With the NFL season in full swing I’ve got football on the brain. There’s an old football adage that offense sells tickets but defense wins championships. In truth, the best teams have a good balance of both – as do the most effective tennis players. A great example of this is the return of serve. You must defend when returning a powerful serve and be aggressive when taking advantage of a weak one. It’s a hugely important part of the game that not enough recreational players give its proper respect when practicing. Here are a couple of games you can play with a partner to work on your returns:
Game 1: Play out points in the regular format, where your partner gets both a first and, if needed, a second serve. The difference is, if you miss the return of a first serve, your partner wins two points. This will force you to take extra care in getting your racquet on the ball and returning it with plenty of margin. There’s no special weighting of the score on second serves, so you should feel free to take chances on those returns. Play up to 15 or 21.
Game 2: Here your partner gets only one serve. If he misses it, you win the point. But if he gets it in, you only have three swings, including the return, to finish the point. This encourages you to inflict damage with your return so you can make quick work of the point. Play up to 11 or 15.