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Returning the service from your opponent may seem like a daunting task. However if you strategically position yourself and return the ball with sufficient difficulty, you can put the pressure on your opponent. Below are ten practical tips to dramatically improve your return of serve.
1. Take the ball early using a volley
If your opponent is serving, your natural tendency might be to step back, watch the trajectory of the ball, wait if it will hit the wall, and only then try to take the shot. However, if you step into the ball to take it early using a volley, you are moving your body towards the front wall and can put your weight behind your shot. This will enhance both the power as well as the accuracy of your shot.
By increasing your ability to place the ball where you want, you will make it harder for your opponent to return. Sure, it requires some faith to take it early when you are returning a hard serve and the ball moves fast, but it can definitely improve your return of serve. Check out scenarios 3 and 12
from my other article to see when exactly you can implement this.
Nevertheless, there are some scenarios where waiting for the ball to hit the side wall is the most optimal way to return a serve. This includes a hard forehand serve from the right side of the court by a right-handed player. This particular scenario for example is described as scenario 1.
This will enhance both the power as well as the accuracy of your shot.
2. Timing of your shot
As with most sports (and maybe even life), timing is important. This is no different in squash, especially due to the fast-paced nature of the game. If you take the shot too early or too late you are not able to hit the direction you want. Even if you can hit towards your aim, then your shot is lacking the power you would like.
Generally, beginners tend to take the ball too early and too high, since they might be afraid of not being able to hit it in time before it reaches the floor. As a consequence of hitting it too early, you hold your racket up high and would have a hard time hitting it in a straight horizontal line towards the front wall. Unless you are correcting the way you hit using your wrist, the ball is likely to come high onto the front wall.
When on the other hand, you take the shot too late, the ball may have already reached the floor. If that is not yet the case, you can’t hit it without sufficient power or bump your racket against the floor. Again, timing is of utmost importance!
3. Timing of your positioning
Did I early mention timing is important? Besides timing your shot, you need to be at the right place at the right time. If you are too early at the place where you will hit the ball, you may need to correct your positioning. This would mean either altering your upper body or stepping back in order to make the shot. As a result, you can’t put your weight behind the shot properly and are unable to hit the ball with power or direction towards the front wall. Of course, if you are too late to position yourself, you are also unable to hit the ball with sufficient power and direction.
Nevertheless, I find that being too early is a greater problem amongst many players than being too late. Generally, you need to force yourself to wait and only step into the ball at the moment you are going to hit the ball. If you give yourself the space to step into the ball and hit it, you can put the proper power and direction to the ball. Therefore, it is better to jog back and step forward into the ball while hitting.
If the ball comes only slightly off the side wall, you also need to consider the limited space between yourself and the side wall. If you position yourself too close to the side wall you may not be able to return the ball with a proper swing. Again, stepping into the ball at the moment of hitting is essential.
4. Be unpredictable in your type of return
Personally, I am in favor of returning the ball towards your nearest front wall corner, since you pressure your opponent to move cross-court. Squash is a physically intense game in itself, but if you can find ways to exhaust your opponent, you are at an advantage. However, if you always play the ball towards your nearest corner, your opponent can anticipate the return and you might be the one who is at a disadvantage. Try to mix up your type of return and take the predictability out of the equation. As a result, your opponent is forced to be reactive and wait to see what kind of return you are playing. Go ahead, mix it up and take control of the rally.
Try to mix up your type of return and take the predictability out of the equation.
5. Stand 1 racket size away from the corner of the service box
The rally has begun before your opponent has even served. Therefore, if you are not thinking about where you need to position yourself, you are already in the reactive mode of thinking. If your initial positioning is one racket size away from the corner of the service box, you can pivot easily dependent on the type of serve. This point is the central point of your half of the court where the ball needs to hit for a service to be eligible. Of course, as a player that returns the serve, you don’t need to wait until the ball has hit the ground.
The initial positioning to return a serve is represented as a green circle with R and L to distinguish between respectively a left court serve and a right court serve.
Note this is a rule of thumb rather than set in stone. Some people prefer to be closer towards the T line while others prefer to be more in the center of their half of the court. Nevertheless, I find this rule of thumb very practical and easy to implement. Hope you can benefit from it too!
6. Move back to the T after hitting the return
Obviously, the rally does not stop after you have returned the serve. Now that you have withstood the pressure from your opponent, it is time to revert it back to him or her. You want to put pressure on your opponent and get (back) the dominant position on the court. Therefore after returning the serve, move towards the T in order to strategically position yourself.
This general rule applies regardless of whether you are returning a forehand or a backhand serve, that is played hard or as a lob from either the left or right side of the court. After returning the serve, move back to the T line, as illustrated in the movement pattern above. For a full overview of all the movement patterns for each scenario, check out Squash Tactics: Where to aim to effectively return a serve. Since the T line marks the center of the court, it allows you to quickly maneuver to any corner. Playing the ball in such a manner will allow you to move back to the T line. This is not without any reason considered one of the best tactics in squash.
This general rule applies regardless of whether you are returning a forehand or a backhand serve, that is played hard or as a lob from either the left or right side of the court.
7. Watch your opponent and anticipate their type of serve
While in many situations during the rally it is better to watch (the trajectory of) the ball, when returning a serve the advice is different. In this case, it is worthwhile to watch your opponent. In order to set yourself up for success, your feet placement on the court is important.
First of all, facing the front wall with your feet towards the wall will enable you to pivot easily. This also helps to time your positioning (see tip 3). It also allows you to switch between your forehand and backhand and therefore adjust quickly to the opponent’s serve.
Secondly, if you face the front wall with your feet towards the wall, you can see your opponent. This may not seem so valuable since the ball will be returning via the wall. However, if you can see your opponent, you can see what kind of service he or she will be hitting. The sooner you can anticipate the type of serve your opponent will be hitting, the better you can prepare yourself. To anticipate the type of service, look at the trajectory of the ball based upon the point where your opponent will be hitting the ball.
What to look for while watching your opponent:
- Look at their stance, are they likely to serve from their right or left side of their body?
- Is your opponent right-handed or left-handed?
- If you play more often against your opponent, you might know if they have any service preferences. Do they play a hard or lob serve?
- Do they strongly prefer or avoid a backhand or forehand serve?
If you want to learn more about anticipating your opponent’s type of serve and where to position yourself, definitely check out this article: Squash Tactics: Where to stand to return a serve.
8. Your racket should follow where you want the ball to go
Many players that want to return a serve with power tend to swing the racket too far. As a result, the ball will not go straight towards your aim but will go towards where they end the swing. In this case, the ball will go cross-court rather than straight.
If you swing the racket too far, you change the angle of your racket blade. As a consequence, you are cutting the ball with your strings, meaning the direction of the ball will be more out towards the side. To prevent this from happening, the follow-through of the racket should go towards where you would want the ball to go. If you are unsure where to aim based on the type of serve, check out this article for a detailed description of each scenario.
9. Return a lob serve: racket high and racket blade open
Make sure you are holding the racket high and the racket blade facing towards the front wall when returning a lob. This especially applies when you return with your backhand. Let’s look at the most important part, how to exactly make this happen.
When you are returning a lob with your backhand you start with your racket in a neutral position in front of you. The moment you notice that you need to get ready to return a lob with your backhand, move your racket over and behind your backhand shoulder. From there you need to time the moment you hit the ball which is dependent on where you want to hit it. The crucial part is how you swing your racket towards the side wall, while keeping your blade of the racket towards the front wall. Then only after hitting the ball, swing through towards the front wall with your blade towards the ceiling.
Many players make the mistake of swinging the racket from behind their shoulder forward towards the front wall. This involves a lot of movement coming from the wrist. As a result, you can’t hit the ball with sufficient power.
10. Soften your grip when hitting close to the side wall
One of the harder types of serves to return for many beginners is those serves that stay close to the side wall. This is a backhand lob serve for a right-handed player from the right side of the court. Else, it is a forehand lob serve from the left side of the court by a right-handed player. These types are covered in more detail as scenarios 6, 9, and 10.
Generally, you would want to hit a return of serve that stays near the side wall. If you hold the racket with a firm grip and try to hit the ball, you would bump the racket against the side wall. Since the wall is not forgiving, you are unable to smoothly complete the swing with sufficient power.
Softening your grip allows the racket to make it through the movement despite resistance from the side wall. You can complete the swing and properly aim the ball by pointing the racket towards the front wall.