How realistic is the serve mechanic compared to real tennis?

[MikeT38]

Hi everyone, just started playing Tennis Elbow and I'm really impressed with how the gameplay feels. One thing I keep thinking about is how the serve mechanic compares to real tennis physics.

In real matches, the difference between a flat serve and a kick serve is massive — not just in speed but in how the ball bounces and how the returner has to adjust their positioning. I feel like TE captures the speed aspect well, but I'm curious whether the spin effects are modeled realistically or simplified for gameplay purposes.

I've been watching a lot of ATP matches recently and trying to apply what I see to my in-game strategy. For example, targeting the backhand on second serve returns seems to work just as well in the game as it does in real tennis. The way momentum shifts after a break of serve also feels surprisingly accurate.

For those who have been playing longer — do you find that studying real tennis tactics actually helps you improve in the game? Or is the engine different enough that you need a completely separate approach?

Also curious if anyone tracks their in-game stats the way analysts do for real matches. Things like first serve percentage, break point conversion, stuff like that. Would be interesting to see if the patterns match up.

I actually stumbled across a site about this recently that breaks down tennis patterns in an interesting way — made me think about how game engines handle similar data.