returning a high serve in singles

Its all about variation my friend.

Clears, gud length to the corners are good

Smash down the sides is good but can be risky but good to throw in once in a while.

Drop shot also risky but jus ave to be fast on recovery and also remember do not play a slow tight drop shot! Big no no! Play fast drop/half smash to the front service line, this makes it harder for opponent to play tight net shot

Sounds like you just have to work on your shots more. If he is jump smashing your clears down, they are too low then mate, hit them higher, make him work!!

 

Agree with gingerphil.

The crux is to take note of the opponent's position before your shot. If he's just served high, he will usually have adopted a fairly central base so he will be able to reach all four corners (assuming okay footwork). The question is, which corner is he most uncomfortable with. A good reply is usually to either corner in the baseline.

If he is not good at his backhand, his base will likely shift towards his backhand corner. This will leave his forehand baseline and net wider.

Of course, check if he's intercepting your clears and drop a few shots to punish him if his base position shifts to the back. If you play a drop, be prepared to recover to your base before he hits his next shot. If you are still running forward, a flick will usually be fatal. A fast drop is usually a safer bet than a tight but slow one.

A half/check-smash is also a good option.

 

Hi LD Rules!

First you need to identify which level you plan to reach. If you are just playing for fun, drop shots or clears are OK.

It is not at all a bad idea to smash. In fact, that is the most fruitful shot if you are fit enough. But drop shot is generally a bad idea as you are out of position at the back tram lines and your oponent is ready and waiting to jump on to any weak reply.

In my case, the shot preference are as follows,

In my regular practice games where I play continuously for 1-2 hours, I do not want to exhaust much. I will start the game with attacking clears and as the opponents shift their base further back, drops are used deceptively.

If I am playing with a lesser oponent, I avoid any smash or attacking drives. I experiment a lot and use net shots and tight drops a lot. Here my aim is to improve my deffence & overall game.

But when I am playing a game which I must win, my choice of reply to the high serve is smash & only smash. Only as a variation, or if my timing goes wrong, I play other shots, attacking clear & fast drop. And this forces your opponents to avoid serving high & then your net skills will come in to picture. Eventhough, smashes are exhausting, in the long run, it is good because, It may win you a few points outright, opponents will use low serve more often & as you win, you will be serving more which is easier than a violent smas.

Other than smash, attacking clear & fast drop, I can not thing any other shot that would improve your situation in the game.

Cheers...

 

Reach faster and earlier for any shots

 

I believe that the player should do a mixture of shots.

Sometimes place a smash , just to mix it up.

 

I agree that fast drop or half smash will make oponent harder to play the tight shot!!!

 

Hitting a smash is brilliant if you think you're in a position that allows you to hit an effective one however, if you're not in such a position, it's a terrible shot choice and should be avoided. I guess it's the same with drop shots really, if you're confident in your drop-shot and can make it very tight, it's all well and good playing a drop. If you're in a bad position to hit a drop-shot or your drop-shot isn't reliable, the drop-shot is not a good shot to play. I will avoid playing a slow drop off a high service because your opponent can usually play a quite easy net-shot and leave you having to really push to get to it. In my eyes, that's not a good position to be in at the start of a rally. Quicker drop-shots or half smashes land deeper in the court and quicker than slower drops - this means that they are a safer alternative as it's much harder to reply to them with a tight net-shot. In my opinion, they give you a good neutral shot to start the rally from but there are shots that will "do more".

Playing a neutral or defensive clear to the middle or forehand corner of your opponent's court is often a band idea as it's likely they'll have time to set up a decent smash. This means that you've effectively just handed the attack (and therefore the greater chance of winning the point) to your opponent and they've had to put in very little work to make you do it.

The attacking clear to the backhand is a simple but effective way to put most opponents on the back foot. I don't remember what level you're playing at but at intermediate level and below, you will find that most people's backhand shots are relatively weak and easy to gain the upper hand from. I wouldn't overuse this tactic (or any tactic for that matter). If you use the attacking clear to the backhand a lot, you may find that your opponent moves their base position slightly further back or towards the backhand corner (maybe even both). This tells you that they expect you to go to their rear backhand corner. At this point, I would consider returning the high serve a quicker drop-shot to the forecourt forehand corner or a smash/half smash down the opposite line to the one they are closest to.

I guess that what I'm saying, in a nutshell is: smash when you can but don't try to when you're not in the position to. The drop-shot can leave you in a fair bit of trouble if played at the wrong time. Aggressive clears to the backhand corner are effective against a lot of opponents. Repeat tactics that work but vary them with other tactics so your opponent doesn't get wise to them.

 

Well I always did this in single match.Ill make it look very same like low serve.It will make opponent shock and have less time get the shuttle back and some of them fail to do so.
Ussually I target the backhand backline side.You must have a fast footwork and good strenght.Oh yah make sure evertime its service,you must stay in the mid court.