terms is still going to be a positive if you can volley."