# How to tag a serve

> Tag a serve in the Match Tracker editor: the Serve shot type, its variant (Short, Long or Drive) and where it landed (Body, Middle or Wide).

Source: https://getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/tag-a-serve
Updated: 2026-10-11
Answers: How do I tag a serve? / Is a flick serve long or drive? / What do body, middle and wide mean for a serve? / Why does my serve show as incomplete? / What are the keyboard shortcuts for serves?

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](https://getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/manual-tracking) first for the two-pass workflow. This page covers the serve.

## What a serve needs

| Field | Values | Default key |
|---|---|---|
| **Shot type** | **Serve** | **Q** |
| **Shot variant** | **Short**, **Long**, **Drive** | **Shift+Q**, **Shift+W**, **Shift+E** |
| **Serve placement** | **Body**, **Middle**, **Wide** | **J**, **K**, **L** |
| **Striking side** | **Forehand**, **Backhand**, **Around-the-head** | **F**, **D**, **S** |
| **Striker** | The player who served | **X** or **Z** when you tag it |

- **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 keyboard

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 mouse

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 finished

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.

> **An incomplete serve won't block your own match**
>
> On a match you track yourself, the counter is a guide. Incomplete shots don't stop you pressing **Finalize**. What does stop you is a rally with no outcome: see [Fix how a rally ended](https://getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/fix-a-shot#fix-how-a-rally-ended).

## Change the keys

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 guides

- [Manual tracking](https://getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/manual-tracking)
- [How to fix a mis-tagged shot](https://getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/fix-a-shot)
- [Match Tracker](https://getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/match-tracker)
- [Glossary](https://getgoodatbadminton.com/docs/glossary)