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The
return of serve is very critical to your game. You should
evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of this stroke
and make sure that it does not break down.
A fast
serve takes less than 1 second to get to you so you have to
make a very quick response if you are going to return the
ball.
The
trick is to get your racket ready in the shortest possible
time. If not, you will be late hitting the ball.
1.
The return of serve ritual.
The
best returners have very specific rituals to help them return
the fastest serves.
They
most often take a forward step just as the opponent starts
the toss. Then they take a split step just before the opponent
makes contact with the ball. They watch the toss of the ball
very closely and try to get a connection with the opponent's
racket contact and their own preparedness. The best returners
then take a very abbreviated backswing that takes less than
a second. Now they have enough time to meet the oncoming ball.
If the ball is directed wide to the forehand, they don't move
parallel to the sideline because the ball would be too far
out of their reach. To solve the problem, they move diagonally
about 75 degrees towards the ball so that they are not pulled
off the court.
2.
Move in on kick serves.
If
the server hits a kick serve, the returner also tries to keep
control of the court by moving in and taking the ball before
it kicks too high and wide.
3.
My ball!
Good
returners have some tricks they have learned that help them
to react to the serve at minimal elapsed time possible. Psychologically,
they don't separate the contact of the ball by the opponent
and then their return. What they do is to make the whole process
of serve and return one entity using words like "my ball"
just before impact so they can be at the highest alertness.
4.
Return an imaginary ball.
Good
returners also have another habit that when the opponent serves
the ball in the net, they return an imaginary ball. Their
objective is to make the initial decision of reading the direction
of the ball before it hits the net. If they can accomplish
this, they can also by inference return the fastest balls.
5.
Watch the ball go by.
Another
trick they use to prepare themselves to react more quickly
is to have a big server bang serves to the opposite service
court. By viewing the flight of the ball from an angle, the
speed of the ball appears diminished. They practice imaginary
returns against these seemingly slower balls and trick their
brain to respond more quickly. Experiment with some of these
techniques and see which ones work best for you.
6.
Give yourself more time.
If
you find that you still can't react quickly enough, another
way is to stand further back from the baseline. Each step
you stand further back will give just that little bit more
time to meet the ball.
7.
Slice fast balls.
Instead
of trying to drive your returns, slice the ball. With a slice
the impact of the ball on your racket can be further back.
It is also easier to control the ball with a slice.
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