Break Serve to Win Close Doubles Matches

If you were to review last season’s matches and look at individual set scores, you might be surprised to see how many sets you lost 3-6, 4-6, 5-7 or 6-7. Add up the number of sets those sets were lost by only one break, and you may be surprised to see how many close matches you really had. A 6-3 set could have been one or two breaks, so divide those in half and take half as one-break sets.

If you lost a dual match to another team 5-2, you might see that most of the sets your players lost, even in straight-set losses, were lost by only one break. What would have happened if your players had won one or two more key points per set during receiving games, resulting in just one more game? They would have had a chance to break for the set, and possibly a match win.

If you haven’t analyzed last year’s matches like this, you may really have your eyes opened. Often, sets can come down to a handful of points won or lost.

One way to increase your chances of winning more sets, individual matches and dual matches is to improve your players’ ability to break serve. One of the keys to breaking serve is to win second serve points.

When an opponent is serving a first serve, the receiver is on the defensive, both mentally and physically, usually playing farther back in the court, and often dug in, on his or her heels. As soon as the server misses the first serve, the receiver relaxes and the pressure shifts to the server. Now, the receiver is ready to attack a weaker second serve, and the server is aware of this. Or so it should go.

One of the problems you will see when you watch your players play matches is that recreational players rarely take advantage of weak second serves. Many players keep the same position in the court while waiting to receive a second serve that they do for the first serve, waiting for the ball to come to them while they stand behind the baseline — then acting surprised by a short serve and running forward to hit a defensive shot.

Many second serves never even go back into play because the receiver is either out of position (behind the baseline), or is so overconfident, he tries to hit a winner off the return. In order for your players to break serve more often, they will have to take advantage of second serve opportunities.

First, review with your players the five tactical priorities when hitting any shot in tennis. It’s critical that your players put the ball back in play. As odd as that sounds, until you alert them to the fact that many second serves do not even go back into play, they will continue to pound their balls into the net, long or wide.

Second, it’s important to be able to hit crosscourt. Lobbing off the second serve is effective, but will need to be complemented by deep and short crosscourt shots. Controlling the depth of second-serve returns will be your key to winning.

We’ve reviewed the return for singles players in other articles in our database. Let’s now focus on how to break serve in doubles.

Deep Returns
Most recreational players don’t serve and volley on their second serves, instead staying back at the baseline after they serve. This gives the receiving team the opportunity to take the net with a deep return, especially on a short serve. A deep return also forces a defensive shot by the server, who may hit a short ball the receiver can attack, or hit a weak ball the net player can poach.

Be aware that deep balls often force opponents to lob, so your players must be ready for this. This means the receiver should stop just as the server hits the receiver’s ball, so the receiver can react to any shot.

Short Returns
When a server serves and stays back, a short crosscourt return is the most difficult shot for her to get. Many high school-level players will be so flat-footed after a serve that they won’t be able to even make it to the ball. Players with semi-Western or Western grips will have difficulty hitting the ball on the deuce side, and players with two-handed backhands will struggle to hit short, low balls on the ad side.

Even when the server is able to get to the short ball, she will usually have to hit the ball far out in front of her and pop up a weak ball the net player can attack. Additionally, once your players have demonstrated that they can hit a short, crosscourt return, both the server and her partner will begin to cheat with their positioning to cover this shot and will completely open up the court for the down-the-line lob from the receiver.

This drill Return of Serve Practice for Doubles discusses more tactical options and provide technical suggestions for returning second serves.

Make sure to discuss return strategies with your players and show them why points are won or lost on second serves. Have your players play short sets using only second serves and no lobs and they will begin to see how the return of serve ultimately sets up the win or loss of the point.

Remember, the proof is in the numbers. Look at last year’s dual match scores. Count up the number of sets lost by one break, and you’ll see how your season may have been completely different if your players had more aggressive returns.