Venus Williams’s Powerful Serve

VENUS WILLIAMS’S POWERFUL SERVE has taken her to the top of the world tennis rankings. But in 1998, her serve wasn’t enough to defeat Lindsay Davenport in the European Championships.

In the quarterfinals, Williams drew France’s Mary Pierce. Williams, already the world’s fastest female server at 125 mph, fired three consecutive aces in the set’s final game. On her last serve, Williams hit the ball perfectly, registering 127 mph on the speed gun and breaking her old world record. The California native totaled 13 aces against Pierce and took the match 6–4, 6–1.

After defeating Nathalie Tauziat in the semifinals, Williams faced Davenport in the championship. With the first set tied 5–5, Venus served, leading 40–30. But she lost the next seven points, giving Davenport the service break and a 7–5 win.

In the second set, Davenport broke her opponent’s service at 2–2 and held serve for a 4–2 lead. Trailing 5–3, Williams handed Davenport the set and the match when she smashed a forehand into the net. The victory brought Davenport her sixth title of the year and solidified her status as the No. 1 player on the world tour.

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POINT Powerful serves help win tournaments. Aces and service winners make for quick matches and easy points. Good players practice for hours on their serve. They learn how to put spin on the ball, hit a power serve, and place it wherever they want. Professional players expect to win all their service games.

God wants us to serve him, too. But he doesn’t want us to work softly and timidly for him. He desires that we serve him with strength and power, not doing anything halfheartedly or halfway. Then the heavenly Father receives the glory and praise.

GOAL! Practice serving—whether it’s tennis, table tennis, or racquetball. Work on power, speed, and accuracy. Now think of ways you can serve God.