I seem to lose most of my points from my returns to a serve in singles. Wheres the best place to hit the shuttle and any tips? Thanks
What kind of serve is causing you problems? High serves? Low serves? Flick serves? Drive serves? All of them?
Return to what kind of serve? It will depend on many things... 1 What kind of serve 2 where does the opponent stand 3 what kind of player is he/she -speed - weak point of opponent - ... I just want to show that it's really hard to have a good return in single... There isn't just " 1 best shot" Cryptail
Personally I would say the key is to be able to hit it anywhere onto your opponents court to keep him guessing. Try doing drills where your opponent serves to you and then shouts out which corner to return to. I would say that the worst thing you could do is develop a tight return to only one place.
The best way to return a high-serve in singles is to perform a FHF jump smash. Not really, but oh well.. put pressure on your opponent by making your opponent run. slice, feint, smash, drive, offensive clear, etc.. You can also try to learn from professional players like LCW, LD, etc by watching them play.. just download them or watch them on youtube. This actually helped me a-lot.
I guess attacking is indeed the best way to return the serve. My trainer always told me you can't win a match with a good opponent just by trying to return... You need to attack!!! You don't need to do this by smashing, buy also drops,drives... off.clears... are good ways to put pressure on your opponent Cryptail
The high serve presents a unique problem: the shuttle can be falling almost vertically. This doesn't happen at any other time in the rally. Because the shuttle is falling vertically, it's easy to hit the feathers by accident, and timing the shuttle drop is harder than normal. Smashes are particularly difficult to play off a good high serve. If you have trouble with smashes, play a clear or drop shot instead. These shots, especially the clear, are easier to perform consistently off a high serve. Unless you're facing an attacking monster such as Lin Dan, there's no need to attack right away. Play yourself into the rally rather than trying to win on your first shot. Avoid making unforced errors on service return. A clear is a good option.
(This does depend on your ability and that of your opponent, it's tricky to be prescriptive, what I've written is a suggestion not a 'rule' ) Off a high serve - if it's a bit short then attack, if it's decent serve then consider an attacking clear, i.e. flatter, faster, lower than a 'regular' clear.
probably mainly drops. if you hit it a bit short when clearing, you can end up in all sorts of trouble. drops leave a margin for error. it doesn't matter if it's a bit loose. have some variation, and try to make your opponent guess, and get it wrong. most importantly, you need to get it over. it doesn't have to be a line shot. just a shot which sets up what you want to do next.