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You serve wide into the glass. What does your partner do?
Wide serve pulls the returner out; the partner shades to the middle to close their easiest reply.
You serve wide, into the side glass, dragging the returner out of court. Where should your partner shift?
Wide serve pulls the returner out; the partner shades to the middle to close their easiest reply.
Why
A wide serve into the glass drags the returner outside the court, and from there their comfortable shots are the cross-court return to the server, or a ball through the middle. The down-the-line return from that position is difficult. So the server's partner shades a step toward the middle, closing the easy reply and leaving the hard one, while the server follows the serve in on the diagonal. It is a small shift that turns a good serve into a good point, and if the partner does not move, the returner's easiest ball splits the pair.
What this means at your level
Beginner
When your partner serves wide, take a step toward the middle. The returner is a long way from the line.
Intermediate
Watch the returner's feet. If they recover inside the court before hitting, they can go down the line: hold. If they are still wide, the middle is where the ball goes.
Advanced
The best returners answer the wide serve with a lob down the line, over the partner who has shaded middle. Be ready to bandeja from a step toward the glass.
Common questions
You serve wide, into the side glass, dragging the returner out of court. Where should your partner shift?
Toward the middle, to cover the returner's easiest reply. Wide serve pulls the returner out; the partner shades to the middle to close their easiest reply. A wide serve into the glass drags the returner outside the court, and from there their comfortable shots are the cross-court return to the server, or a ball through the middle. The down-the-line return from that position is difficult. So the server's partner shades a step toward the middle, closing the easy reply and leaving the hard one, while the server follows the serve in on the diagonal. It is a small shift that turns a good serve into a good point, and if the partner does not move, the returner's easiest ball splits the pair.
Why not toward the side glass, to cover the line?
The line from wide is the hard shot. Cover the middle and make them try it.
What should a beginner do here?
When your partner serves wide, take a step toward the middle. The returner is a long way from the line.
How does this change for an advanced player?
The best returners answer the wide serve with a lob down the line, over the partner who has shaded middle. Be ready to bandeja from a step toward the glass.
Puzzles like this one
They lobbed you deep. Smash it or play the bandeja?
Deep ball, high hands: bandeja. The shot exists to keep you at the net, not to win the point.
beginnerThe ball is at your feet at the net. What now?
A ball below the net cannot be attacked. Block it deep and wait for one above the tape.
intermediateYour partner got pulled wide. Where do you stand?
The pair moves like one body. When your partner is pulled wide, you take the middle.