in mens singles AFTER serving. Firstly I am only a club player, nothing special but love the game and been playing for over 35yrs which makes me just over 21 My main frustration in playing singles is just after I serve I always get caught out with my oponents return. An example I am a left hander, standing in the left hand court, I serve high and long, my opponent drops to my backhand court, I always get caught on my back foot every time and it is so frustrating. where should I stand after serve? should I move back a bit and get ready to lunge forward? Should I concentrate a lot more on my opponents movement? Should I take up mens doubles? Thanks to anyone who can help me just a little.
well after the serve, you should be in the "neutral" zone and therefore you have equal coverage to all parts of your own court. I guess for most people this would be the dead center of the court which is just couple of steps behind the serving T.
Whereabouts are you directing your serve for singles? The best place to put the serve is close to the centre line in the backcourt because the angle at which your opponent can return the shuttle is restricted compared to if you were to serve it at the far back corner.
good point, thanks, never thought about aiming the serve there. What about preparation for the return, do you think your weight should be even or more on the front foot or back foot? Thanks for the help
right after i serve i put my racket in neutral position, but i put my racket foot in front of my non-racket foot. i've seen many people do this to protect their backhand. but then i have to be ready for forehand shots. also where you stand on the court depends on your strength. i've seen a girl who can react faster to tight drops than they can to offensive clears, so they stand a little closer to the back court. they don't stand dramatically closer to the backcourt, but just a bit to help them out. and then i suppose people who are better at returning clears but awkward on drops, will stand a bit closer to the net.
Definately aim your serve to the center of the court, and as high and deep as possible. Position yourself in the middle of the court, taking into account the position of serve -- you want to be able to reach the crosscourt drop, and be able to reach a backhand clear on your forehand. Generally your racquet is in a neutral position, and weight should be evenly distributed, but not so much that you are flatfooted. (you dont want to be a lead weight on the court!) You may want to try stutter stepping or bouncing on the balls of your feet so that you can move as quickly as possible once your opponent hits the return.
are we forgetting about taking a split step? right as your opponent contacts you should take a split step so that you can react quickly to whichever place your opponent hits to. gregory ps - watch your opponent's contact
You should definitely be on your toes before the return. If you were on the back of your feet, you would need to get onto your toes before you move anywhere anyhow, so that would add extra unnecessary movement. And one thing you can try doing is adding in an anticipatory hop before your opponent hits the shuttle back. This lets you start moving in any direction regardless where they hit the shuttle. Other people call it different things but it's generally the same idea.
Neutral position (actually depending on your opponent, you might be in a defensive mode as a high and deep serve is a defensive shot). Split-step (to tense up your muscles) on your opponent reply. A lot of people find it easier to go forward than back and so are inclined to be a little further back.
