'AND THE WINNER IS' ( SERVE AND RETURN )

"Hit a kick serve, high percentage, limits the pressure of hitting a second serve. Don't hit a serve you don't own.
Don't tee off on the return, that's dumb arse tennis, make the return, take the point back to the start. 
Play tennis like you live life.
Realistically."
GT
SERVE AND RETURN ( Written March 11, 2018 )
Two shots that are never practiced as much as the ground strokes, the serve and return, yet that's where most matches are won and lost, so why is it not being taught and practiced more ?
Lack of answers, FACT.
Most tennis coaches on the planet goes for the easy fix, the groundies, what's hard about teaching that ? 
Most tennis coaches in this Country and every other country teach a player how to hit a forehand and a backhand but when it comes to teaching a player how to return a serve or even serve for that matter, well we tend to go back to the basics, the forehand and backhand.
When I say 'we', well I am included.
I have coached tennis for around 30 years and played for 37 years yet the two shots I have always had trouble with both playing and teaching are the two shots that can both start a point, AND START A POINT.
Let's look at it.
A serve starts a point, so does a return. 
If a player can serve well, limit their double faults and weak deliveries then on top of that can also return consistently it leaves the part in the middle, you know, THAT PART. 
It's the part every tennis coach on the planet teaches more than anything else, the ground stroke drill.
Ho Hum.
I watched a student play their first tennis tournament today, proud as punch, runner up, doubles comp, top partner, that always helps, but I did what most tennis coaches do, I analysed it, every point, every game, added it up, crunched the data, came up with some answers.
The serve and return are not practiced anywhere near enough as much as any other shot and today I looked upon the whole day as a learning experience because after 30 years of coaching I do not have my head stuck up my arse like some, I am prepared to learn.
This time last year I won that event with a partner 24 years my junior, we got a bit lucky, yet we won it though I remember how we won it, tactically, as technically we were no better than any other team we played.
It wasn't pretty, we lobbed,( even off the return ) limited the first serve misses, made the returns, no matter how lame BUT WE MADE THE RETURNS, we made the server think about the NEXT shot because we refused to let them get too many ego boosts from the delivery. 
If you let a server get too many free points then the rest of their game raises to another level. A big server can even win from the ground if their delivery is not returned regularly.
But we all know that don't we ?
So how do we serve and how do we return ?

We do it with a minimum of fuss.
No one says you have to stand on the baseline to return a serve and no one says that you have to serve a bomb as a first serve yet if you do both consistently then surely it takes the point back to a 50/50 and that's what tennis is all about, getting to a 50/50.
I can't help still using Nadal and Borg as the best examples of both the serve and return.
Nothing big on the serve and a consistent return from well behind the baseline which gives the returner TIME. With 27 Grand Slams between them I believe the tactic has merit.

Serve and return, that's what would have helped me as a junior, as a young adult, as an 'older' tennis player in local events.
When I was 22, a year after I returned from Europe I was not good enough to play WA State Grade, the pinnacle  of WA Tennis, I only ever made it to Division 1, a grade down. My first match I still remember the score, I lost 6-4, 3-6 7-6 and I had two match points. 
Here's the thing, I broke serve SIX TIMES, fact, I should of won in straight, instead I lost. 
I always practiced the groundies, never the serve, it cost me a few sleepless nights and many matches, that's tennis, we all lack something at any level.
Tennis coaching is a tough gig but I honestly believe that as a coach we need to look at the start of a point because tennis now days is all to do with that word 'ho hum'. 
You know the drill. 
Serve, step in, hit the forehand, set up the point, the 'one, two punch' as they say.
Yet we don't teach it enough, we develop the groundies, spend a third as much time on the serve, forget the volley, and the return ?? 
Isn't that something that you get from winning a tennis match ???

Hit a kick serve, high percentage, limits the pressure of hitting a second serve. Don't hit a serve you don't own.
Don't tee off on the return, that's dumb arse tennis, make the return, take the point back to the start. 
Play tennis like you live life.
Realistically........