A good return of serve is
important in doubles...because if it's bad, there is a
hungry net player ready to eat it up. The return needs to be
consistently crosscourt, away from the net player.
A good way to practice
crosscourt returns is to have a real or imaginary obstacle
sticking up at the center of the net...like the handle of a
court squeegee or broom. Have a partner serve to you and
practice hitting the return well wide of the obstacle into
the server's side of the court. Serves down the middle and
out wide will be particularly hard to hit away from the
obstacle and/or keep in the court. Practice your crosscourt
returns and take the net player out of the equation!
*get ready for the return of
serve
Of course, a good return
starts with good preparation. If you are catching your
returns late (hitting them to the net player or miss-hitting
them) you may need to work on your ready stance.
Keep your feet at least shoulder with
apart
Knees bent, lightly bouncing on the
balls of your feet as the
server makes contact
Think...ready, read, pounce...to
react quickly in whatever direction the ball goes
Good returning is about preparation and
placement. Use the two drills above to
improve your return of serve.
