no serve is trying to win the point. it is trying to set up the next one

What each serve is trying to do to you

Flat, slice and kick — what each serve is actually for, and what it does to the returner.

Every serve takes one of three things away from you. Once you know which, you already know most of the answer.

1 · The flat serve takes your TIME. Fast, low, hardly any spin, usually down the middle. It does not move you anywhere. It just arrives before you are ready.

What they want next: an ace, or a return that floats back short. Then they step in and hit the next ball into a corner.

2 · The wide serve takes your SPACE. A slice serve curves away from you and stays low. It drags you outside your own sideline.

What they want next: the space they just made. You are standing off the court, so the whole other side is empty.

3 · The kick serve also takes your SPACE, and it takes your height too. It jumps up after the bounce instead of skidding through.

In the ad court it climbs into your backhand and pushes you sideways. You end up hitting a backhand from up around your shoulder, off the court.

What they want next: exactly what that produces. A short, floaty ball back up the middle, with you stranded outside the alley. Then they redirect into the empty deuce court.

And the two that are different

4 · The body serve takes your ROOM. It is aimed straight at you. It is often not even fast.

You have plenty of time on this one. What you do not have is anywhere to put your swing, and your elbow ends up jammed against your ribs.

What they want next: a framed ball, or a block that sits up short. It is the cheapest way to get a weak return without hitting a big serve.

5 · The second serve is the one that takes nothing. Slower, more spin, lands shorter. This is the one ball in the point where you are the favourite.

What they want next: to survive it. Most servers just want a normal rally to start. Plenty of them are relieved you did not do anything with it.

Notice what all five have in common. Every one of them is hunting the same next ball — something short, up the middle, with you out of position.

That is why the answers in this book keep rhyming. You are not learning eighty different returns. You are learning to refuse the same ball eighty times.

This is one page of the reference section.

The rest of Crosscourt IQ is 538 situations — a court diagram, the score, and one question: what would you do here, and why? Your player answers first, then the reasoning opens.

Ten cards are free, with the full answer key on every one.

Read ten cards free

More free guides

What a tennis return is actually forThree jobs on every return, in order. Most juniors have never been told what they are.What a rally is actually forThe five balls in a rally and what each one is doing. Not every ball is trying to win the point.How to hit a defensive ball in tennisHigh, deep and down the middle — why the answer keeps being the same when you are in trouble.Where to recover to after you hitHit, stop, recover. Where to move back to, and why it is not always the middle.How to hit a tennis ball under pressureWhat changes about the stroke itself when you are stretched, late or moving backwards.The split step, and when to do itEvery return starts before the serve does. When to move, when to land, and why timing beats speed.You are playing a person, not a ballThe other side of the net is a person who gets tired, frustrated and predictable. Read them.Which points actually decide a tennis matchNot every point is worth the same. Take your risks on the spare ones, not the critical ones.