March - April 1999 | Vol. 10, No. 2

WILSON GAME PLAN: Returning the Z-Serve
by Lynn Adams

Q: My buddy and I play racquetball two times a week. We are normally pretty even, until he learned to hit a “Z” serve. I can’t figure out where it’s going and sometimes I can’t even swing at the ball. I’m getting more and more frustrated! HELP!

A “Z” serve can seem like a trick serve until you get the hang of it. Actually, a Z serve is fairly predictable in the path it takes. The key is knowing the path!

If you ever come up against a shot that you can’t figure out, try this simple strategy: find out where the ball takes its second bounce. Ok, so what does that mean?

In racquetball, you have to hit the ball before it hits the floor a second time. You can’t let the ball bounce twice. If you stand in the area where the ball will take its second bounce, then you are in the right area to hit the ball.

To learn about a Z serve, go into the service box and hit a dozen of them. Watch the path the serve takes and notice where the ball strikes the floor for the second time.

As you hit the Z’s, you will begin to notice a pattern. The ball almost always takes its second bounce towards the middle of the court. Whether it hits the side wall and comes out, or it hits the side wall and then rolls off the back wall, it ends up in the direction of the middle of the court.

What does that mean to you, as the receiver? The best place for you to stand to receive a Z serve is right where you already are! The middle of the court.

The reason we struggle with a Z serve is because we take a step or two towards the side wall. Then when the Z serve hits the side wall and rebounds towards the middle, we get all jammed up. There’s no room to swing, so we end up pushing the ball, hitting our return into the side wall, losing power, or simply not swinging at all.

The key to returning a Z serve is two things: one, when you recognize a Z serve coming your way, turn your body so your chest is squared off to the side wall. Second, get your racquet up and your feet ready to move and step into the serve. You may have to move a few quick steps up or back, but now you are ready for whatever path the ball may take.