Returning kicks out wide to ad side in doubles

[mnttlrg]

I have been having a terrible time with good servers who can kick it high / angled out wide to my backhand in the ad court.

If I hit my normal singles returns, they poach it. If I go for the alley, I get an awkward spin / angle for the shot and miss too much.

If I hit a wide angle to avoid the poach, I am threading the needle and can miss it out wide the other way.

It especially sucks because my forehand return is a big weapon that I don’t get to use after the first few return games.

What do you do in this spot?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Limpinhitter]

Have you tried to lob over the net player? If the server is coming to net, a cross court lob can be effective too.

 

[mightyrick]

For a good wide kick serve on the ad-side, I almost always execute a slow, high-arcing, topspin lob return. The crosscourt return is the highest-percentage. The DTL return is lower-percentage (because you don't have as much court). But either return is very effective. It is too high to be poached. It is slow, so it gives you and your partner (netman) time to get into position for the reply. It is too deep to be attacked by the server. After I hit a few good returns, usually the opposing server starts switching to the flat T serve.

If you have a one-handed backhand, then you have my condolences. It takes a lot of skill with a 1HBH to execute a slice lob return against the wide kick serve. Most guys I've seen simply can't handle it. Most 1HBHs either hit the lob too low/short resulting in an overhead smash by the opposing netman or they end up hitting the ball long or wide.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Take the ball earlier so the kick bounce isn't as high; sounds like you're contacting the ball around shoulder height?

Also, experiment with slice rather than drive. That's how a 5.0 defeated my kick serve [which doesn't kick all that much]: stepping in and slicing low. I had to volley from my shoelaces often.

 

[Mongolmike]

Take the ball earlier so the kick bounce isn't as high; sounds like you're contacting the ball around shoulder height?

Also, experiment with slice rather than drive. That's how a 5.0 defeated my kick serve [which doesn't kick all that much]: stepping in and slicing low. I had to volley from my shoelaces often.

This is what l try to do also...attack early before the ball can bounce high with a very short takeback slice return. If you can attack the outside of the ball you can get a nice slice return pretty far up the court (basically since l am contacting the ball almost in the doubles alley l can return the ball over a lower part of the net aiming into the opposite service box). This is a tough shot for the server to do anything with since it's low, short, and they are charging towards the outside of the court.

Now that said, you have to mix it up a little because for me this slice return is not a fast paced shot, more a finesse shot, and a good net man can anticipate this when they see it a few times and it is an easy poach. Mix in a few normal topspins cc, or use the same shot (a short takeback slice) and go up the line....again, not looking for pace, but since I'm already wide prepping a short takeback slice, l just line up more to the left and hit a nice easy slice up the alley...and hopefully the netman saw my slice set-up and thought l was going cc again.

 

[IowaGuy]

If he always goes to your BH, you can gamble with a run-around FH every couple of serves. Basically create a guessing game with him, tempt him to try down the T (assuming that he doesn't have a killer T serve as well, otherwise, he's probably just a lot better than you).

After he tosses, side step into the alley and tee off on a FH return. Also a way to keep the net guy a little tentative, if you drive your run-around FH right at him.

If he starts acing you down the T, ask your doubles partner to trade so you can play the deuce side

 

[Shroud]

Personally i love it when servers try to kick to my bh on the ad court. My sw grip means I naturally have a higher strike zone and am comfortable hitting chest high or higher.

I like going right at the netman when i can. Probably level based but its rare the net guy sees the ball coming back hard at him. Sometimes it gets them off their game and makes them think twice about poaching.

If its a great kicker I move up and will hit off the rise. Going crosscourt its a low trajectory ball and is much harder to poach.

Also love the dtl. Because contact is high i can basically hit down and with pace. Sometimes i see it before the serve happens. Net guy is leaning a bit to poach and I can see what looks like a truck sized opening to hit dtl. Sometimes they serve and it plays out just like I see it

Also the dtl is harder if you have a classic closed stance. If you are more open or have a more open chest like Stan its easier imho to go dtl. Assuming you have a 1 hander

Lobs and short angled slices could work but i typically dont hit slice bh returns.

Dont get me wrong some days are tough days at the office no matter what you try. But do receive a ft behind the service line on occasion and do some sabrs and line up giving him the t serve. Anything to change the rhythm and make them think about you.

 

[Chadillac]

If you cant do something with it, he has a very good serve or you have a very bad return (on that side). Slice xcourt #1, lob over net person #2 (if moving around alot). You can also try to lob crosscourt, just get it deep/high and can reset if they dont have much after the serve. The slow pace messes up aggressive players, just tell partner to hang back

 

[Mongolmike]

One of the things vs a good kick serve is you have to make solid contact to overcome the ball spin.

I love hitting kickers vs "block it back" returners because the ball spin shoots off their racquets in a very satisfying manner!

That said, I am not a lobber...not a good lobber for sure...so for some - me, lobbing a kick serve is not a very good option.

With partners who are having trouble handling a good kick I tell them to don't try to crush the return, but don't baby it either. Try to make firm contact (which when I think about it, is generally good advice for 90% of ROS. So much for my brilliant insight!)

 

[Deleted member 23235]

Take the ball earlier so the kick bounce isn't as high; sounds like you're contacting the ball around shoulder height?

Also, experiment with slice rather than drive. That's how a 5.0 defeated my kick serve [which doesn't kick all that much]: stepping in and slicing low. I had to volley from my shoelaces often.

+1
and by earlier, i will often make contact for a kicker like 2ft from the service line (feels almost like a half volley 2hbh, but not quite... i want contact to be at my waist).
if i sliced it could stand a bit further back and take it shoulder height, but on a crazy kick it's still jerking me to the side.... not to mention the down stroke of a slice with the up bounce of a kicker, makes for a smaller window of contact

 

[Nellie]

...Also, experiment with slice rather than drive.

Another +1. I use kick serves almost entirely, and I mostly stopped hitting the wide kick in doubles to the ad side due to this return. If you are playing someone who is confident in their chip return, it is almost too easy for them to step in and angle down the line or an extreme angle for a winner. As the net person, you are too close to cover even a slower return because the returner is stepping into the court and using the pace from the serve. At worse, the returner is going to force the netman to stay home and wait to react, rather than jumping to poach. I end up hitting a kicker down the middle on the ad side, and I find that people tend to overhit that return or hit a return that is easy to poach. Most people don't like to fH chip.

 

[MyFearHand]

Play the deuce side (;

 

[Traffic]

I have been having a terrible time with good servers who can kick it high / angled out wide to my backhand in the ad court.

If I hit my normal singles returns, they poach it. If I go for the alley, I get an awkward spin / angle for the shot and miss too much.

If I hit a wide angle to avoid the poach, I am threading the needle and can miss it out wide the other way.

It especially sucks because my forehand return is a big weapon that I don’t get to use after the first few return games.

What do you do in this spot?

Try to hit/block it while it's still coming up and aim for the net guy's hand.