|
TennisOne Lessons
The Return of Serve - Move to the Ball!
Nigel O'Rouke - Head Professional, Olympic Club
Co-Written by Jim McLennan - Senior Editor, TennisONE
Photographs by Steve Margheim
The return of serve is one of the two most important strokes
in tennis - the other one being the serve. Consider the mighty Sampras and
the mighty Agassi. One has the best serve in the game, the other the best
return. Yes, they both have excellent shot making capabilities, but whether
they win the championship (and beat each other) usually revolves around
how well Sampras serves or how well Agassi returns.
It's truly difficult to underestimate the importance of the serve and return.
Here's one tip for prospective parents of future tennis stars. When a college
coach interviews your son or daughter to determine whether he or she is
a candidate for a tennis scholarship, there is a frequently asked question
that should only be answered one way. When the coach asks innocuously, "By
the way, what is your favorite stroke?" The answer must be, "Coach,
that is hard for me to say because my serve and my return are equally good."
From that point it's just a matter of signing on the scholarship form's
dotted line. For this answer, if truthful, tells the coach that your
son or daughter plays great at the beginning of every point of the entire
match. If the answer had been, "My backhand overhead volley,"
the opportunities for demonstrating greatness - and securing that scholarship
- are strictly limited.
Now back to the return. The server has one primary goal when serving - to
open up the court. The server begins the process of opening up the court
by serving hard, forcing the receiver to stand back. Now, with the receiver
standing further back, the server has greater options to increase the angle
of his wide serves.
The first photo below shows me in the corner, protecting more against the
wide serve than the serve down the middle. Just as the server begins
his tossing motion, I move slightly forward, intent on cutting off the angles,
moving forward aggressively, moving to the ball. In the second and
third photo I have read the wide serve to the forehand and have stepped
out and unweighted the left leg (see McLennan basic
forehand lesson). Note that I have clearly stepped into the green area
of the court, moving forward and into the ball.
|
|