Earlier in the year Nick did a blog on the serve, and the common elements that all of the best servers share. Now, I’d like to take a look at the return of serve, so that you can neutralize your opponent’s big serve. The return of serve has always been the strength in my game, and with a few simple tips I think it can be a strength in your game too.
Like the serve, there are many different styles of good returners. Some returners, like Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic, are very offensive with their returns and try to take control of the point right away. Other returners, like Andy Murray, are great because they make an extremely high percentage of returns back in play, and are able to play them deep to neutralize the big serve. Like the serve however, all great returners shared a couple similar traits, in that they take COMPACT SWINGS and they move FORWARD to the ball.
A big serve can be coming at you upwards of 130 mph in the modern game, and when the ball is coming that fast there is not enough time to take a big swing at the ball. In Agassi’s return shown below, the racquet barely gets behind his right hip, and with the compact backswing he is able to time his return perfectly. Make sure you use an abbreviated take back, and use the pace of the serve instead of trying to generate pace yourself.
Another element you can notice in Agassi’s return is that he moves forward to the ball, even when faced with Sampras’ world class first serve. His legs stay down and his chest stays forward, which enables him to use the pace of the serve to his advantage. If he were to “pop up” with his legs, or lean backwards as he hits the return, his body would absorb the energy of the serve and he would not be able to hit the return as “solid” as he’d like. Make sure you move forward to the ball and stay down with your legs.
When I learned the return from a young age, my coach preached to me a three-word motto that stuck with me for the rest of my life. It broke down the return into its three crucial elements…
The first element of the return is a good, strong SPLIT STEP. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, you should land on your toes, and you should be balanced enough to explode in either direction. Next is an immediate SHOULDER TURN to get the racquet back in hitting position. Like I previously mentioned, the back swing should be compact, and a quick but full turn of the shoulders should get the racquet back far enough. The last element of the return is to make sure you GO FORWARD, instead of popping up or leaning back at contact. Your legs should be bent, your chest should be down, and you should be going to the ball at the point of contact.
So remember my three-word motto to a good return…SPLIT, TURN, GO!!!
