​Pickleball has become a popular sport in recent years, with millions of players taking to the court. But are you looking to up your game? While you might be quick to assume that its skills are tied closely to other court sports, there are key fundamentals to ensure that your next serve on the court comes with a punch. Here’s what experts want you to know about how to serve in pickleball.Pickleball has set rules for how a serve must be made. Rules require that serves are:AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUnderhand and below the waist.Made with one hand.Served crosscourt.Cleared over the net.Additionally, the server’s stance is a key part of the serve, requiring both feet to be behind the baseline and between the centerline and the sideline.When it comes to serving, there are two styles in pickleball, including:Volley or classic serve, where the ball is hit directly out of the air in an upward motion.Drop or bounce serve, where the ball is bounced before hitting it.“The serve stroke itself is not tricky,” says Lance Cowart, vice president of competition at USA Pickleball in Dallas, Texas. “It can be just like any other stroke on the court, but players do tend to make it difficult. They will focus on all the rules of the serve rather than just making solid contact and placing to a target.”As with any sport, practicing your skills will set you up for success in competition. “Many players I see practicing their serve just have a basket of balls serving one after another with no thought or purpose,” says Cowart. Instead, he recommends a different method: “Players need to put targets down in each half of each service box and do not move on to the next target until consistency of placement and depth has been met. Whether a player is using the volley serve or the drop serve, follow the same routine every time you put the ball in play.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIs soccer good for you? Yes, but look out for sports injuries.A powerful serve can surprise opponents, but experts say accuracy and placement are more valuable than power. “The depth of the serve is the key,” says Cowart.  “Forcing your opponent to return from behind the baseline keeps them from getting forward to the kitchen line.”This limits their hitting angles and gives your team a tactical advantage.Try pickleball! What makes pickleball the perfect sport for everybody to enjoyWhile you might envision the winning point coming from an impressive serve, Cowart says it’s important for players to remember that the founders of pickleball didn’t set up the serve as the dominant part of the game.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“The rules of the pickleball serve purposely diminish a person’s physical stature as a dominant factor,” he says.  “Since the serve is the only time in traditional side out scoring a player can score, it is a vital part of the game. Just creating one or two free points off a good, deep serve can be the difference in