Hi guys Nick here from Intuitive Tennis. In today's video we're going to cover the
fundamentals on the return of serve
When we're waiting for the return of serve in our return stance we have
to decide in which grip we're going to wait for the return, and some players
decide to wait for the return of serve in a forehand grip. Players like Rafael Nadal
and will have a forehand grip as they wait for the serve. This is fine as long
as you are a player who likes to run around the backhand on the return of serve who uses
predominantly forehands in a rally, and the difficulty with waiting with a
forehand grip is that it requires quite a large grip change to the backhand. So
this could this could be a problem for some players. Some players will twirl the
racket in their hand like this as they are waiting on the return. One of the
players that does this is Roger Federer. He will twirl the racquet like this with
his left fingers and then as he goes into the split step he will then and
find the correct grip either forehand grip or a backhand grip. This is not a
technique that I recommend to recreational players as it's very
difficult from twirling position to find the correct grip. This might help Roger
Federer stay relaxed on the return of serve but especially at the recreational
level it is better to have a set grip when waiting for the return of serve. And
the best way to the hold the racquet on the return of serve is the Novak Djokovic grip and
what Novak Djokovic does is he has his right hand in a slight forehand grip so
not a continental grip on bevel number two but slightly over towards the
forehand side and not all the way Eastern it is more that corner the edge
between bevel number two and bevel number three this corner edge is where
he puts his right hand so that her right hand is slightly over to the forehand
side and in the left hand it will rest in the normal two-handed backhand
position. So Novak by holding the racquet like this has a very short grip change
to the backhand side it's minimal it's just a little over to this side and he's
got a very easy grip change here. He is also closer to the forehand side if he
wants to hit a forehand return and so it makes the grip changes smaller and
therefore this is the best way to wait on the return of serve.
The stance on the return is one of the most important aspects when it comes to
good returning and what we always must do is be slightly on the balls of our
feet we don't want our heels to be in the ground we want it to be slightly on
the balls of our feet and be in kind of a sprinters position with our upper body
slightly down and maybe a slight C curvature to our body there were some
players in the past who were very straight up on a return of serve one
player that had a very straight up-and-down stance was Sergi Bruguera
but he was more of a clay-court specialist and he had more time to
return the serves. The best returners of all time all have this position with the
upper body slightly down and we have a slight C curvature and we wait for the
ball on the balls of our feet. Another important aspect of the stance is that
we must make the stance wider. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both have a very
wide stance on the return of serve and this is a very big advantage when it
comes to stability. Picture a big serve coming your way. If you are narrow you
would be able to be pushed back by the serve much easier and then if you were
wide. Just imagine somebody coming up to you and trying to push you in a wide
stance it would be much more difficult you'll be more stable then somebody try
to push you in a narrow stance you'll be falling over much easier so the next
time you practice returns try out to stay as wide as possible and it's going
to give you a better stability on the return of serve.
There are three ways to make a split step on the return of serve. The first
way is the Nishikori way. So Nishikori will have his feet sideways like
this as he waits for the return and this looks a little bit awkward but it's
actually a very good technique, because what will happen next is Nishikori
will take a step forward and then will go into a split step like this
This is very similar to the second way you can return serve which is the
Andy Murray way and both of these are connected to each other. The Nishikori way
and the Andy Murray way. What Andy Murray will do is he will wait like this
and then he will take a step forward and then go into a split step like this. So
both of these techniques whether its Nishikori or the Murray with a step
forward it puts you on the move right away which makes then the second step as
you're going towards the ball automatic. So there's the big advantage of doing
these two ways of returns. You basically either take a step forward and then you
get automatically on the move or you do it to Nishikori way there were your
sideways like this and then as the player tosses the ball up you come
in and then jump and then you have an automatic first step towards the ball.
The one disadvantage of the Nishikori and Murray split step technique is that
you are actually going towards the ball in the direction of the ball and
time in tennis is very valuable and we really don't feel comfortable sometimes
going towards the ball and reducing this time. So while it can help you generate a
automatic first step towards the ball and make you quicker it can also make
you rush to return a little bit and feel like you have less time. So you got to
try out these techniques and see which one works best for you.
Another way to split step on the return is the Novak Djokovic split step and
Novak Djokovic's split step that doesn't go forward towards the ball it's
basically a stationary split step. He will actually do a few little split
steps before he makes a big one and it's usually stationary. This will sometimes
depend on whether he has to go forward on a serve that has less penetration
but usually when he returns big serves he doesn't go in the direction of the
ball and I find this is a big advantage with
timing. So try out the Djokovic split step where you do a couple of small hops
and then a big hop at the end but you don't allow your body to go forward too
much unless you get a shorter serve.
the timing of the split step is another very important factor on the return of
serve and what you want to achieve is that when your opponent makes contact
with the ball you want to be about to land because once the opponent makes
contact with the ball then you can start determining where the ball is going and
by the time you have landed you already know where it's going and you can make
your first move much quicker. Novak Djokovic is the master of timing his
split step and he always is about to land when the opponent is striking the
ball so you have to make your split step a little bit early. Making a split step
right at contact, might be a little bit too late when you're facing
big serves.
The way we perform the stroke on the return of serve is going to depend on
many variables. So at the very high level the serves are coming
sometimes at 130 140 miles an hour. So in this case is there cannot be a too large
of a backswing. Many times the player will just try to block the ball
and use the pace of the incoming ball and also there's not gonna
be any looping action on the on the forehand for example. There's gonna be
more of a shallower take back to save time. Also there might not be a full
shoulder turn like we normally have on the forehand there might be a smaller
shoulder turn like this and there also not might be less rotation on the
forehead at the high level because there's simply not enough time. So player
might do something like this he might take it down a little bit lower
and then not go all the way back and that with a full shoulder turn and then
he will hit the ball it kind of side on and you will sometimes see on the return
to serve the right shoulder behind the left shoulder and you will never see
this on a regular ground stroke. On a regular ground stroke, the right
shoulder on right handers is always in front of the left shoulder. However, on
the return of serve you will see this compromised position simply because of
the speed of the incoming ball. However, many serves will come at a lower pace
this is even at the elite level and then the player can execute the return of
serve more like a more normal ground stroke with a bigger shoulder turn and
then with a fuller take back and even with more rotation. At the recreational
level you will find that the serves are often slow enough. Where you actually
might be able to take a normal swing on the return just like a regular ground
stroke. So keep in mind that the length of your swing and the amount of your
shoulder turn and also the amount that you can finish the stroke it's highly
going to depend on what kind of serve you get. Whether the serve is spinnier
in this case you're gonna have more time or whether it's flatter and faster in
this case you're gonna have less time. So be very alert when it comes to the speed
of the serve and be always willing to adapt
towards the pace of the incoming ball.
The way we move our body when we execute the return is a crucial part of being a
good returner and this movement has to be dynamic and cannot be static. Let me
give you an example so if you let's say I get pulled wide for example on the
forehand return if I step across like this and make a static return like this
where I'm just standing I will not be able to hit the ball anywhere near where
I need to hit it which would be in front I would be in a compromised position. So
what I must do is make a dynamic move where I step out this way and then as I
make contact then this leg will comes through this
way and on the backhand it would look something like this. A dynamic return
would be stepping out with this side and then as I make contact then I come
through with the opposing leg.
If I get a ball that's shorter with less penetration and now I must also make a
dynamic step forward and this is not going to be open stance it's going to be
a step up to a ball with less penetration and I must also make this
return dynamic. So I'm going to to step up towards the serve to cut it
off and as I make contact I'm going to come through with the other leg like
this. On the backhand it's going to look like this I'm going to get a shorter
serve or a serve with more spin and less penetration with a lower bounce and
now I'm gonna come in this way I'm gonna hit my return I'm going to come through
with this side. So it is crucial that your footwork on the return of serve is
dynamic
At the elite level flexibility on the return of serve is a crucial part of
being a top returner and the most flexible tennis player of all time is
Novak Djokovic and I think this is one of the biggest reasons why he's a great
returner. And Novak has this incredible ability to stretch his body incredibly
wide and he's very flexible
and he can create great returns from very compromised positions
and at the same time he will be able to get out of the way to create a forehand
or backhand and have his body bent this way and then perform a return from
another compromised position. So it is important that you work on your
flexibility and it might help your return of serve.
Thank you guys for watching this video. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a
comment in the section below I will be happy to respond. Hit that like button
and subscribe if you haven't already. I'll see you next time