How To Effectively Return Slow Tennis Serves

How should you return slow and easy second serves in tennis so that you have a high win percentage rate?

Perhaps you've tried going for a winner on your returns and you soon realized that this strategy is too risky and that you make too many unforced errors.

In this video article you will learn high percentage returns of slow serves that put your opponent immediately under pressure and give you an upper hand at the start of the rally.

Attack Slow Serves With Short Cross Returns

If your opponent serves their second serve at an angle, meaning it's somewhat of a wide serve, then they give you a good angle of return.

So when that happens, return the serve with a short cross court shot that pulls them outside of the singles sideline (or perhaps even further). 

Wouldn't it be nice to start a baseline rally in this situation? 

Namely with your opponent starting the point from outside of the doubles line and you starting the point from the middle of the court.

So instead of thinking of how to hit a winner on a return of a slow serve, be less greedy and hit a good short cross court and pull opponent out of the court.

That just means that you are starting a baseline rally in a much better position than your opponent and you have much better chances of winning it.

If Slow Serve Is Down The T

Sometimes, your opponent's slow serve may land down the T, which is closer to the center of the court. 

In this case, you may not have a good angle for your return shot—placing the ball in the far corner may be difficult. 

Here's how you should approach that situation...

1. Hit In The Direction Of Your Follow-Through

So what does hitting in the direction of the follow-through mean?

The follow-through does across the body so for a right-hander the forehand follow-through gors to the left and the backhand follow-through goes to the right.

So if your opponent served down the T on deuce side and you're a right hander, you will hit your backhand down the line in the direction of the follow-through.

Now that will not pull opponent out of the court but it will pressure them in terms of not having a lot of time to react as I will be hitting a good fast ball.

That again doesn't mean you will hit a winner, it just gives you an advantage in the rally and better chances of dictating the rally and eventually winning the point.

2. Run around your backhand to hit a forehand: If you are expecting a serve down the T, you can pre-position yourself into a forehand position as the ball is served.

Go For It: You should be able to hit a heavy ball here with your forehand, and place the ball at the deep corners of your opponent's court. 

Cross Court Returns: At this point, your opponent should, again, be deep inside one end of the court. Simply return any shots to the other end of the court to claim your point.

When To Play Drop Shot Returns?

Another option to consider when returning slow tennis serves is to play a drop shot. This shot may be useful, especially when your opponent has adjusted to your deep returns.

After your aggressive returns, your opponent may start retreating deeper behind the baseline to buy time to reach the balls at the corners of their court. This, however, leaves the front court wide open for you to exploit. 

In this case, simply play a drop shot and place the ball closer to the net. This will not only be effective because the opponent is far behind the baseline but also because of the element of surprise.

Wrapping Up: Put Pressure On Your Opponent 

Slow tennis serves from your opponent can be an opportunity to immediately apply pressure and put them on the defensive.

Your goal is not to try and hit a winner as those are way too risky and you'll actually be losing in the long term.

Instead look for ways to applying pressure and making opponent run which puts you in a better position on the court. 

And that will then result in you winning more points that losing them in the long term.