How to Return a Fast Tennis Serve

Hitting a good return of serve is a crucial part of tennis. It neutralizes the server's advantage and can get you into a point. However, some players have extremely powerful and fast tennis serves that are difficult to return. Here are some tips to help you return a fast tennis serve.

Things You'll Need

  • Tennis Racquet
  • Tennis Balls
  • Tennis Court
  • Someone to play against
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Instructions

    • 1

      The first thing you must keep in mind about return a fast tennis serve is that unless you know you can hit it well, do not try to kill the ball with a strong forehand or backhand ground stroke. Since the tennis ball is coming at you at a fast speed, you generally do not have time to react to such a fast tennis serve.

    • 2

      So instead of take a full swing, you should try to develop a forehand or backhand slice. The slice has a much higher percentage of going in, especially against a fast tennis serve.

    • 3

      Make sure you stay low, eye-level with the ball, and try to hit your slice deep into the court (keeping the tennis ball in play, of course). This way, the server will be forced to hit another ground stroke (as opposed to an approach shot which will put you at a disadvantage) and you can extend the point.

    • 4

      If you are so inclined, you can try to mix it up by hitting a drop shot. This way the server is caught off guard.