You’re returning serve in doubles and the server comes in behind his first serve and hits a deep volley back to
you. Then what do you do?
Here is a drill to help you try to be as aggressive as possible.
Skill: To hit aggressive baseline groundstrokes in doubles
• The play is crosscourt only
• The Practice partner starts inside one service box
• The Practicer (you) starts at the diagonal baseline …
• And you start the rally by feeding your partner a volley
• The Partner volleys the ball back as deeply as he can
• You try to hit an aggressive groundstroke
• If you feel like you gained an advantage, you follow your groundstroke in to take the next ball as a volley
• If you do not get the advantage, take a couple of steps back to hit another groundstroke or a lob
• And then play the point out
• What you want to do is avoid getting caught trying to hit a groundstroke from No Man’s Land
• This drill teaches you to be aggressive and come in as soon as you can
What do you mean by an “aggressive baseline shot”? I picture a very hard shot, probably with topspin. But, maybe an important characteristic is to keep the ball low (trying to force the vollyer to hit up) ; other attributes of an effective return – in addition to keeping the return low – is to try for angle and to keep the return short.. All of these are characteristics of a “touch” shot – though we’re not trying for too much on a deep volley by the opponent.
Nick – I agree, “aggressive” can either mean: hard, low, or angled. We can practice it this summer! geo