Player practice guide
Deuce Wide Serve + Return + 1
15 min Coach / feederAdvancedServe
Practise the deuce-court wide serve, wide-serve return and the receive-plus-one pattern.
Best for: players practising both sides of a deuce-court wide-serve pattern and the first ball that follows.
Goal
Place the wide serve, control the stretched return and recover for the next ball on both sides of the pattern.
Success today
Complete 6 of 10 patterns with the wide serve in target, return beyond the service line and plus-one in the open court.
Watch before court
Technique reference
Tennis Return of Serve: The Ultimate Guide · 24:28
Technique reference—not the full drill. Watch the return split-step, movement to wide serves, contact and recovery position.
Open video on YouTubeArrive ready
Before you go
- One coach or capable server-return feeder
- Basket of 30+ tennis balls
- 6 flat cones
- Approximately 15 minutes of court time
Court blueprint
Set up the court
Serve wide from the deuce court, recover for the stretched return and direct the plus-one into the open deep target. The returner aims safely beyond the service line.
- Ball direction
- Feeder ball
- Target zone
- 01Mark the deuce wide service target, a deep return target and an open-court plus-one target.
- 02Alternate server and returner roles every five patterns.
- 03The feeder may block the return when one player practises the full sequence.
Step by step
Your 15-minute practice
0–3 min
Set serve and return lanes
- Rehearse the wide serve and deep return separately.
- Use controlled pace.
3–7 min
Link serve to recovery
- Serve wide and move to the plus-one recovery cone.
- Split as the return is struck.
7–11 min
Add the returner’s recovery
- Return crosscourt beyond the service line.
- Recover towards the open court after contact.
10 patterns · 4 min
Score ten full patterns
- Count serve, return and plus-one targets together.
- Aim for six complete patterns.
Remember
Three player cues
- Serve wide, then recover.
- Return deep before changing direction.
- Plus-one goes to the open court.
Avoid these
Common mistakes
- Watching the wide serve instead of moving
- Pulling the stretched return down the line
- Over-hitting the plus-one
Keep the same purpose
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Use a hand-fed return after the serve and enlarge all three targets.
Make it harder
Play the point live after the plus-one and let the returner vary return direction.
Keep it safe
Use one active ball at a time, keep the basket behind the server and clear both baseline recovery routes between sets.
Continue later