Situation: Receiving serve (doubles) with front foot about half a foot behind front service line. Flick serve, fast enough to move back and not get caught, but having trouble putting reply down. I think my problem may be that I am waiting to try and get into perfect position before I begin my stroke. As a result, I am forced to take the shuttle later and too low and the racquet head is closer to my body so I lose power and range. Perhaps I need to start my stroke earlier once I realize that it is a flick serve? Phil
don't take it the wrong way - but.. go back quicker...? if the serve is flat enough then jump to take it before it passes you.. if it is high you should have enough time to get back and behind it to attack it... i say all this without asking if you are tall? - i'm over 6ft so flicks usually are very high and i have time to get behind them.. or they are to low and i can cut them out... hope this help Neil
Has to be jump up but backwards to try and smash it down hoping your partner can get in to cover the front.
Well, if your footwork is not fast enough, I would not do anything offensive at this time. I would just clear it deep and wait and see what happens. Taking it too aggressively could result in errors and lose points.
I am fairly short, 5'5". Because of this, I should have an easier time with flick serves, right? Or does this make them harder? Usually if I am caught badly I can easily clear it, and my defence is decent enough to handle most backcourt smashes. I should be for sure be fast enough to handle flick serves, but perhaps my footwork is wrong? I've been told that taking 2 steps is too slow. Should it be something like one shuffle and then jump? Of course, it might not be my footwork and is instead my racquet preparation. Phil
receiving flick serve One stand further back if the other side prefer flick services. Perhaps just stand way-back and your partner stand at the front and be ready to rotate if the serve is short.
Standing far back gives away the attack to a low serve. Against skilled opponents this will help to lose you the game.
How are you standing when you receive serve? Crouched with racquet raised I assume? Also have you looked at your swing? I had a massive problem with back-court drops until someone pointed out that I was dropping my racquet arm as part of my huge backswing & that it was putting my timing out, it also means that I had a slower setup time & had to play more snap-smashes on flick serves.
be sure to be thinking about a flick serve, since you seem to be standing quite far forwards. Also remember what the opponents do after they flick, do they take up sides, or some kind of poaching front and back? If its side, just clear either to the middle...cause confusion over who should take it, or to the backhand of the server, if you are in the left court. A really good flick, sometimes you can't attack, but just remember that you may be flicked, and you'll hopefully be ready for it. Also, what i do is pretty similar. I stand quite near the front, but i don't have my weight/balance forwards, becuase i figure if i need to move fast, its going to be backwards, because by standing so close to the net, i'm basically inviting a flick.
I think one question is most members forgot is... "IS THE SERVER SERVING LEGALLY???!!" If yes, I can't think of any reason that the reciever can't attack it. If I can do it, most people can do it! This is coming from an 155lbs guy that is 5 foot 9.
When receiving serve, I'm leaning forward, but not with my weight shifted forward because then I'd be too slow going back. How can I describe it... draw a line up from my front foot and it will go through my head... and back leg is angled about 70 to 80 degrees from the floor. Phil
If you're too slow for flicks, position yourself alittle bit further from the line. You see lots of Pros and good players 'toting the line', that's because they want to attack the birdie at the earliest possible moment. Try to position leaning forward and don't think too much about possible shots coming at you. Only react after the birdie has left the server's racquet. If one's close and fast enough, one can take it right at the net. Even for a few micro-seconds after the birdie left the server, you can recognise a drive serve or a short serve from a flick. As you get better, you can recognise early a drive serve from a short serve. I recall reading somewhere about service preparation (either Jack Downey or some other website) that one should lean forward to leap back... which make sense, cuz you need to jump back in case of a flick or to step forward to attack a short serve. Either way, you need to load your muscles. So don't get comfy standing flat-footed, but rather lean forward on your toes. Most important thing during receiving service is not to guess (it just slows you down mentally), but to observe and react accordingly.
Hey there, Phil. Our cases are pretty similar but I've never really had any problems getting a good steep smash down from an opponent's flick serve. I'm around 5'6" (though some nastier scales say I'm shorter ) and weigh around 164lbs. The starting stance is pretty similar too. I'm a righty, so I have my left foot at the front, leg bent with most my body weight on it and it's about a foot away line of service box parallel to the net. My right foot is probably about 40 degrees to the plane of the floor though. When the server flick serves, I just sort of... blast off with my left leg to get back into the mid court and usually I'm in a favourable position. You may want to train your legs for speed, for years and years of playing football (or better known internationally as soccer ) have given me these tree-trunk thighs and calves. Us short guys have the disadvantage of not being to cut the lifts off as well as taller guys (and girls too ), so we have to rely on speed. But at least our minimum smashing height is lower than that of the taller people, so that might buy us one or two tenths of a second. Good luck, man.
I don't see how being smaller would be an advantage for returning flick serves? I must admit, sometimes I'm caught off guard but still manage to flick smash a flick serve down. I'm quite confused by your situation. By not getting there fast enough, do you mean the shuttle is way behind you or you're just taking it slightly behind you. Usually I can do a half decent flick smash even if it's behind me. Where is your weight shifted on? Usually I put all my weight in my toes and push off using that... So.. you might want to check out where your weight is. I find that if you push off with your foot, it'll be a good way to cut a fraction of a second and you can get some good snap on the bird before it gets too far behind you. My weight is usually on my non-racquet foot (Left), and I push off using that on the service, at least that's what I was taught.
I can understand having trouble with a flick if you're right on the front service line but a foot and a half back is plenty of space. Maybe you just need to work on your timing. Personally I hardly ever set up underneath a flick though i suppose if the flick was high enough, you could. Me, I always jump backwards to get it. If trying to set up underneath is making you late however, maybe you should stop doing it.
I'm not that far back, I said half a foot, and now I'm right up to the line (3 inches or so). I think I've solved things everyone. I just needed to be more aggressive and instead of being content to clear it all the time. By having a more aggressive mindset, I am more explosive jumping back and I can make a better shot. Thanks everyone. Phil
I'm not that far back, I said half a foot, and now I'm right up to the line (3 inches or so). I think I've solved things everyone. I just needed to be more aggressive and instead of being content to clear it all the time. By having a more aggressive mindset, I am more explosive jumping back and I can make a better shot. Thanks everyone, Phil
I personally am tall, so how would I get a flick serve down? i mean people say it's easy being tall in doubles because you can get a good smash, but I personally find it difficult to smack the bird down. What should I do? Approach the serve really high? or duck low with legs bent ready for a flick? wildstyler