Skill-Building Drill

Attacking Return
With the advent of the power game has come the "first-strike" point -- a point won with either a serve, return or first volley.

With the opening of the stance on the forehand side and the evolution of the left-hand dominant (for right-handed players), two-handed backhand, the return of serve is now a weapon, rather than simply a defensive response to the serve.

In addition to mechanics, more aggressive positioning has led to the return becoming a potent weapon. Attacking players no longer stand behind the baseline and wait for the serve to come to them. Today's returners stay on the balls of their feet, moving forward and leaving their feet with a split step as the server makes contact. The returner can then move in either direction with forward momentum, taking the ball in front of the service line and continuing forward.

Follow the simple progression below to teach your players the new positioning used by today's aggressive returners, make the attendant modification in backswing that goes with this new return, and your players will win more points by taking the offensive much earlier in return games.