This week we look at how to combat a serve to
your backhand return on the deuce
side (ad side for lefties).
Any serve to most
people's backhand is tough, but a serve down the middle to
your backhand presents extra problems. Mainly, it is very
difficult to hit a backhand crosscourt (away from the net man in
doubles). This kind of return is called an "inside out"
backhand.
The main reason the inside out return is
difficult is that the natural direction of your swing pulls the
ball straight out in front of you, right at the net man. While
this is not always a bad play, you want to be able to choose
this shot, not have it be the only option. An aggressive net man
will put this away, especially if he knows you can't hit
anything else off the backhand return.
So what do you do? Learn the inside out
backhand return. Let's look at some pointers:
Move your feet
(most important). You've got to get set up properly to hit
inside out.
If the ball is coming at
you, you've got to move away from it to give yourself room to
setup for the shot. You want your feet pointed cross
court to get a good shoulder turn.
Turn the shoulder
drive/slice the ball depending on your skill, preference,
and ball height.
Assuming you are
playing doubles, you may have an aggressive server that serves
and charges the net. This puts extra pressure on your inside out
backhand return. Your crosscourt shot can be a short angled
block to combat this scenario.
