Tactics for returning serve in tennis

On a good first ball, but where you’re not in an extreme situation, zones 4 and 6 can be favoured. First of all, you can see from the diagram that zone 4 is the furthest from your position, so you have quite a wide margin and your ball will travel further. Also, the server will be heading in our direction on the return of his serve, so it will be more difficult for him to go back in the opposite direction.

What’s more, the shot will escape his body through zone 4, whereas if we play zone 3 the ball will come back towards him. Zone 6 will allow us to neutralise the opponent and fix him. He won’t have an angle and it’ll be harder for him to cause us problems with the second shot. On a fast serve, we’re going to have to shorten our preparation, so it’ll be difficult to produce a lift without preparation. We’re going to use the speed of the tennis ball to counter, so our return will be relatively quick without much effect at medium height.
If the opponent’s serve is excellent and we have no other option, we’ll drop the left hand for right-handers to gain distance and hit the target. If possible, try to find zone 2, to make your opponent play a difficult low shot (like Roger Federer, who masters this shot perfectly and uses it deliberately). Otherwise, try to play high and long again, as best you can.

With a good first ball, the best solution most of the time will be to return to zone 6 of the tennis court. We don’t really have an angle, so it’s complicated to try something. A quality long return into the feet of the opponent , who will be on the inside of the court when his serve lands, can be formidable.
Novak Djokovic, the best returner in the world, often uses this zone on his return. If the serve is very difficult to return, we’ll favour our backhand side because it’s easier to hit a ball close to our body on the backhand. Zone 2 can be effective in this case.

On a good first serve, the zones to keep in mind are zones 4 and 6. Zone 4 for several reasons: it won’t take long for the server’s shot to reach my racket because there’s not much ground to cover, so it’ll be difficult to have a forward shot and therefore difficult to play crosscourt in zone 3.
Then, for the same reason as from position 1, the opponent will fall back slightly to his right after his serve, so it will be harder for him to go back to his left. If the serve is really good, then zone 6 should be used for greater safety.

We use the same principles as in position 3. Zone 3 is preferable because the opponent will be caught off-guard and it is difficult to have an advanced shot. Use zone 6 if the ball is of high quality.

As with return position 2, it will be difficult to make a shot that puts your opponent in difficulty. That’s why zone 6 should be used before building your point. Zones 1 and 2 on the backhand chop can be interesting if the opponent’s serve is very good.

The same goes for position n°1. We can go all the way to zone 3! Without holding back, we can deliver a deep shot into the other player’s replacement. For a right-hander, it’s easier to reach zone 1 to get the other player off the tennis court.
In another situation, if the other player is using the serve-volley, we’ll very regularly look for zone 5, in the feet, in order to carry out a passing shot in two – the opponent will be relatively far from the net, so the first passing shot doesn’t have to be perfect. Zones 1 and 2 can also be used if the shot isn’t too hard. Avoid looking for length.

If you’re confident in your shot, you can attack your opponent’s face-off. Between zone 2 and zone 4 is a good solution, as your ball will be able to travel further and we still have this principle where the opponent will be caught slightly off guard. If you’re going for a volley return, then we’re going to go for zone 3 because, according to the theory of angles, you’ll have a lot less distance to cover to get to the right spot at the net (slightly to the left). Zone 6 can also be used to set up.

The body serve can be tricky to negotiate. By disengaging yourself from the target, it will probably be complicated to re-engage yourself forwards and therefore difficult to guide the tennis ball. That’s why you need to allow for a greater margin of error if your opponent’s serve is destabilising. Don’t hesitate to play hard in zone 6, whether or not you’re following at the net.

We are in an axial position. We can try to finish the point on the return by playing straight (zone 4 for position 3 and zone 3 for position 4), in the opponent’s replacement. On the other hand, it would be preferable to play crosscourt (zone 3 for position 3 and zone 4 for position 4) if you want to follow through to the net, again in relation to the theory of angles. Zone 6 can also be used. You’ll be less exposed to a long line passing shot .

For a right-hander, this serve falls on the forehand, which is often a strong shot. You can use it to gain a real advantage. Zone 1 can give you a great advantage over your opponent. If you want to get to the net, zone 6 is best. If you move up to zone 4, the tennis ball will come closer to your opponent and you’ll leave the whole left side open. If your opponent has a big second, you can return away from your line by looking for length on the diagonal. If he goes up, you’ll have to get closer and aim for zone 5 most of the time.
On kicked seconds (which rise quite high after the rebound), the aim will be to take the ball in its rising phase so as to have more angle to find short areas. On slice seconds, this will be more complicated, so most of the time you’re going to choose long zones. For each of these returns, remember that you need to commit yourself 100% physically to the pitch. Having an aggressive intention won’t be enough if you go in timidly. There’s nothing better for directing the tennis ball than committing yourself to it.