High Return of Serve

At intermediate levels of play, the best return of serve is often low and fast with the hope that if it is fast enough, the opponents will not be able to return it well. As the level of play goes up, that strategy no longer works. The opponents can handle any return of serve you might try. In top-level play, the best return of serve can be a rather high return close to the opponents’ baseline. At all levels, it is important for the return to go deep – as close to the baseline as you can reliably manage. But in advanced play, there is a reason that a fairly high return is better. The reason is that it gives you time to get to the kitchen before they do, putting you in an advantageous position for what comes next. What usually comes next is a gentle drop into your kitchen, and you’ll already be there, nice and relaxed, and easily able to handle your opponents’ dropshot.