Hello, I have some questions about receiving serve in doubles. Background: Although I have played on and off since I was little I am still quite a beginner in terms of correct techniques, which is something I am trying to change now by playing more regularly. I am not good enough to join a club so am playing mainly social games with colleagues and friends. I have been trying to respond better to serves using the info and demonstration videos on badmintonbible.com, so have altered my stance and am now standing further forward to try and reply better to low serves. 1) As a result of my now standing further forward (or so I think anyway), my opponents keep testing me with flick and drive serves, to the point where the straight low serve is an exception. Often I struggle to get back quickly enough to smash the serve. Do I keep at it and try to improve my speed in getting back (probably with footwork drills between games), or should I just stand a bit further back? 2) The badmintonbible.com article tells how and where to stand, and the video also shows the angle to stand at (which direction to face the body and feet) in the forehand court, how should I be facing when receiving in my backhand court? 3) I am using a short bevel grip when receiving now, should I be changing the length at the same time when going into the basic grip to reply the flick?
I am sure Gollum or Mseeley would be responding soon. Here are my 2 cents!!! Gollum said,"you need to challenge yourself" while receiving serve by standing further forward. That does not mean, you need to commit yourself to the net while receiving serve. You need to stand so far forward where you strike a balance with slightly biased to cover low serve to the T at the earliest. You need to find the quilibrium on where to stand and slowly challenge yourself by standing further forward. Also look at your opponents. If somebody has a very good flick serve, you may need to stand further back than normal. And same way to the weak servers, you can comit to the front service line. Your posture also matters a lot. If you leaning forward with weight on your non racket foot, you will be slow to reack to flick serve & move back. try to maintain a balanced position, weight almost equally distributed and you should be able to do well against low & flick serves. And against drive serve, use a small tapping action. You do not have time for a full smash. Get the racket early, meet the bird in front of your body if possible and tap it back to the server. Use forehand action as much as possible. And soon, you wil observe that drive serve has vanished from your opponents arsanel. Hope this helps. NP
Do you stand too close to the front service line? If you do, you left a limited options to your opponent. First, he can't serve you short. Second, he might think of something like a flick or a fast drive... To the worse, your too-far-to-the-front position might give u a suicidal disadvantages, especially to get back behind the shuttle for a smash. Fast drive too can pass you by easily if you're not alert. My tips: don't stand too close, stay alert to spring forward with cobra speed to kill any floating shuttle. Counter any fast drive with fast drive. If it's a flick, since you're not too far to the front, it's easier to get behind the shuttle. In double game, a flick serve nor a defensive high clear usually is not a good idea if you face a very good opponents, unless you're facing newbies and toying with the prey. Unlike single game, Double is all about attack. And oh yeah, footwork is a very very very very important...
This probably indicates that, from your new position, your low serve returns are stronger than your flick serve returns -- at least, that's what your opponents seem to think; they may not be correct! This doesn't necessarily mean that your serve returns have become weaker overall. Your flick serve returns may still be stronger now than your low serve returns were before you moved forwards. If you were failing consistently and completely to cope with the flick serve, then I would suggest backing off a bit. That doesn't seem to be what's happening. It sounds like you are coping okay with flick serves, but cannot smash them every time. If so, I would keep at it. Your opponents are giving you plenty of opportunities to practise your flick serve return; use them. Remember that you don't have to smash all the time. A well-placed fast drop shot or half-smash can also be an effective attacking shot. And if you're really struggling after a particularly good flick serve, play it safe with a clear. That's a good point -- perhaps I should show the angle for both sides in the video. I've noted this down; when that video comes up for review, I'll consider it properly. My instant reaction is, "Yes, I damn well should show it from both sides." Thanks. The general idea is the same: you angle yourself to face the server somewhat, in a side-on stance. If you have time, yes. A long grip will be often be useful when you are playing a smash, as you can potentially generate more power. You may not always have time, however. Sometimes it's good to keep a short grip if the flick serve is quite flat: you have to react quickly and you don't even have much room to swing. In other words: try to change to a long grip if you have time, but don't feel you must always do this. You may need to adjust the angle of your grip, depending on where the shuttle is. If it's gone behind you, the angle should be changed somewhat towards a thumb grip.
As Gollum says if your opponents are flick serving and you are able to play an attacking shot there is no problem, you shouldn't be expecting to hit winners. What happens after you play your return? As long as your side is able to gain the attack you should be converting most of those rallies to winning points. At lower level too many people think about playing winning shots instead of creating opportunities for midcourt or forecourt attack.
They probably are not correct - I haven't had much practice with pushes and drives from low serves. I either hit them too hard and they go wide, or they are loose and a drive reply whistles past my ear. However, I think they think they can probably beat me with a flick serve (or force a weak return) when I am almost at the short service line. My aim is to prove them wrong Indeed I shall. It was not so good at my last playing session, I think I was a bit tensed up as there were one or two flick serves where I failed to move at all, that was quite embarrassing. On the other hand, there were a few good moments of smashing wide flicks straight down the tramlines . Hopefully with more playing and practice there will be more of the latter and less of the former. I think I also confused some drive serves for flicks as they initially went over me very quickly before I realized I could reach them just by reaching up or taking one step back.
Another question where I'm looking for input, and since it's the same general topic I'm reusing the thread. At the work sessions I play at there is one player who likes to stand out wide when serving. One serve which he seems to use with good effect is where he aims a drive serve at the rear T. The result is a serve which is over my partner's court for most of its flight, and I have a lot of trouble getting to it at all if I prepare in my usual position, let alone making a good return, particularly when I'm in the right court (I am right-handed). Any thoughts on how to deal with serves like that? What I am thinking of trying: 1) Stand slightly further back and angle my body wider, to try and cover the angles better, but might be more vulnerable to a wide low serve; 2) Step into my partner's court to try and intercept it early (a bit hard since it is coming quite fast and on my backhand)
Yes, definitely stand farther back. You need to be approximately halfway between the front and back service lines, or even closer to the back. Angle your feet to cover the wide low serve. This also puts you in an ideal position for playing a round-the-head forehand when he uses the drive serve.
Thanks guys for this thread. It is always good to get back to the basics... By reading the above I realized that, while I am working on other aspects of my game, I was simply becoming "lazy" on serve returns as I was standing too far back - about 24" from the short service line. Flicks and drive were very easy returns but my bread and butter short serve returns just weren't aggressive enough. One thing I realized by forcing myself to stand further up near the line was that I just wasn't focused when I was receiving. If you creep up and try to be near the service line so you can attack right away, you really have to "see" the serving motion of your opponents if you want to get the 1/10th of a second extra and be able to return a flick properly. The truth is: I was just looking at the bird passively. As always, keeping your racket high up helps too... Ha! Regards, T.
I've also had to deal with this kind of serve before. It is not an ideal position to serve in doubles play as if the receiver can hit the shuttle, all he needs to do is do either a short overhead to the server's side of the back court or tap down between the server and his partner and the duo will be hopelessly out of position. The one other contingency I have encountered is the wide low serve as you pointed out. It's quite easy to respond to this as I would then hit a tumbling net shot straight across the net. He is unlikely to reach it in time and if his partner covers, then their back court is vulnerable to a lift. Just be sure to position your feet appropriately and consider both scenarios when reading his serve.
