Using the blocked return is another common way of defending against the strong first serve. this shot requires the returner to absorb the pace of the serve by using a short swing and by contacting the ball in front of her body with a firm wrist, similar to a volley technique. this short swing gives […]

the inside-in return, hit down the line (as opposed to the inside-out return, which is hit across the court), is another recognised shot that is played against the middle serve from either the forehand or backhand side. although this shot is a lower-percentage one because it is hit over the higher part of the net […]

the inside-out return is another popular shot to play against the serve that is hit down the middle from both the deuce and advantage courts. this shot is hit away from the returner’s body (i.e., from ‘in’ to ‘out’) and applies equally to right- and left-handers playing both forehands and backhands. The forehand inside-out return […]

I encourage the middle return hit with quite a flat trajectory straight at the feet of the server. Hitting this ‘mirror return’ needs a lot of guts, great anticipation, and the skills to effectively cut off the angles when pushed wide. —Steven Martens, Six-Time Belgium Federation Cup Captain Returning the first serve down the middle […]

The first priority for the returner is to neutralise the threat posed by the first serve, thus preventing her opponent from striking first. This means returning well enough so that a neutral position remains after the serve and return have been played. By doing this, the returner may then be able to assert her own […]

T The return of serve is the most important shot in the women’s game today. It has become crucial to many players’ tactical makeup because of the necessity to counter the threat of the strong server, as well as to dominate the weaker one. A number of different returning tactics are used depending on the […]

AIMS To disguise the direction of the serve; to prevent the returner from anticipat­ing the serve’s direction. LEVEL Intermediate to advanced DESCRIPTION the player prepares to serve in the normal way but without deciding the direction of her serve. the coach stands behind the player and instructs her where to serve only after she has […]

AIMS To help the server improve the accuracy and variety of direction of her serve; to encourage confidence and commitment when playing this shot. LEvEL All DESCRIPTION players play a practice set with the server being allowed only one serve per point. the server is penalised two points if a clean winning return is hit […]

This drill can be used to gauge a serve’s quality. The server should still win the majority of the points if the serve is good enough. AIMS To show that a tactic’s execution is more important than the variety of tac­tics used; to show that it may not matter whether the opponent knows or can […]

Perhaps the most effective way of playing against a dominant returner is simply to prevent her from hitting many second serve returns! This means the server needs to get a high percentage of first serves into court—usually around 60 to 65 percent. However, this percentage may need to be higher if the second serve is […]