Chapter 4 - Serve and Return
The purpose of serving and receiving is to prepare for the next shot, and to avoid giving the opponent a good opportunity to attack or approach the net.
In advanced-level games, it is generally difficult to score directly by serving or receiving, unless there is a large skill gap between the players.
Singles game players have to cover the entire court, hence will require more skills in serving and returning.
Serve the Ball
When serving the ball, the player should stand behind the baseline, and the ball should be served to the diagonal half court, a.k.a, from the NVZ line (Not included) to the baseline. Once the score has been called, the player must serve the ball within 10 seconds.
There are two kinds of servings: Volley serve and Drop serve. The volley serve is to throw the ball up and hit the ball to serve directly, and it is required to swing in an upward arc motion with a low hand (the contacting point of the paddle cannot be higher than the waist, and the paddle top cannot be above the wrist). The drop serve is to let the ball drop freely and hit the ball after it bounces from the ground. There is no restriction on the hitting position or swing direction with drop serve.
Usually serve the ball as far as possible to let it land near the baseline (but not out), in order to hamper the opponent's return and slow down the moving to net.
When serving, you can probe the opponent's return skills by serving to various targets (e.g., the opponent's forehand position, backhand position or middle position) with different height and speed. Generally, fast, low and backhand-targeted ball is more threatening than slow, high and forehand-targeted ball.
If the opponent's position is not neutral, or the player cannot run quickly, you can mobilize the opponent proactively by using different serving methods.
In single games' serving, the player can take advantage of various spins and placement to mobilize the opponent. For example, you can combine the left-spin long serve to the backhand and the right-spin short serve to the forehand; Or using top-spin serve or non-spin to the middle path.
In double games, usually serve long balls to the middle between opponents to force them to return the ball not well and not be able to follow the ball to go to the net in time.
Master the Serve
The power of serving comes from legs. By kicking the ground and turning the waist, the power is transferred from the legs to the torso, and then the torso drives the arms to swing, transferring the power to the paddle through the fingers, and finally the paddle releases your body power to the ball through the holding hand by whipping.
Before hitting the pickleball, the body should be in a relax. At the moment of hitting the ball, use fingers to grip the paddle tightly, and release the power to the ball stably and concentratedly.
Because the surface of pickleball is smooth, the serve should generally use more hit with less spin. Players should at least master no-spin serve and topspin serve.
The first thing to serve is to keep consistency and avoid mistakes. The second is to control the placement, and then to cooperate with power and spins.
Return the Ball
When preparing to return the ball, keep enough space for hitting the ball. It is advisable to stay at a step back from the bottom line. The body and the racquet should face the direction of the coming ball.
When returning the serve, players should follow the flying ball to go to the net (stay near the NVZ line before the ball's landing), which forces the opponent to stay in the backcourt. Therefore, the returning ball should also land as close as possible to the baseline.
In single games, you can return the ball to the area far from the opponent's feet more often, in order to let the opponent move more in distance.
In double games, the ball can be returned to the space between the two opponent players (may be slightly near to the receiver's backhand), to increase the difficulty to return the ball. If the skill level of the opponent's two players is quite different, you can choose to return the ball to the weaker player.
Master the Return
The key to returning the ball is to try to make it difficult for the opponent to hit the third shot, and at the same time to provide enough time to run to the net. Therefore, pay attention to returning the ball to the base line as much as possible, but not out of bounds.
The return can use a hitting action, or a slicing action. When you want to have more time to run to the net, you can return the ball high and let it fall to the opponent's backcourt.
Training Methods
The serve and return skill can be trained with multiple balls practice. Try to continuously return the ball to the designated area. Practice no less than 10 groups with 50 balls per group every day.
After you are proficient, you can practice serving different spins with the same movement, and returning the ball of different spins.
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