​Hey Reader,​
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Here’s something (shared by coach Helle Sparre) that stops most players cold the first time they hear it:

In tennis terms, it’s a chip and charge. Your job is not to hit a great return. Your job is to get the ball over the net and get yourself to the kitchen line in one fluid motion.

That’s it. That’s the entire return of serve.

Most recreational players do the opposite. They wait for the ball to reach its peak. They wind up and drive it hard, trying to hit a deep, quality return. Then they try to sprint to the kitchen and realize they’re not even close to getting there before the third shot comes.

Here’s why that approach works against you: a hard drive return doesn’t buy you time. It buys them time. They get a fast ball, they block it back, and now you’re stuck somewhere in transition, not in position, scrambling. The speed you put on the return is the speed that beats you on the next shot.

Helle’s rule is simple: a soft, sliced return buys you time to advance. A hard drive return takes time away from you.

Take it on the rise. Slice it if you can, block it if you can’t. Don’t try to generate power. Just get it up over the net and use the time the ball is in the air to move your feet.

As Helle puts it: your main objective on the return of serve is to get to the line. Not to hit it deep. Not to hit it to a specific spot. Just get it over the net and get up there with your partner.

Even a short return is forgiving, as long as you’re at the kitchen line when the next shot comes. A perfect return that leaves you stranded in no man’s land is the wrong trade every time.

One more thing worth knowing: Helle teaches never to stand where you’d have to back up for a return. Position yourself far enough back that every ball is in front of you, you can move forward through contact, and not one ball pushes you backward. You return while advancing, not while retreating.

Try this in your next match. On every return, say one thing to yourself before the ball is served: get to the line. Not “hit a good shot.” Not “keep it deep.” Just get to the line. Let that be the only goal. You’ll be surprised how naturally the return cleans up when the objective is movement instead of placement.

The receiving team should be winning 60 to 70 percent of points. If yours isn’t, the return is often where that advantage gets given back before the point even starts.

(30-day money-back guarantee · 1-year access · Live Q&As with Helle & Trey)​
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Go play well,
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Trey

P.S. There's a reason Helle says "make the second shot to make your fourth shot." The return is your second shot. Its whole job is to set up your fourth. Once that clicks, your whole approach to the return changes. It's inside Dynamite Doubles →​

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