This page shows how to tag a serve in the Match Tracker editor: the shot itself, its variant and where it landed. The editor is on the GGAB website only, because tagging runs on the keyboard.

New to tagging? Read Manual tracking first for the two-pass workflow. This page covers the serve.

What a serve needsLink to this section

• The variant is required on a serve. On every other shot it's optional. A flick serve is Long, not Drive.
• The placement starts as Body. When you make a shot a serve, it gets Body unless you already chose a placement. Split the receiver's half court into three strips running out from the centre line: Middle is the strip closest to the centre line, Body is the next third, at the receiver, and Wide is the outer third, toward the sideline.
• The striking side starts as Backhand if you haven't set one.
• A serve has no direction and is never marked as deceptive, so the editor hides both on a serve.

Serves matter beyond their own stats. When you press Mark for review, the editor builds the rallies from your serves: each serve starts a new rally. A serve tagged as another shot, or a rally shot tagged as a serve, puts the rally breaks in the wrong place.

Tag a serve with the keyboardLink to this section

1. Check the toolbar shows Tracking. From Setup, press Start tracking. From Review, press Back to tracking.
2. Pause the video on the moment the server's racket meets the shuttle. ← and → step one frame. Shift+← and Shift+→ step one second.
3. Check the highlighted side, Side A or Side B, is the server's. Press A to switch sides, or click the side.
4. Press X to tag player 1 on that side, or Z for player 2 in doubles. The shot drops on the timeline at the playhead.
5. Press Q to make it a serve. The placement becomes Body and the striking side Backhand, unless you set them already.
6. Press the variant: Shift+Q for Short, Shift+W for Long, Shift+E for Drive.
7. If it didn't go to the body, press K for Middle or L for Wide. J sets it back to Body.
8. If it wasn't a backhand serve, press F for Forehand or S for Around-the-head.
9. Play on. The next X or Z starts the next shot. Press Esc to stop editing the serve without starting another.

Press Q before the variant key. The variant keys only work once the shot is a serve, and picking a shot type clears the variant.

Already tagged the timings and classifying now? Click the shot on the timeline, or step to it with ↑ and ↓, then start at step 5.

Tag a serve with the mouseLink to this section

1. Click the shot on the timeline. The panel on the right shows it.
2. Under Shot type, click Serve.
3. Under Shot variant, click Short, Long or Drive.
4. Under Serve placement, click Wide, Middle or Body.
5. Under Striking side, click Around-the-head, Backhand or Forehand.

Each button shows its key in brackets, for example Short (⇧Q). Once a match is in Review, the tagging keys are switched off, so use the panel there.

Find serves that aren't finishedLink to this section

1. Look beside the toolbar. The editor counts the shots that still have an empty field, for example 3 shots incomplete. A serve with no variant or no placement counts.
2. Press Shift+↑ to jump to the next incomplete shot, or Shift+↓ to go back. The arrow buttons next to the count do the same. The shot is selected and the video seeks to it.
3. Read the top of the panel. It says what the shot still needs, such as Missing: Serve variant (Short / Long / Drive).
4. Fill it in. The shot drops out of the count.

On the timeline, an incomplete shot has a small dot above its marker. Hover over it to see what's missing. When nothing is left, the counter reads All 180 shots fully tracked, with your own shot count.

Change the keysLink to this section

These are the default keys. To change them, click Keybindings next to Alternation: on, under the timeline. Serve placement uses the direction keys, so rebinding a direction changes the placement key with it. The panel's brackets always show your current keys.

If you hit the same serve again and again, a preset can tag it with one key. Open Keybindings and press + Add preset.

Related guidesLink to this section

• Manual tracking
• How to fix a mis-tagged shot
• Match Tracker
• Glossary