Return Technique

Drive returns are compact versions of groundstrokes. Don’t tell me you go out on the tennis court just to play and have fun. You go out there to win! The fun part is going home and saying, “Hey, I won today against the big server.” You have to have the attitude, but you must also know and feel exactly how to hit the return. In the first article in this series, we looked at the return mentality. (Click Here.) Without the right attitude, the rest doesn’t matter. But now that we have established the return mind set, we can address the issue of technique. There are no huge mysteries in this day and age about how to return. When you drive returns, your swings should have the look of a more compact version of your groundstrokes. When you chip and block returns, they take on the look of your volley. In the pro game today, there is also a third option, which is to move back, particularly on the second serve, and let it rip with a full swing. (For more on this see Bobby Bernstein’s fine article, Click Here.) Chipped or blocked returns have the look of volleys. The…