Return of serve - my weakest shot
- Thread starter JonC
- Start date
taurussable
Professional
do you have problem receiving overall or just against lefty slice?
jhick
Hall of Fame
If he's slicing out wide, step in, start way out wide, and dare him to hit the serve down the T. If he's good at mixing up serves and can bomb it with consistency down the T, or hits a good kicker, you might have your work cut out for you. At that point, you'll probably just need to guess and commit early.
torpantennis
Legend
Position yourself properly for the lefty serve. When I play a lefty, my both feet are behind the singles court on the deuce-court, and on the ad-court both of my feet are behind the doubles alley! This takes the angle of the lefty slice away, forces them to hit perfectly placed serves.
Yeah - I did that towards the end and it was the only way to get my racquet on the ball but it's like I'm floundering around out there. It's the one stroke I can't practice on my own.
Anything to my backhand (1h) and problems with a good slice on both sides (lefty serve to ad and righty to deuce). I can chip it back on the backhand side which is ok in singles but not doubles. I just don't have that quick-draw backhand drive.
Easy Rider
Professional
+1 ... well said
donquijote
G.O.A.T.
Optimum solution is to return the ball early with a slice before it bounces too high or wide.
torpantennis
Legend
A SLICE hit early off the bounce, how's it even possible to hit slice into a rising ball?
I'd rather go for topspin. Focus on transfering body weight forward through the ball, so start the preparation as early as possible, and use very short backswing.
jhick
Hall of Fame
A SLICE hit early off the bounce, how's it even possible to hit slice into a rising ball?
Not sure why it would be difficult to hit a slice early off the bounce, I do this all the time. In my experience, it's actually easier than hitting topspin because you have more time to react as your point of contact isn't out in front of your body.
torpantennis
Legend
Are you sure that the ball is still rising when you make contact with the ball? Can you hit a slice into a rising ball within a rally.
Topspin Shot
Legend
Pros do it.
donquijote
G.O.A.T.
A SLICE hit early off the bounce, how's it even possible to hit slice into a rising ball?
I'd rather go for topspin. Focus on transfering body weight forward through the ball, so start the preparation as early as possible, and use very short backswing.
Federer has been doing it for years to start a rally with a slice backhand return. Same can be done with the forehand. I've been doing it for years
Early hitting doesn't necessarily mean very low to the ground. It's just about timing before ball goes higher than your waist. It is 'early' compared to a topspin return which is much harder to master and also can be inconsistent. You have to be a few steps back for the topspin and have much wider area to cover and reach.
torpantennis
Legend
WTH, fewer mishits?
If ball is moving up, and racquet down, you need peRFect timing to succeed!
jhick
Hall of Fame
Yep. In fact when I am not in a great position on the backhand and get a ball that bounces close to me, I find this is the easier shot to hit.
jhick
Hall of Fame
WTH, fewer mishits?
If ball is moving up, and racquet down, you need peRFect timing to succeed!
If you are hitting the ball on the rise, I would argue that you need good timing to hit any shot, whether it be a slice, topspin, or flat. That said, slice gives you a little more time to react, since you can hit the ball further back in your stance.
Fintft
G.O.A.T.
Good advise, but what if said lefty can also hit a flat bomb down the T? One that's hard to read from the toss etc?
I've also:
- Started to take two steps (one step then the split one) on the return.
- Do what Djoker does and try to focus my eyes (I also make the returner wait at least 2-3 seconds after I got in position to return, in order to get my bearings)
- Focus on breathing while waiting for the serve.
jhick
Hall of Fame
In this case, I would still generally cheat a bit to the alley and make him serve the bomb down the T, since bombs down the T are a much lower percentage serve for a lefty. But like I said earlier, that makes it much tougher. OP didn't mention anything about opponents flat serve, only that he was having trouble with the slice out wide on the ad side.
torpantennis
Legend
That's true. I once took a video where I hit multiple on-the-rise topspin rally strokes, and the video revealed that the racquet was at a VERY CLOSED angle when making contact with the ball! I didn't even know that I was closing the racquethead so much, it all happened unconsciously.
I'm still a bit confused on how it's possible to avoid floating the ball up when hitting a slice onto a rising ball, with a square racquethead. Should I close the racquethead also on the slice?
donquijote
G.O.A.T.
This is not good sportmanship and will make less friends nor it will do any contribution to one's skills. A returner should be ready BEFORE the server.
Tennisguy3000
Semi-Pro
I found this video very helpful, this guy is a great teacher & has some very good courses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An_QoueWioU
v-verb
Hall of Fame
Good strategy! I wouldn't switch if it was coming into the body or coming in too fast
Fintft
G.O.A.T.
Myself, I wouldn't be able to move out of way: i.e. I got jammed last night by one or two flat serves into the body (no slices, luckily), although it was the first time in years when I've won more points from returns and serves (first strikes), rather then from my ground game....
I was also a bit beat, from having played 10 days in a row (switching from har tru to hard courts for lessons + some basketball), when 2-3 weeks ago I couldn't even jog. But returns have always been a strong point for me +I've working on the serve a bit (with those drills from feeltennis and lessons/practices).
Hey thanks a lot. It was excellent and he has some other good stuff as well.
