You’ve settled in for match day, feeling the ball well in the warm-up. Forehands and backhands—solid. Volleys, no problem. But then your opponent steps up. Suddenly, their serve explodes off the strings, rocketing toward you like a heat-seeker. For a heartbeat, your only thought is: how are you supposed to handle this?
It’s easy to get rattled when the ball comes in at warp speed. Don’t let that shake you. There are ways to level the playing field—even against the biggest servers. These five practical tactics just might turn those intimidating serves into neutral rallies, or even give you the edge.
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1. Survival First: Just Make the Return
Let’s make something clear—the return doesn’t have to be pretty. Your highest priority is always this: get the serve back in play.
It doesn’t matter how you do it. Shank it. Block it. Float it high. As long as the ball finds the court, you’ve succeeded. This simple act, forcing your opponent to hit one more shot, is the cornerstone of pressure. Even the league’s best servers can get edgy if they see everything coming back.
Give yourself a wide margin for error. Remember, returning a bomb of a serve is a defensive act. You’re not obliged to turn defense straight into attack. Don’t go for outright winners—your job is to reset the rally, push play to neutral. Watch Djokovic, Murray, or Medvedev return. More often than not, their reply is deep and straight down the middle. It’s safe, it’s smart, and it keeps the server from crafting angles. Embrace that mindset—aim central, stay solid. The rest will follow.
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2. Master the Block Return
Against pure pace, refinement often trumps power. Enter the block return.
Picture this: your grip is continental, your take-back is compact, and your follow-through is minimal. It’s more volley than groundstroke, really. Roger Federer, for instance, turned this move into an art form.
Why block? For one, you’re not giving back any more pace than you have to. Absorb the ball, let it travel deep, and you gain valuable time to recover your court position. Block returns tend to stay lower too—a valuable asset in doubles, when net players love to pounce on anything that pops up.
It’s also timing-friendly. With less moving parts, you’re more likely to find the sweet spot, even against serves that would otherwise leave you tangled in your own feet.
If the ball is coming like a missile, steal a page from Federer—be compact, be steady, and let the server do the heavy lifting.
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3. Shorten Your Swing
On certain surfaces—think indoor hard courts, or slow bounce clay—block returns can actually hang you out to dry. Sometimes, you need something more assertive: an abbreviated take-back.
You don’t need a full wind-up. The serve has already supplied all the pace you could want. Just a quick, precise motion is enough to redirect the ball right back. With less backswing, you’re more likely to catch it clean in the middle of the racquet, which is half the battle at these speeds.
Crucially, don’t stifle your follow-through. You want the swing to stay fluid and controlled. Spin and direction become possible, but you’re not overswinging and losing control. On bouncy days or against someone loving the slower ball, keep your preparation tight—make it all about timing and direction.
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4. Move Forward Into the Shot
Good returning isn’t just about hands. It’s about feet and body. Stay rooted, and you’ll fight the ball. But step in, and suddenly you’re harnessing its energy.
Watch Andy Murray. He often starts a step or two behind the baseline, then glides forward, meeting the serve with momentum moving into the court. This not only helps soak up the pace, but lets you attack the return before the serve springs up above your shoulders.
Stepping in also cuts off wide angles. It shortens your reactions and brings energy into your shot. Pros like Jenson Brooksby excel here—by moving toward the serve, they rob it of its venom and force their opponents to play extra balls sooner than wanted.
Forward movement is fundamental—meet the ball, don’t let it play you.
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5. Focus: Eyes Wide Open
Return the serve? First, see it. Sounds simple, but at pro speeds, you have less than a heartbeat. Watch Djokovic’s eyes as he readies to return—wide, locked in, almost unblinking.
You can’t afford to lose sight. Track the toss, the swing, the ball—fully tuned in. Try exaggerating your own focus: eyes open, mind cleared, every fiber attentive to the approaching serve. When you do this, your odds of making clean contact rise, even if you’re still getting used to the tempo.
If you’re going to miss, let it be because of the quality of the shot—not because of a lapse in focus. With practice, this habit alone could mean the difference between getting aced and getting the ball back in play.
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To Sum Up:
- Job one: make your opponent hit another ball.
- The block return should be in your arsenal.
- Shorten your swing but allow a complete follow-through.
- Move into the court, don’t stay planted.
- Never lose focus; unleash your full attention on the ball.
Return practice isn’t glamorous, but it’s the backbone of resilience against power players. Next time you’re facing pure pace, use these tools. Make them play. Collect those small victories. That’s how matches turn.
Jack Edward is a tennis analyst, On The Line podcast host, and qualified LTA coach. He brings years of insight (and a passion for helping fellow players) to the tactical side of the game. For more advice or to join the discussion, follow him @ontheline_jack.
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Related reading:
- Five Doubles Tactics for Club Players
- Four Singles Strategies for Smart Play
- How to Dominate the Net in Doubles
- Playing Intelligent Tennis in Tough Weather
- Beating the Lob in Doubles: Five Concrete Solutions
