Is your return of serve causing you to lose points? Maybe you don't know what shot to play or
you don't know what to do after your partner has returned this serve? Well after analysing hundreds
of matches we're going to show you the five most effective returns of serve in men's doubles along
with what to do after these and they get better as we go so stay tuned until the end! Yeah this
is such an important topic because on average between 40 and 50% of points are won or lost within
the first four shots so let's get straight into it. Firstly to be able to play all five returns
effectively you and your partner need to be set up in the right position and for this we have three
main points; one you should ideally be as close to the service line as possible while still being
able to get the flick serve back, this will help you to take the short serve earlier and therefore
enable you to play a better quality shot! Two, you should have your racket out in front of you in
a relaxed grip you don't want to have your racket out too far to either side as this can limit your
options and three your partner should be around the middle of the court not too far back or too
far on their side this is because they need to be ready to cover different parts of the
court depending on where you return to but we'll discuss this more throughout the video so now on
to the returns! We're starting off with a bang a return straight down the tramline either soft
to create indecision or hard to put pressure on the rear court player for both of these the most
likely reply is a reactive shot straight up the line and this is where your partner comes around
and bang it's most effective for your partner to move around because they can step into the shot
and if your opponent does manage to play a harder shot then your partner can still easily get this
so what should you be doing as the returner after you've hit this return well you should move cross
doing this allows you to commit more to the return of serve because you're not getting the most likely
reply and if you play a good shot it's almost impossible for your opponent to play it cross
court to the back so you don't need to cover this of course if you're not committing to the return
of serve then your return will probably go upwards and you'll get in trouble if this is you try
experimenting like bringing your racket leg through which might help you to take the shuttle
earlier we'll also give you some more tips on how to make sure your return is going downwards later
in the video so that's how to do this return but when should you actually play it? Well to keep it
simple you ideally want to be setting up your partner's forehand for the fourth shot as this
is often people's stronger side for example if you're right-handed and your partner is
left handed you would return from the left hand side straight down the line or if you're both
right handed which is most common then you would do this return from the right hand side! And it's
important to mention that you would only really do this set play when they serve to the T or body
it's really difficult to do if they serve across you as you won't have enough time to play it
and then move cross but yeah performed well this return is either a winning shot or your opponents
fall into the trap and set you or your partner up on a plate, bang! So moving on to the second
of our five returns and this is where you place the shuttle in the space between the server and
their partner to create uncertainty over who's shot it is the aim is for your shot to either
be an outright winner or force your opponents to play it in an upwards direction as you'll again
have to commit to play a good shot you're then only able to cover any shots to the net or your side,
your partner should get everything else unfortunately not many people are as good as
Hendra Settiawan who can play this return and be so fast to read the reply and move to intercept the cross
court shot like this but if you are then go for it! Now there are two problems that intermediate
players often face with this return and these are that you're relying on your partner to have
good movement to cover the back of the court and also that you're relying on playing an effective
downward shot if you find you face these problems then we'd recommend either practicing it more
or watching the rest of this video! So like the first return you'd play this when your opponent
serves to your T or body area and you can use it on both your forehand and backhand side okay
moving on our third return is where you hit hard down the middle this is great because if you hit
hard in a downwards direction most players will hit a hard reactive shot back up to either you
or your partner especially if you hit it with good accuracy and not directly onto their racket!
And where should you move to afterwards as the returner? Well we'd recommend moving to
cover the side where you're most comfortable intercepting from or where you think they'll
play to so for example if I was to return to a right-hander I would almost always cover my
forehand side afterwards. And what should your partner be covering? Well because you've hit
the return to the middle your opponent can't create much angle so your partner should cover
the other side if you hit a good return then your partner can be really high up the court
expecting a weaker reply but if your return isn't that good then your partner should also
be ready for the lift over the top! We'd recommend doing this return either when your opponents have
done a bad serve or you're able to take it early enough to be able to get it going in a downwards
direction you don't want to hit this return in an upwards direction or this might happen...
If you're really aggressive with this shot it can intimidate your opponents and make them scared to
serve to you for the rest of the match but we're not liable for any injuries caused as a result of
this return! Now we have three ways to help you get the shuttle going in a downwards direction
and listen closely as these are also applicable for the first two returns! Tip one, practice being
more explosive from your starting position and remember standing closer to the service line
can help with this! Two, have a short swing if you have a long swing then your contact point with
the shuttle will be later possibly forcing you to hit it upwards in order to get it over the
net and three squeeze your fingers and thumb to add power into the shot rather than using your
whole arm again this will help you to have a short swing and we recently did an entire video on how
to use your fingers and thumb in badminton which we'll link below in case you missed it! Okay now
for our fourth and possibly my favorite return and this is a net shot. This is a great choice to
either get the lift at the start of the rally or even force your opponent into a mistake and
from wherever your opponent serves to you can hit your net shot to any area like straight
to the middle or even cross but where do you move to after this? Well you should always stay
at the net after you've played this return so you can be in a front and back formation
because hopefully you now have the attack and your partner should be ready for the lift! Three
tips for a great net shot return are one to still be explosive moving forwards with both your body
and your legs and not just your arm if you just lead with your arm outstretched you'll reduce
your control and also make it obvious to your opponent that you're going to play a net shot
Two, you need to hit your shot with a flat racket face so that it doesn't go too high over the net
or again show your opponent that you're going to play a net shot and three have a short swing using
your fingers and thumb to create the control now for the returns we've covered so far you have to
take it early but for this return you can take it a bit later and it's still be effective! Using all
of these returns add variety into your game so that your opponents don't know what's coming so
if you play a net shot a few times your opponent might start to move forwards after serving to
look for this and this now creates a space just past them and if you've also been playing return
number one and three to push their partner back it will really create space for return two a soft
shot down into the area of uncertainty! Similarly if you play lots of these soft returns down the
side your opponents might look for this therefore making your net shots or hard returns much more
effective, see they all link together! Now in last week's video we talked about the different serves
you can play in men's doubles and the need to communicate with your partner and if you want
to do these first four returns effectively we'd recommend doing the same yeah and this might be
as simple as saying I'm playing hard to the middle I'm moving right or I'm playing a net shot there
are obviously lots more returns than the four we've mentioned so far like playing cross court
in returns one and two but after analysing hundreds of hours of badminton these are the
returns that work against the majority of people! Now last but definitely not least is a deceptive
return where you can either do this or this! You should often do these after you've already played
the shot that you want them to think you're playing and where should you both move to after this?
Well hopefully your return is so good that you don't need to worry about this so to learn
these deceptive returns you can watch this video here and if you haven't already subscribed to the
channel then make sure you do so as in the next couple of weeks we're releasing the video you've
all been waiting for men's levels tactics and maybe also a video with a giveaway! See you soon :-)