Receiving
Hi
I played against a number of guys just for fun and I find myself besting them in the rallys but as soon as we start playing a match I cannot return their side spin short serve and then I find myself doing things I would not normaly do. If I had time to workout how to return it, it could help but in a match you dont have that luxury. How do you return a side spin serve? What can I do to adapt quicker to different serves?
Thanks for being available to ask questions to you guys.
Kind regards
Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago
Hi Johan,
The ability to read and return serves comes from a lot of experience. The best way to get this is to find as many different players as you can and return serves against them. It becomes automatic as it needs to in a match situation. You just never have time to analyse serves and return them.
As long as you understand the basic principles then you will get faster. We explain the principles in our Receiving Secrets lessons.
Question actions
Returning a short topspin serve can be tricky because the spin wants to lift the ball up. In this video, we look at two effective options: developing an attacking flick and learning how to push the ball safely.
For the flick, the key is to be positive. Take a few risks, hit through the ball a little harder, and aim for a fast, flat contact. In practice, don’t worry too much about making mistakes as this is how you learn to control the shot under pressure.
The second option is the push. You can push a short topspin serve, but you need to adjust your contact. Instead of getting under the ball, come down the back of it more, almost feeling like your bat is moving slightly backwards. This helps counter the topspin and keeps the return lower and more controlled.
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