Why is John Isner return of serve so poor?

[Amelie Mauresmo]

John Isner has the game to go deep at the US Open yet I am shocked he only reached a slam quarterfinal once in his career. Isner yes he got a big serve but he volleys well and he is good at the net. Yet John's return of serve is poor why? I have seen Isner matches and it seems like he tries too hard to hit a big shot and usually the ball goes out. If you were coaching Isner how would you help him improve his return of serve?

 

[President]

He needs to seriously work on his explosiveness and reflexes/hand eye coordination. I'm sure he already is, and maybe he has maxed out already, but that is definitely what is holding him back.

 

[Noleberic123]

Because his serve is soo good :lol: who needs a returns of serve when you just need to win a TB every set :lol:

 

[bullfan]

John Isner has the game to go deep at the US Open yet I am shocked he only reached a slam quarterfinal once in his career. Isner yes he got a big serve but he volleys well and he is good at the net. Yet John's return of serve is poor why? I have seen Isner matches and it seems like he tries too hard to hit a big shot and usually the ball goes out. If you were coaching Isner how would you help him improve his return of serve?

John does not have much that is good other than his serve.

I have see Isner play, and compared to DelPo, who he was playing, Isner looked like a level below. Isner has a serve, period. Doesn't have the talent or ability to be anything but a servebot.

 

[jakemcclain32]

John does not have much that is good other than his serve.

I have see Isner play, and compared to DelPo, who he was playing, Isner looked like a level below. Isner has a serve, period. Doesn't have the talent or ability to be anything but a servebot.

You forget forehand...he has a real good forehand.

 

[tennisaddict]

Lack of effort since he knows he can be in top 15 without that.

 

[bullfan]

You forget forehand...he has a real good forehand.

Maybe at one point, but he was well rested last year in the DC final against a tired DelPo, and was pretty much schooled... DelPo already had the wrist injury.

 

[Amelie Mauresmo]

Isner has an excellent forehand he needs to find a way to end points quickly I think. Isner can be aggressive on returns when he wants to be I have seen him do it.

 

[Amelie Mauresmo]

He needs to seriously work on his explosiveness and reflexes/hand eye coordination. I'm sure he already is, and maybe he has maxed out already, but that is definitely what is holding him back.

John is six foot ten, maybe he needs to work with a trainer who trains the NBA players. The guys in the NBA are very tall yet they are incredibly fast and have explosive movements.

 

[Chanwan]

John Isner has the game to go deep at the US Open yet I am shocked he only reached a slam quarterfinal once in his career. Isner yes he got a big serve but he volleys well and he is good at the net. Yet John's return of serve is poor why? I have seen Isner matches and it seems like he tries too hard to hit a big shot and usually the ball goes out. If you were coaching Isner how would you help him improve his return of serve?

As President said, his reflexes are not that great. Not sure about the NBA comparison, I don't watch basketball, but can't it be that they look a bit faster and explosive than they really are because most players are tall? Obviously, they are better athletes than Isner, but still.

I don't think there's ever been a guy above 2 meter with a great or even decent return game. Delpo is the tallest guy I can think of with a relatively good return game.
As for Isner, it's not just about the reflexes on the return, it's as much about him not being that good a tennis player in general. Sure, his forehand is quite good, but as a returner, he's behind in the point from the start and will have a hard time getting in a position to hit a good forehand. His forehand is much, much better on his own service games, because the serve will set easy forehands time and time again.

So essentially, he's
a) not fast enough on the return in and of itself and his wingspan isn't enough to help him out with that and
b) he's not a good enough rallier/tennis player to handle the effect of being behind in a point as he usually will be, when he's not serving

That's at least how I see it

 

[LeeD]

Isner is a giant among men.
As such, he has a few very good advantages, and several disadvantages. One of the most glaring disadvantages is his long body. It's not made for endurance sports like baseline rallying against Nadal, Ferrer, or DJ. So, he has to force the issue to end the point, or he will be running all day, tiring his NON marathon body out so his serves become less effective.
His game is GREAT right now, considering his body build. He is better than Dr.Ivo, Groth, Querry, Janovic (who has more potential, but injured), or any player within 6" of his height.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

That's pretty simple, when your weight is over 100kg you can't be as quick as Djokovic or Ferrer to return big serves.

But when Isner got time to move around his BH on a second serve, his return is very dangerous.

Federer and Tsonga both remember back in 2012 on clay!

 

[tacou]

First of all, John has a great forehand and very nice touch. He is more than just a serve.

His return, however, is terrible. At this stage of his career, it's simply something he was born with. I do believe that he could implement more of a slice/chip approach, but I don't think he has any confidence in his return game and thinks he has to rip a winner or he has no chance.

Even if he did slice and chip returns, his movement is so poor that the opponent would likely quickly take advantage of the point.

Basically, he could play some better % tennis on the return, but his capabilities are just very limited and there's not much else he can do.

 

[Amelie Mauresmo]

I think John needs to take Eugenie approach stand in on the baseline and blast the ball. In the past John has been aggressive on his return. He should do it more often take a chance. People act like Isner is 66 in the world he is the top American and ranked number 12 in the world. Isner has been as high as number nine he's a damn good player.

 

[President]

I think John needs to take Eugenie approach stand in on the baseline and blast the ball. In the past John has been aggressive on his return. He should do it more often take a chance. People act like Isner is 66 in the world he is the top American and ranked number 12 in the world. Isner has been as high as number nine he's a damn good player.

Isner already makes way too many errors on the return, if he stands on the baseline and blasts the ball his return game would get even worse. He needs to find a way to at least put the ball inside the court.

 

[mightyrick]

John Isner has the game to go deep at the US Open yet I am shocked he only reached a slam quarterfinal once in his career. Isner yes he got a big serve but he volleys well and he is good at the net. Yet John's return of serve is poor why? I have seen Isner matches and it seems like he tries too hard to hit a big shot and usually the ball goes out. If you were coaching Isner how would you help him improve his return of serve?

Isner is so tall that it causes him to return serves very awkwardly. It is very easy to jam up Isner. If a serve is hit anywhere close to his body, he has to try to move out of the way or weakly chip it back.

I'm no coach, but if it were up to me, I'd have Isner standing much farther back when returning serve. He needs more space and time. He has very long limbs, so he could cover the wide serves standing much further back.

But after a return, he'd need to move his butt quickly back up to the baseline again.

 

[Deleted member 307496]

Bigger guys have a tougher time returning serve.

 

[Russeljones]

You forget forehand...he has a real good forehand.

If he doesn't have to move much to use it.