How to return serve in tennis

The return of serve is almost the most important shot in tennis. We say almost because you would put the serve ahead of the return. There’s no doubt that improving your return will have a big impact on your overall game and your success on court – you’ll win more points when receiving, you’ll break serve more often and you’ll ultimately win more matches.

You’re going to be playing a lot of returns so any time you can spend practising this part of your game is going to be time well spent. In tennis, the server is supposed to have an advantage. But if you have a strong return, which can unsettle your opponent and immediately put pressure on them, you will have a good chance of neutralising that advantage and perhaps even taking control of a point and then winning it. Just look at Team HEAD’s Novak Djokovic, who has arguably the best return in the history of tennis, which has helped him to become the greatest of all time. In professional tennis, around 70 per cent of serves are returned into the court. As you might imagine, that percentage is higher for second serves than it is for first serves.

Whether you’re learning the game or you’re an intermediate player, or perhaps you’re at a more advanced level, here are some tips to help you improve your return.

Where should I stand to return serve?

You might wish to start by standing around a metre behind the baseline. After a few points, you can adjust and stay where you are or move forward or back (you can also change your position throughout the match). Where you stand depends on the power of your opponent’s serve – if they have a fast serve, standing a little further back gives you more time to react. Another factor to consider is your own style of play as if you have an attacking game, you will want to stand closer in so you can hit your return earlier. Standing closer also means that you cut down the angles and could make it easier to return serves that have a lot of spin on them. The downside to being closer is that you have less time to react to the ball.

On your opponent’s second serve, which should be easier to return than their first serve, you may wish to stand a little closer to receive, but it all depends on how you feel being closer in. Move left or right depending on where you think gives you the best chance of returning the serve. Remember that mixing up your return position is going to give your opponent something else to think about and could disturb their rhythm.

What can I do to anticipate my opponent’s serve?

Pay very close attention to how your opponent prepares for the serve. Look at how they hold and move the racquet. The ball toss could also give you some clues. Are they using different tosses for different serves? If they are, you will have some warning about whether they are about to hit a a flat serve, a slice serve or a kick serve. Before they start their service motion, they might even be looking at where they are serving, whether that’s down the ‘T’, to your body or wide. That would be useful information.

What should I be doing before returning serve?

You should be in the ready position, with your feet shoulder width apart, your knees bent and your weight on the balls of your feet. You might want to bounce on the balls of your feet. You’re feeling energetic and ready to swing at the ball. You’re alert and ready to react. Just before hitting your return, do a split step – which is a small hop from the ready position – which prepares your body for fast, explosive movement. To give yourself more time, you might want to have a shorter backswing on your returns than on other groundstrokes.

How important is footwork when returning serve?

Take small steps so you’re in the right position. Footwork is key to being a good returner as you need to be in the best possible position to hit the ball with the power, spin and accuracy that is going to put pressure on the server.

What grip should I use for returning serve?

You should adjust your grip depending on the serve you are returning. If you’re returning a flat serve, for example, you should try having a continental or semi-open grip as that will help you to have more control with your shot. But if you’re returning a kick serve, you might want to switch to a semi-open or closed grip, which will make it easier to hit a high-bouncing ball.

Where should I make contact with the ball?

Ideally, you want to strike the ball when it’s in front of your body as that will allow you to hit the ball with more power and control.

Should I accelerate through the ball when hitting my return?

If you can, you should accelerate when striking the ball as that’s going to result in a more powerful, dynamic and accurate shot. However, if your opponent has a big serve, you don’t necessarily have to swing fast because you can use their power and still hit a good return.

What are the common mistakes and how do I avoid them?

If you are too close to the ball, or too far away, or you’re just too static, you won’t be able to hit an effective return. To improve your footwork, keep moving and make small steps that will allow you to make mini adjustments and to be in the best possible position when hitting the ball.

If you’re late taking your racquet back, you will probably also be late hitting the ball. That will mean that the ball will be too close to your body and you won’t have the power and control you want. Focus on preparing early for the shot, taking your racquet back early, and striking the ball in front of you, which will help you to hit a stronger return.

It’s tempting to be aggressive and to try to hit a winner on almost every return. But that’s a mistake. If you take too many risks, you’re going to end up hitting more errors than winners. A smarter strategy would be to focus on getting more balls into play rather than thinking you need to do something spectacular with every return. You can still hit attacking returns, and the occasional winner, but you’re going to be choosing your moments.

What can a more advanced player do to improve their return?

You don’t want to become predictable with your returns. If your opponent always knows which return you’re going to hit, that’s going to make life very easy for them. If you can play a variety of returns, and mix it up, you’re likely to have more of an impact in their service games. If you can hit a powerful return, how about a drop shot return or a lob return? A lob return can be very effective as it mixes things up and can frustrate your opponent if they are looking to serve and volley. Playing a lob return will also slow the rally down – that could give you the time to move to a more central position. You might also want to slice your return occasionally. You should also be changing the direction of your returns, sometimes going down the line, sometimes cross-court and sometimes to the middle of the court.

What can I do to practise my return of serve?

To improve your reflexes and reactions, find yourself a practice partner with a fast serve – or a ball machine. To make it even more challenging, you could ask your partner to serve from inside the baseline, giving you even less reaction time. Your focus should be on consistency and accuracy – you could try to return the ball to a specific part of the court. At first your practice partner should be telling you where they’re going to hit the ball. Then they can start mixing it up, hitting a variety of serves and not telling you what’s coming next.

How important is to practise your return of serve?

How often do you practise your return? If you’re like most players, the answer will be: ‘Not nearly enough.’ Perhaps you hardly practise the skill at all. The next time you’re on the practice court, try to spend more time working on your return – and then make that a habit – as that could upgrade your game and help you to win more matches. But it’s important to be patient as it can sometimes take a while to make big changes to your tennis.

©HEAD Tennis