Monday, 06 May 2024 / Published in Rafael Nadal, Return Of Serve, Rome

Nadal Return Example. A Devastating Three Shot Combo

G’day From Roma,

It was such a pleasure to watch Rafael Nadal practice here yesterday. The sport has really missed him, and we are all looking forward to seeing what he can do in Rome, at Roland Garros, and at the Olympics (also at Roland Garros) this year.

Here’s the LINK to my analysis of his practice yesterday.

I was going through some photos and videos from practice, and one point really stood out to me – something that I want to share with you. It’s all about a return of serve sequence that, on the surface, seems pretty paradoxical. Let’s get to it.

1: RETURN DEEP TO THE FOREHAND

We have always been trained to return to the backhand. Always to the backhand. That was probably the right thing to do 20-30 years ago when backhands generally bled more errors than in today’s game.

Go and watch the modern backhand. It’s short. It’s compact. It’s an incredibly strong “shield” that puts many more balls back in play than its predecessor. The modern backhand has very few moving parts. The modern forehand, on the other hand, has gotten bigger in the backswing because of the desire to hit the ball harder and harder.

When’s the best time to attack the size of the backswing? With the return of serve.

Look at the pic below. Rafa is under attack from the return of serve deep to his forehand. Generally, the forehand does not defend nearly as well as the backhand. Why? Two main reasons. First is the natural size of the backswings. The forehand does not naturally block well. The backhand is made to do that. And secondly, the forehand has an ego and wants to hit its way out of trouble. Not so the backhand.

Rafael Nadal – Defensive Serve +1 Forehand

This return from Thiago Seyboth Wild is absolutely perfect.

It has pushed Rafa onto his back foot and the Brazilian can almost be assured of being on offense with his Return +1 shot. Like nearly every player on the planet, Rafa will defend this shot better off the backhand wing than with a forehand. It’s tough to play offense from a ball that deep as you attempt to get organized as quickly as possible after a serve.

IMPROVE YOUR RETURN STRATEGY

Webinar 4: Return Strategy & Patterns

Webinar 17: Return +1 Strategy

Webinar 23: Point Score Strategy

Webinar 43: Depth Before Direction

2: ATTACK THE BACKHAND

Rafa’s defensive Serve +1 forehand was hit about as well as could be expected but there was nothing about it that put Thiago under pressure. In fact, Thiago now had a routine forehand in the middle of the court to unload on.

Thiago went big cross court to Rafa’s backhand.

Rafael Nadal – Defensive Backhand

The key here to understand is that Thiago’s cross court forehand to Rafa’s backhand has two objectives.

Force a backhand error.
Open up a hole wide to the forehand side to attack on the next shot.

This is the best of both worlds for Thiago. He is going to get another forehand from this shot and cleverly opened a massive hole to Rafa’s forehand side that he won’t be able to run down and protect.

FINISH TO THE FOREHAND

Rafa is toast.

His defensive backhand was okay, but it has left him exposed behind him to his backhand and out wide to the forehand.

Rafael Nadal – Winner Hit To His Forehand Wing

Rafa can only watch as the Thiago’s forehand freezes him. He does not know which way to go, and Thiago clubs it for a winner to the open Ad court. Rafa lost control of the point in the previous two shots, and this is where it ended.

SUMMARY

Thiago gained control of the point with his deep return to Rafa’s forehand. The server is particularly susceptible to this return as they try to quickly get their hands and feet organized after the serve. They are vulnerable because the serve pulls them into the court, and the deep return takes advantage of that.

It’s super important to note that this strategy works at EVERY level of our sport. It absolutely works for your game, too. It is a very wise use of your time on the practice court to work on your return of serve and your deep return to the forehand wing in particular. Rush the size of the forehand backswing. Extract errors immediately and also dine on short balls that do come back into play.

Here’s your three-shot combo strategy.

Return deep to the server’s forehand to rush the backswing.
Attack wide to the backhand. It’s almost impossible you will get hurt on the next shot.
Finish to the wide open forehand side. You have opened a hole on the previous shot. Now it’s time to finish.

Cheers from Roma,

Craig

The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.

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Nadal Return Example. A Devastating Three Shot Combo

1: RETURN DEEP TO THE FOREHAND