Attacking With Your Return Of The 2nd Serve

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The return of the 2nd serve is an opportunity to attack which creates a sharp contrast between this shot and the return of the 1st serve. In this blog, I will illustrate the differences between the two shots and share tips and tactics to help you to develop your return of the 2nd serve into a strong point of your game as I did in my career.

Positioning:

One of the key differences between returning a 1st serve and returning a 2nd serve is positioning at the baseline. Typically, since the 2nd serve is slower with more spin compared to the 1st serve, players can adjust their stance to be inside the court or tighter on the baseline compared to where they may stand on the 1st serve return. The tighter position (note: in tennis, the word “tighter” is used to describe a position that is closer to or inside the baseline as shown in the images below) enables me to take the incoming ball early and attack it with good racquet acceleration, timing and placement. A well executed return from inside the court puts me on offense (or in control of the point) in the following ways:

• It rushes the opponent into the next shot which can cause them to miss or be put into a defensive position.
• It gives me the option to move quickly towards the net to put away the next shot and win the point.
• It enables me to make contact with the ball before it gets too high up above my strike zone (which can happen on spin or kick serves if you allow the ball to rise up on you without cutting it off).

2nd serve return position inside the court relative to the 1st serve return position shown by the blue dotted line

Swing Length & Acceleration:

Another difference between the 2nd serve return and the 1st serve return is the length and acceleration of the swing. On the 1st serve return, I had explained that one of the keys is to have a compact swing (check out this earlier blog post) since the incoming ball is usually coming in fast and needs to be redirected with good timing within a split second of reaction time. However, since a typical 2nd serve is slower than a typical 1st serve, to play an attacking return, the returner not only has more time to take a bigger swing, but also is required to generate or create more power compared to what is needed on the 1st serve return. The images below break down the components of my swing and showcase how I take a bigger backswing and accelerate the racquet through the strike zone with good extension to generate pace on the shot.

Left image: Racquet backswing; Right image: Racquet being accelerated through the strike zone

Left image: Good extension at point of contact; Right image: Long follow-through.

In the animation below, the above swing components are shown more fluidly:

2nd serve return swing

Attacking Mindset:

The 3rd difference between a 2nd serve and 1st serve return is my mindset. When I get the chance to hit a 2nd serve return, I’m thinking “attack”, which on the 1st serve return is more of a “neutral” mindset where I’m looking to get the ball back into play and not be put on defense.

Since I approach the 2nd serve return with an attacking mindset, I’m ready to take advantage of weak 2nd serves (such as those that land short or are poorly directed coming right into my strike zone) and gain the upper hand in the point right away by putting the opponent on defense.

I recommend for developing players to practice these attacking 2nd serve returns and develop the skill to put opponents on defense early in a point (as shown in the pictures below of my 2nd serve backhand cross court return from the ad-court). Not only does this ability to attack of the return break down or unsettle the opponents’ serves (and ability to hold serve), it also creates many more opportunities to finish the point early with efficiency.

Shot preparation and aggressive strike on the ball to generate power

Cross court returns displaces the server off the court into a defensive position

Learning Takeaways:

As described above, the keys to developing an attacking 2nd serve return is to feel comfortable stepping inside the court to take the incoming ball early. It also requires the player to create a larger swing with acceleration through the contact point (when the speed of the incoming ball permits) to generate more power on the shot, putting the opponent on defense immediately. Finally, approaching the shot with an “attacking” mindset rather than a “neutral” mindset will facilitate a clear intention and level of aggression needed on the shot to gain an upper hand in the point.

All the best!

Harsh

The Tenicity — Enerzal Coaching Program is a partnership to support tennis player development with high quality instructional content. Tenicity is a tennis player development web and mobile platform founded by former India #1 singles and Davis Cup player, Harsh Mankad. Enerzal is a balanced energy drink which can be consumed before, during, and after tennis to maintain optimum energy levels.