Top 6 Mistakes On The Return Of Serve

• No Split

I know why players don’t split – they tell em all the time! “It slows me down”, “I don’t have the time”, “It feels awkward”The backspin will help the ball grip the court, preventing it from travelling too far after the bounce. Once you have gained some confidence, you can progress to hitting with some sidespin which will draw the ball further away from your opponent.

• Choose The Right Ball

Lots of players make the mistake of attempting drop shots from behind the baseline, which makes successful completion unlikely. Play this shot from inside the baseline, off a medium paced ball, approximately knee to chest height. Any higher or lower will add unnecessary difficulty.

Choosing a ball that’s too slow or hard will also add to the difficulty. Too slow a ball will mean you’ll have to add pace when you really need to be taking pace off the ball. Too fast a ball will be more difficult to time.

• Take The Ball On The Rise

Taking the ball on the rise will get you further into court on contact, moving you nearer to your target area and allowing you to more effectively harness the pace of the oncoming ball. Waiting for the ball to drop could take you 6-12 feet further back away from the net making it a lot tougher to hit accurately.