"Eliminate the Second Serve?": Looking Back at Gerard Piqué's Shocking Statement

Gerard Piqué had dropped a shocking proposal that continues to divide the tennis world.

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Arthur Millot

le 28/11/2025 à 15h45

2 min to read

After having modified the Davis Cup, the Spaniard has returned with an even more radical vision: to transform the very mechanics of tennis to make it more spectacular, more intense, more modern, in his view.

Asked on Iker Casillas' YouTube channel, former Real Madrid goalkeeper, Gerard Piqué said this:

"Why do we serve twice in tennis? Think about it: there are 30 seconds left... The player bounces the ball... People don't want to see that, they want to see the point. Eliminate the second serve and introduce a decisive point instead of advantages."

A statement that caused controversy but reflects his deep conviction: tennis must speed up the pace to appeal to an audience accustomed to rapid content consumption.

"People no longer want to see players bouncing the ball": a frontal critique of modern tennis

Piqué points the finger at what, according to him, stifles the game: the rituals. The endless bounces. The rigid routines. The repeated serves. The former Barça player is categorical:

"People want rhythm and play. They don't want to see a 5-minute game where one player takes the advantage, then the other, then another again... No... 40 seconds and it's the next player's turn.

I'm not saying we need to change everything, I'm simply suggesting that things adapt to the pace of today's world, otherwise we become completely outdated."

For him, eliminating the second serve and systematically introducing a decisive point would push players to take more risks, while creating permanent dramatic tension.