Hi there, I have this one problem that I need advice on. I have this one friend that I play every week that always beats me by gaining points on her short serve. It is so deceiving, that most of the time I either leave it because I think it is going out, rush in at the last minute, or return very badly giving her the chance to hit down. The thing is, alot of other people I play have good short serves and I never have any problems with them, only this one person! Whenever I do mange to return her serve well and have a good rally, I can usually win the point, but this is not likely to happen as I think I'm in the beginning stages of forming a phobia about her serves!!! I'd really appreciate a few tips on how best to approach short and high serves in singles. Daleen
If you think its going out and its not then i would say 90% of the time you should be returning the short serve... just to play it safe. You should always be prepared for the short and high/long serves. Should stand around the middle of the receiving box so you can take both short and long serves. You should be in a up right position/stance with one foot in front so you can push off backwards if the server is long, and one foot behind u ready to push forward if the serve is short... If it was me, I would do a net clear if the serve was short and do a cross court drop if the serve was long or a nice long clear. haha but then again, I'm a begginer... what do I know?
Thanks! Sounds good. I do try though. Maybe I just feel intimidated or something and it is affecting the way I play this particular person. But you are right, I need to be able to quickly react to whatever serve they give me. Does anyone have any tips on their fail-proof technique in returning a very good short serve?
What is it that is deceiving you? Does it look like a high serve is coming, but it turns out to be a low serve? Don't move until you know where the shuttle is going. Then move quickly. Be prepared to move quickly by having a good ready stance (like vienly said) Try to get into a rally no matter how she serves then. Don't think about the serve being short. Return all of them (for now). Do a high deep lift against the low serves Do a deep clear against the high serves high and deep if you've been caught off guard optionally, an attacking clear (lower so that it gets to the back of the court faster) if you got behind the shuttle and can play the shot with your weight moving forwards into court. When you are being deceived less, you can use other shots against the low serve. Play some net shots and drives to back court.
For short serve, my return is a tight straight net drop (not cross court). This forces my opponent to move. When the net shot is close to the net, my opponent can either do another net shot or lift the shuttle. If it were a net shot, I am already close to the net and I can kill it there or drive/push a cross court. If it were a clear, it is likely a short clear and I can smash it. For a high serve in single, there are more options in returning the shot. I will try a drop or a smash first and see how my opponent reacts. I will alternate the shot placement on my opponent's right and left hand. Keep them guessing. If I high clear the return, it will go to the back hand side of the court. Sometimes I find some people have a stronger back hand/round the head shot than a forehand shot. One more suggestion on deceiving shot, do not look at the opponent's body. Keep you eyes on the shuttle. Your opponent may turn their body one way and hit the shot another direction. I have one of those deceiving short serve (serving to the forehand front corner). I do not like to use it too often as it takes away the surprise factor. I just use it to move the receiver around the box and explore their weakness in returning the serve.
I see players at major tournaments rush to the net in a split second and return the shot flat down, how do they do it ? I am still trying to learn the same drill but I cannot return the shot flat if the birdie is too close to the net. Am I suppose to slice it ?
ya ive also been trying that too buden i also have the same problem if my shot is too flat it hits the net.another problem i faced was i got faked once and my opponenet actually served high forcing me to lob back to the half-court and giving him an easy kill.how do i tackle this problem?
I guess other than playing someone who serves like it is always going to fall before the line, I also need to concentrate on my footwork to become more confident. I have been standing in the middle of the box with my left foot forward (I am right-handed) as I feel it prepares me better, although I see others play who seem much more controlled and prepared than I am and manage to leap back in better time for the high serves as well as the short serves. I know its all in the footwork but how can I improve... I've only been playing for a few months and don't benefit from any coaching...
Aggression in movement, not in swing Aggression was evident whenever a good player attacks the service. It's not necessarily the idea of pounding the shuttle down as it crosses the net, but rather to aggressively reach the shuttle first before it falls. When you reach the shuttle early, you have so much more options than taking it late. Approach every service shot with detachment. Don't worry about a flick until the server actually serves. If you're not fast enough or your footwork is not good enough to retrieve a flick, position yourself further back from the service line. It takes alot of experience to judge whether the shuttle is short or not so don't feel too bad when you're letting a few points go. Over time and lots of practice, you'll get more comfortable receiving.
if your quick, and she ALWAYS short serves 99% of the time. What i would do is stand about 3 feet back from center and since its obivous she is going to short serve, be prepared to sprint up and have a easy net kill. I do it all the time with a guy i know that rarely serve long and it works pretty good. But just in case, wait for a split second and make sure that it is short, if its long stay where you are and return it.
When you are preparing to receive serve, "Lean forward and think 'Back'". That is what I was told and it helped me: I have my racket foot forward, with my weight on it so I can spring back for a deep serve, but if the player serves short most of the time, you will be ready to essentially fall forward into the shot. My favorite return for the short serve is this: start with your racket up and basically pointed at the shuttle. Racket face perpendicular to the ground. The serve will come almost toward your racket usually. From there, with minimal motion you can wait until the last second before moving the racket to either side by just a few inches and either touch the shuttle toward the line away from the server for a tight net drop, or push the shuttle right back at the server. If you hit flat / down the server usually can't do much with the return.
Question: how tall are you? it helps when recieving serve aggresively to crouch lower, especially if your opponents serve is close to the net. Suggest you watch some of the videos on coach Lee Jae Bok's site. http://www.ibbs.tv/IBBS/home/freevideos.aspx
The problem I notice with most people when they rush aggressively at short serves is that their racquets are perpendicular to the ground and they are not usually quick enough to pop the bird over the net and end up hitting the bird straight into the net. The solution is simple. Instead of focusing energy on hitting the bird, focus on your footwork in getting to the shuttle in 1 step and ensuring you hit the bird just as it is over the net. Try not to let it drop too much because that may lead to hitting it into the net. If you are late, the racquet should be tilted back a bit so you don't hit it flat on but rather at an angle to make sure you get it over. The key point is swiftness in footwork in attacking the short serve and making sure your racquet is NOT perpendicular to the ground.
Trance is right. A way to improve this is to take a split step when serving. I know this may be a bit weird but like how people take split steps in the rally, a split step duuring serving will help as well.
the later posts are correct, of course; the racket face is not perpendicular to the ground when you make contact with the shuttle, at least not if the shuttle has dropped below the net. but I start with the face perpendicular to the ground so i'm ready for forehand or backhand, and can decide which to use as I move forward and judge the shuttle's location and any early movement by the opponent. also if the serve is a bit too high, this position makes for an easy kill whether it comes to your forehand or backhand.
Go to that site and watch Lee Jae Bok's video's on returning low serves as well as deception. They are very helpful in understanding the technique of the shot in returning the low serve.