We often see players doing the same return every time or even just lifting the serve putting no
pressure onto the opponents, so today we're going to show you how to return the serve looking at
the movement and preparation and give you two simple yet effective returns you can rely on
every time! The first thing we need to look at is your stance so you should have your non-racket
leg in front and this will take most of the load and your racket leg should be still ready behind
you, either on the balls of your feet or on your toes and your front foot should still be facing
forwards. To take the shuttle as early as possible and increase your chances of playing a better shot
you want to stand as close to the service line as possible many people will actually surprise
themselves how close they can sound to the service line while still being able to get
the flick back so you want to be in a bevel grip when returning from both sides because having your
thumb on this ridge will help you adapt your grip depending where the server serves to you
for example if you stand in a forehand grip and the server serves here which would be a good idea
from them then it would take you a long time to change your grip and move to this position
similarly if you stand in a backhand grip then it will take you longer to react to a serve here
so in this position so for the movement there are two choices and it's widely debated which is best
however we believe that it's whatever feels most comfortable for you so first we have when you're
in your ready position you want to use your racket leg that's at the back to drive forwards like this
now the second option is to lead with your non-racket leg so for this in your ready
position you want to transfer your weight to your racket leg and then use this to drive forwards
you only want to use a slight weight transfer
so have a play around with both of those options see which one gets you to the shuttle earliest
and what you feel most comfortable with some people even use both just depends what shot
they're playing and where they're moving to after. We're now going to teach you two reliable and
effective return of serves. Firstly we have a net shot return this is so simple but hardly ever used
you can play it in response to any short serve and if you play it well you will nearly always get a
lift or weak reply some key tips for a quality net shot are to hit the shutter with a flat
racket face so it doesn't go too high over the net don't bend your wrist too much and certainly
don't use your arm too much you need to take the shuttle early to reduce the amount of time your
opponents have to react and when you're in this early position you want to have a small delicate
action using your fingers to create the control so for right handers you would use a backhand grip
on the right hand side until around this point where you would use a forehand grip
and on the left hand side you would use a forehand grip until about this point where
you use a backhand grip and for the left-handers is exactly the opposite. The second return is a
straight return down the side. This is quite a common return that many people say to do however
so many people don't use it to its full advantage. This return is where you place the shuttle in the
space between the server and their partner to create uncertainty over whose shot it is.
Similar to the net shot return you need to have a short swing and use your fingers to
create the power and control however for this return you can use your arm a little bit more
for this return we'd recommend bringing your racket leg through so that you can
take the shuttle as early as possible and commit to the shot
this means that you're more likely to get the shuttle travelling in a downward direction
putting your opponents under more pressure. This return should only be done if your opponent
serves to the tea or to your body it's really hard to do if they serve too far across you or
even out wide and this is where you need to be adaptable. "I'm going to return straight down my side"
So if you're thinking before the point of playing a return down the side like I was
and your opponent serves out wide you may have to change your mind and play a more suitable shot!
A bonus tip for you is that many people play the same serve every time so if you recognise
this you may want to gamble on the serve you think they will play! There are so many return
of serves that you can do and on our next video on Sunday we'll show you some more
advanced return of serves so make sure you smash that subscribe button if you haven't already
obviously give the video a like below and we'll see you on another video :)