Beware of the Great Scot's blistering backhand return.
1. Grip
A great backhand return starts with the proper grip. Murray uses a Continental on his right hand and a semi-Western on his left hand. This combination gives him stability, control and power and allows him to square the racquet face with the incoming ball.
2. Left Arm
The left arm is the key to Murray’s return. It’s like a rudder, guiding the racquet through impact. Murray’s backswing is smooth and compact. On this return Murray won’t bring his racquet over his opposite shoulder. Instead, he’ll extend toward the target and naturally stop without bending his wrists. A shorter swing like this works well on returns. If you have good timing, it won’t take much of a swing to use your opponent’s serving power to your advantage.
3. Head
Murray keeps his head still as he hits the ball. This is the result of excellent balance and contact out in front of his body. I like the expression on his face, too. Murray is in attack mode, rather than just blocking this serve back. A great service return will set up your next shot.
4. Trunk
The serve is the most difficult shot to put back in play, so your legs, midsection, shoulders and arms need to work together when you hit the return. If you just use your arms, you might get knocked off-balance. But if you rotate your trunk and shoulders and put your weight behind your swing, as Murray does here, you won’t have to swing hard to send the ball back with force.
5. Feet
Serves move quickly, so a returner can’t afford to waste time. Murray starts behind the baseline, but he takes a split-step and moves forward diagonally as the serve comes toward him. By taking the quickest path to the ball, Murray ensures that he’ll take an aggressive swing. This also allows him to hit on the rise, which is a great way to neutralize high-kicking serves. His opponent now has less time to prepare for the next shot. That’s how to take charge of a point on your return.
Rick Macci has coached Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati, and Serena and Venus Williams.
Originally published in the May 2010 issue of TENNIS.