Master the Tennis Return of Serve: 5 Pro Tips for 2024
Did you know that the average professional tennis player faces over 100 serves per match? That’s right – mastering the return of serve isn’t just a skill, it’s a game-changer!
In this guide, we’ll dive into the art and science of returning serves like a pro. Get ready to transform your game and leave your opponents scratching their heads!
The return is likely the most underdeveloped skill at the club level, which is why we’re going super in-depth in this article. As a tennis coach, I always ensure that return of serve drills are practiced because of how often you are needed to perform a return in a match. Because it’s not just a regular forehand or backhand, adjustments need to be made. So lace up your tennis shoes and grab your rackets because this is going to be some super valuable lessons that will improve your game.
Understanding the Importance of the Return of Serve
The return of serve is arguably just as important as the serve itself. It’s your answer to the server’s pace for point. No rally can be won if the return of serve doesn’t go in. Yet many club players in particular neglect this tennis skill by not using drills that isolate the return. It’s super important that we learn how to return a tennis serve in order to change the pace of the return game we’re in and not get pushed over everytime we aren’t serving
This doesn’t mean we are going to win every return. Nadal and Djokovic, in their careers, won ~33% of their return on the first serve. At first this doesn’t seem like much, but the first serve is the most powerful way to start a point. A one in three chance is astronomically high. And with second serve win percentages at 55% each, there’s no wonder that these two are considered the best return players of all time.
Think about those numbers next time you find yourself returning in a game. Don’t beat yourself up over not winning every point, but don’t throw in the towel on your return either. a good return on the serve, the second serve in particular puts your opponent under pressure because they feel like they need to do more with their serve, making them take more risks and giving you free points.
So if it’s so powerful to know, how do you perform the return of serve? Let’s get into it.
Mastering the Split Step: The Foundation of a Great Return
Your footwork is crucial in setting you up to react quickly to the fast ball that comes from a serve. The split step, is the best way to prime your body and mind for the agility needed to return a good serve. Watch any pro and you’ll see that this is apart of their game.
A good rule of thumb is to split step as the racket connects with the ball on their toss. That’s where you want to hop with both feet, allowing you to land and press off as the ball travels towards you. The ready position is performed with your feet side by side, which is not the stance for either the backhand or forehand. Be sure to angle yourself in that 45 degree stance on either side even if the ball is coming quickly.
Footwork drills are super important to improve your return of serve but getting a partner to serve some balls for you to return is by far the most effective way to improve your return, as their are always little variables that add to a different situation every serve.
Reading Your Opponent’s Serve
The next big step in learning how to return is to learn how to read your opponent. Tennis IQ is super important here, as you’ll need to understand the game on a different level in order to really master this part of the return of serve.
Some questions to ask yourself are; where does the server like to serve, where has he won the most points, is he capable of placing, slicing or kicking his serve, what side has been my weakest today, where is he standing, etc.
By answering these questions as the game progresses, you can begin to piece together the opponents game plan, even if they don’t consciously know they have one themselves.
Perfecting Your Return Shot: To Swing or Not to Swing
A phenomenon you might of experienced yourself is that sometimes, the serve moves too fast for you to be able to perform your full technique on either your forehand or backhand. This can be super frustrating because you aren’t able to make the kind of shot you want to, your instead forced to play a rushed version of it and it doesn’t end well.
Well this can be changed. There are two types of returners, let’s look at Djokovic and Nadal again. The first is the big swing return, Nadal being a great example, that use their full technique in order to return effectively. Nadal and the big swingers accomplish this by standing super far back from the baseline, giving themselves a lot of time to react and perform the movement.
On the other hand you have returners like Djokovic, that make short swings that are a totally different shot to their usual forehand or backhand and they place the ball back to the opponent in a small compact and controlled manner.
Both have their upsides and downsides, it’s really just personal preference. However if you are trying to follow nadal and the big swingers, do know that you will have to run extra, which is a factor that doesn’t affect nadal but might affect you.
Mastering Return Techniques for Different Return Styles
The Short Swing
The short swing should be thought of as a more compact version of your usual technique. For example, on your forehand, instead of taking the racket up and over to create the full loop behind you, you might only have time to pull it straight back and then straight forward again, creating more of a block that an actual swing.
The same thing applies to the backhand. The reason professionals use these shots is because it cuts the time the server has to recover from their serve by a lot, so you can find servers out of position in this way.
In order to make the short swing work however, you must get the ball deep. If you watch Djokovic return, he always gets the ball near the baseline. Every. Time. It’s a must at his level and you should aim for the back of the court regardless of what level you of tennis are at.
The Full or Big Swing
The Full Swing is just like a regular shot, however is normally a lot safer than a normal forehand or backhand. Returners who excel with this technique are able to put a lot of spin on a high ball, giving them time to recover forwards and resetting the pace of the ball, essentially negating the server’s advantage.
Be careful with this technique, as balls that are faster than you are used to can be difficult to control. Always look for height over the net on your return, don’t worry so much about pace. Getting the ball deep is easier in this way
How to Grip your Racket on the Return of Serve
Alright, let me tell you about gripping your racket for the return of serve. I’ve been playing tennis for years, and boy, did I mess this up when I first started!
I remember this one match where I kept shanking returns left and right. It was embarrassing, to say the least. My opponent’s serve wasn’t even that fast, but I might as well have been swinging a frying pan out there. That’s when my coach pulled me aside and gave me a reality check about my grip.
Here’s the deal: for returns, you want to use a grip between continental and your forehand grip, whether that be western or semi-western. In this way, you can quickly react to which side the ball is arriving, because you are halfway to either side. This temporary grip gives you speed – trust me, you’ll need it when you’re facing fast flat serves.
But here’s where I goofed up for the longest time: I’d death-grip that racket like it was trying to escape. Rookie mistake! You want to keep your grip relaxed. I know, I know, it feels counterintuitive when you’re facing a 100 mph serve. But a relaxed grip lets you adjust quickly to the ball’s spin and bounce.
One last tip: practice your grip changes. I used to fumble around between points, trying to find the right grip. Now, I can switch grips in my sleep. It takes time, but it’s worth it when you start turning those tricky serves into deep returns.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, folks – the ultimate guide to mastering the return of serve in tennis! By implementing these pro tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a return wizard on the court. Remember, practice makes perfect, so get out there and start working on your split step, reading those serves, and mixing up your returns. Who knows? With enough dedication, you might just find yourself returning serves like your favorite Grand Slam champion. Now, go forth and conquer those serves – your improved tennis game awaits!