How To Return The Body Serve

Serving into the body is a smart strategy that’s often overlooked by most tennis players. However, it is commonly used by the pro players to dominate their opponent’s from the start of the point. Now, you may be wondering how to deal with it effectively and efficiently on your tennis return of serve . Fast serves that are headed directly to your body can be very tricky to deal with. I know that a lot of players can often struggle with getting jammed against big servers. But, when you know exactly what to focus on, handling serves to the body can become much easier. Luckily for you, I’ve got a few simple, yet powerful tips to share to help you neutralize a big serve. Therefore you can take care of those tricky serves into the body, and completely transform your tennis return of serve. Let’s get started.

Return Positioning

The first and easiest fix for dealing with body serves is to adjust your positioning on the return of serve. To move back on the return, start by taking one step back from the baseline, where most players stand before returning. Hence, you can give yourself more time to react to the serve, especially during the big points in a match. This will allow you to rally for longer, and wear your opponent down during these crucial points.

Another option is to move way back behind the baseline to return. If you do this, it’s practically impossible to get jammed with a body serve. Being further back will allow you to take a full cut at the ball and you won’t feel as rushed. One great example from the pro tour is Daniil Medvedev’s return of serve. He occasionally stands 4 to 6 feet behind the baseline to let the ball drop and make contact in his stroke zone. Nevertheless, remember to aim higher over the net when you are returning serve from further back.

Return of Serve Footwork

Another key, if you want to learn how to return the body serve, is to focus on your footwork. Use the carioca footwork pattern, which is ideal for dealing with fast serves into your body. It will force you to move to the side as you step away from the ball, while maintaining a smooth rhythm. One key for the carioca footwork pattern is to keep your hips facing the net as you handle the body serve.

Avoid turning sideways because you’ll block your hips, and prevent you from moving efficiently to create space from the ball. Focus on having a quick, short shoulder turn, and continue to move after you hit the ball. If you stop your momentum while hitting the ball, you’ll get jammed and probably miss the return of serve.

Finish On The Return

Last, but not least, you need to have a solid finish when returning balls that come into your body. One of the big keys is to hold your finish after you hit the ball. If you bring your racquet down too soon, you might feel rushed and not hit the ball as clean off your racquet. Ideally, finishing high will give you extension and depth on this return of serve. Finally, avoid gripping the racquet too tight at the end of the swing.

If you implement these three powerful tips on how to return the body serve, you’ll certainly improve it faster. In fact, this tricky shot will no longer trouble during practice or match play.

By Jeff Salzenstein, Founder Tennis Evolution

Jeff is a former top 100 ATP player and USTA high performance coach committed to helping players and coaches all over the world improve.

P.S. – Ready to take your return of serve and tennis game to the next level? Click here to get a free membership (no credit card required) which includes 21 lessons covering all aspects of your tennis ($567 value). Learn the exact step-by-step system that has transformed the games of thousands of players worldwide.