Serve-and-volley, where a player charges the net after serving to finish points with volleys, has largely faded from tennis, overtaken by baseline hitting, where players slug it out from the back of the court. The reasons boil down to equipment upgrades, slower surfaces, tactical evolution, and physical trends.

Start with the gear. Since the shift from wood to graphite rackets in the ’80s, and with polyester strings gaining traction in the 2000s, players can hit harder and with more spin. Topspin shots—often exceeding 3,000 RPM on modern forehands, per ITF stats—dip sharply and kick up, making them brutal to volley. Back in the wood-racket days, spin topped out closer to 1,500-2,000 RPM, giving net players an easier time. Now, a baseliner like Carlos Alcaraz can whip passing shots past anyone lunging at the net.

Court surfaces have swung the pendulum too. Grass, the serve-and-volley paradise, dominated the Grand Slams decades ago—Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open were all grass until the ’70s and ’80s. It’s fast, with low bounces that rush defenders. But the Australian Open went hard in 1988, the US Open ditched grass earlier, and even Wimbledon’s grass has slowed—its groundskeepers say bounce speeds are down roughly 10% since the Sampras era due to tighter turf. Clay, always slow, rewards grinders. Most tour events now are hard courts or clay, stretching points and favoring baseline rallyers over net crashers.

Strategy’s another killer. The baseline game got a boost from pioneers like Bjorn Borg, proving relentless consistency could outlast aggression. Modern coaching hammers groundstrokes and defense—look at Novak Djokovic or Iga Swiatek, who turn matches into endurance tests. ATP data from 2023 shows top-10 players approached the net less than 10% of the time, a steep drop from the 30-40% Sampras or Edberg logged in the ’90s. Return games have leveled up too; big servers can’t dominate like they once did when guys like Andy Murray neutralize 130-mph bombs.

Physically, serve-and-volley taxes you differently. It’s all about quick bursts—serve, sprint, react. Baseline play leans on stamina, better suited to five-set marathons and packed schedules. Plus, volleying’s unforgiving—one flubbed shot, and the point’s toast. Baseline exchanges let you recover from mistakes.

It’s not extinct—players like Stefanos Tsitsipas or Coco Gauff sprinkle it in—but the odds are stacked against it. At Roland Garros 2023, net points won barely hit 50%, per Hawkeye, while baseline rallies stretched beyond 8 shots on average. The game’s math, from rackets to courts, just doesn’t add up for serve-and-volley anymore. It’s a high-wire act in a sport that now rewards staying grounded.