Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. There are seven basic shots in the game of tennis: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, slice, smash and lob. Each shot is made by using a racquet to strike a ball with the intent to hit the ball over the net. Tennis shots are therefore named for when they are struck (in the case of the serve) or the manner in which they are struck. A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to begin the point. The most common serve is used is an overhead serve. It is initiated by tossing the ball into the air over the server's head and hitting it when the arm is fully stretched out (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net.