Tennis Service Return

Service Return: The Second Most Important Shot in Tennis

The return of serve is often thought of as being only as good or as bad as
determined by the quality of the opponent’s serve. And certainly, while a
big serve can indeed dictate the effectiveness of the serve return, it does
not always have to be that way.

Consider how the professional game has continued to evolve. Ten to fifteen
years ago, the men’s game was dominated by big serves and few service
breaks. Yet, even as the potency of the serve has continued to increase
along with the number of big servers, the quality of the service return has
also evolved.
There are still plenty of aces in today’s game. Yet, because of the
increased ability of players to respond better and more effectively with
both technique and reactive training, we see far less dominance from the
serve than we had in the recent past.

But, what about those who are not tennis professionals? The issue of big
serves is not usually a major factor at the club, recreational, league, or
tournament level. Within most NTRP levels, few players possess the kind of
service-power we see on television. Yet, one of the biggest weaknesses I see
in these non-professional matches is the limited ability to return serves
effectively and with consistency.

Differences
Many people believe the return of serve is no different than hitting a
typical forehand or backhand groundstroke. While the basic mechanics of
hitting a return include the same elements that a groundstroke will have,
the return has several components that require a slightly different approach
to hitting it well.

Angle of Incidence
A serve, since it is hit at or near the highest reach of the server, comes
into the court from a far different trajectory than a typical groundstroke
hit from the baseline. Because of this “angle of incidence,” the serve
usually bounces differently than a groundstroke - higher and with the
increased potential of different bounces due to different spins. However,
because the serve lands in the service box, the bounce often occurs much
shorter in the court than baseline-to-baseline topspin or slice
groundstrokes.

Point of Contact
Players must contend with bounces that are as high as the shoulders and even
the head when making contact with a service return. This is perhaps the
hardest part of making a good return. Players seldom practice hitting balls
that are at this height and many simply don’t possess techniques to handle
these high-bouncing balls well.

Directional Control
In doubles, the return is probably more specific and critical than in
singles. With a net man stationed on one side of the court, and his
propensity to look to poach and cut balls off, the return in doubles must be
directed much more intentionally than in singles. (That is not to say that
in singles, a return can be hit anywhere!) In addition, in more advanced
doubles play, the server will often follow the serve to the net, in which
case the return will have to be that much more precise. The so-called "
window" for a return in doubles is much smaller when you consider these
factors.

In singles, while you have the whole court to return the ball into, the
effectiveness of the return will help dictate the advantage or lack-thereof
of the server. A weak return sets up an easier approach shot or attacking
ball. Likewise, a strong return can offset the server’s advantage and even
provide the returning player an opportunity to go on offense. Andre Agassi
was the master at this tactic.

Having to contend with these differences in hitting a service return, a
player can work on several elements that can equate to better returns.
Early Mental Intention
This obscure concept I discovered a few years ago when I was studying how
pros who were returning 120 – 130 mile-per-hour serves were able to react
quickly enough to hit the ball, but also with the ability to return those
bombs effectively.

The idea is that the returner doesn't wait to decide where the serve is
going after the serve has been hit. Instead, the returner begins to
anticipate where the serve will be hit before the serve has been hit.
Obviously, there is at best a 50/50 chance of simply guessing it will be hit
to your forehand or backhand side. (Of course, we could include a portion
of serves hit right at us; however, even such serves are going to be
slightly to one side of our body’s center point.) Yet, we can often make an
“educated anticipation” as to where the serve will go based on server
tendencies, gaining a read on the server’s toss, and factors such as where
previous serves have been attempted.
It is the intention of movement or guessing where the serve will land that
gets us moving. I have found that even when pros start by leaning the wrong
way, they quickly make a correction--even when returning fast serves.
However, I have also seen recreational players wait to make a move until
they see exactly where the serve is going. The human mind, while it works
remarkably fast, is too slow to recognize fast serves and then make
conscious decisions after determining where the serve is going. By making
more predetermined movements before we actually recognize where the ball is
going, we can get our physical action initiated and allow our subconscious
to react correctly. This takes practice but I believe you will see a
significant improvement in this area alone.

Early Unit Turn
For decades “get the racquet back” was the teaching mantra of nearly every
teaching pro. Today, I believe this phrase has evolved into “Prepare early
,” alluding not so much to the racquet’s preparation as much as preparing
what we now call the “Unit Turn.”

Many pros advocate “stalking” the ball, meaning, turn with the body, but
keep the racquet in a position to "fire" with the full stroke later. Some
pros even advocate waiting to prepare the racquet until the ball has bounced
on your side of the court. While this may be the sequence among more
advanced players (due to all the experience and controlled swing elements
such players have mastered), when beginners to high intermediate players
wait this long, they often tend to swing late. I believe that the condition
of waiting is one that self-evolves and does not need to be specifically
taught.
When a player makes a conscious effort to make a Unit Turn as soon as they
see what side of the body the serve is coming in on, the player is in a much
better position to move effectively to the ball. Too many players make
their first move with their feet which delays the upper body’s ability to
turn for the shot. In many cases, players who step out to the ball first,
swing with the arm only, because they never get the shoulder plane to coil.

Practice
For a shot that most pros consider the second most important stroke in the
game, it amazes me how little time club players spend working on the return.
Compared to other shots, the service return is practiced very little,
usually only hitting non-competitive returns during the warm up of a match!
Set aside time with a hitting partner to work on various returns: doubles
returns, singles returns; slice returns, inside out and inside in returns,
lobs, and others. Practice standing closer, inside the service line to
improve your ability to react quickly to the ball. Have a partner serve from
the service line to also exercise your anticipation time. After a few weeks
, I guarantee you'll notice a difference.