The modern tennis is based on really fast balls. Players look for any opportunity to put pressure on their rivals, and they try to force mistakes or hit clean winners right from the beginning of the point. As we all know, winning own service games is crucial to be able to bet solid opponents but to do it, players need more skills than just quality delivery. The first shot after the serve can make a difference between a player who wins a lot and a player who struggles to play against advanced rivals.
Nowadays, players are really good according to the performance from the baseline. They move well, they are really consistent, and they don’t miss the balls when the opponent hits really aggressively (read here how to deal effectively when your opponents respond with powerful shots). Additionally, they work a lot on the returning skills so good serving players can’t count on easy games even when they make a lot of first serves in. These changes force all the players to train a variety of skills and to be prepared to hit more shots than before. If players are impatient and they look for too risky shots, rarely they will finish the match as winners.
It is said that the serve and the return are the most important strokes in tennis because they start every point. That’s true but players have to also understand that these strokes can put any player into offensive, neutral or defensive situations so what will happen next will decide about the winner of every single point. Being aware of these changes and having the skills to adjust properly is necessary to not worry about winning own service games even when the opponent returns pretty well.
When you serve and the ball goes back on your side, it is time to show your preparation. The quality of the first shot after the serve will decide about your chance to win this point so make sure that you have automatic habits that will make it really difficult for your opponent to break your delivery:
Have a plan
Before every serve, you should have a plan. Plan where to serve the ball, expectations related to the possible return as also plan to execute the first shot after the serve. If you have a plan, you will not panic or make late decisions under the pressure of time. A lot of players are „surprised” and they execute risky shots because they only think about the serve and they don’t include the factor related to the opponent’s return and the continuation of the point.
Read the return
As soon as you serve, your job is to get prepared for the incoming ball. You will not have a lot of time to do it but you have to do your best to be able to prepare and execute the most effective shot possible. It all starts with reading the incoming ball to be able to decide how to adjust physically, technically, and tactically to play the first shot with the highest possible quality. Sometimes you will have a chance to win the point directly but other times you will have to block the ball to stay in the rally so focus on the ball perception to increase the chance for good decision and quality execution.
Include the score
Tennis is a game of pressure. The level of pressure changes according to the different factors so players should be aware of these changes to make the best decisions for their performance. Understanding how much pressure an opponent can feel while returning is fundamental information to decide about the tactical purpose of our response to the return. If there is a lot of pressure on the rival, being consistent and forcing the opponent to go for risky shots is a proven strategy to win crucial points in tennis.
Winning in tennis is not easy … but it can become easier if players know how to prepare for repetitive situations that occur during the competition. Almost after every serve, the player will have to play at least one more shot so training specific responses to return is crucial to be confident while choosing the most effective option to stay in the point or to build advantage right from the beginning. Make sure you think ahead and you don’t allow your rival to win points just by placing the return back into the court.
Marcin Bieniek is a professional tennis coach. You can contact Marcin through his personal coaching website http://marcinbieniek.info. Marcin has been working with USTA, top 50 ITF and WTA/ATP players. Author of tennis book “Tenisowy Olimp” and frequent contributor to TennisPro and TenisKlub magazines. He was a speaker at International Coaching Tennis Symposium 2016 and 2021 at Hilton Head Island, USA.
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