Stance for returning serve

Feet position

When you are getting ready for the serve, you should stand with your left foot forwards and your right foot back.

To understand why this is best, you need to think about the movements required to reach a flick serve. A flick serve forces you to move backwards rapidly, and may also force you to hit the shuttle when it has passed behind your body.

Why not have the feet side-by-side?

If your feet are lined up side-by-side, then you cannot move backwards quickly enough: this foot position is good for moving sideways, not backwards or forwards. Although you will need to move sideways to cover a wide low serve, the distance is much smaller. With a flick serve, you have a long distance to move back and little time to get there.

In particular, this foot position makes it impossible to use backwards chassés, hitches, and jumps effectively (see elements of movement). These explosive movements are essential for responding to flick serves.

Why not have the right foot forwards?

Standing with the right foot forwards means that, if your opponent plays a flick serve, you will need to turn your body nearly 180 degrees while moving back at full speed. Adding this 180-degree spin causes your backwards movement to be much less balanced; and as a result, the movement will be slower. It just takes too long to move back and turn your body.

Instead, by starting with the left foot forwards, your body is already at the correct angle for returning a flick serve. This makes it much easier to move backwards quickly and on balance. You’ll get there earlier, and because you’re on balance you will play a more controlled shot.

Posture

Both legs should be bent at the knee, as this will help you push off quickly. Your left knee should be bent more than your right knee. This puts you in a half-crouched position, rather than standing upright. You should have a wide stance, with your feet more than shoulder-width apart.

If you allow either leg to be completely straight, then it will take longer to get moving.

You should angle your feet and body partially sideways-on to the server, instead of facing him square-on. This will help you push off backwards, especially towards the corner (where the wide flick serve will go).

Lean forwards onto your left foot

You should be leaning forwards somewhat, so that most of your weight is over your left foot. This distribution of weight helps you to push off backwards quickly.

Your left foot should be flat on the ground, whereas your right foot should be pointed: only the toes are touching the ground, and the rest of the foot is off the ground.

Why keep the left foot flat?

It’s common for coaches to say that you should stay on your toes, and that neither heel should be on the ground. But this doesn’t match what the best players actually do.

The best players put their non-racket foot flat on the ground. Why?

In my opinion, the main reason is that the forwards foot must provide stability in order to push off fast for a flick serve. If your left heel is off the ground, then it provides a less stable platform for pushing off backwards; this loss of stability will slow down your backwards movement.