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The Main Uses of the Drive - To Return Service
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 About 80 per cent of all services received are capable of being driven back at the server. Of this percentage, only 10 per cent are capable of being hit for outright winners by the receiver. About half of the remaining 70 per cent can be attacked and about half defended with the drive. The receiver who will concentrate on getting service into play puts his opponent under a tremendous pressure.
Nothing is so discouraging to a player as to see his good attacking service come back deep into the middle of the court, making him start all over again. The first and most valuable use of the drive is successfully to defend against a service. Do not try to do too much with your first return of service. Be content to put the ball in play, fairly deep into your opponent's court, but with a wide margin of safety. So many players try to paste every service return, and all they produce is a deluge of their own errors. Only if a server is coming in behind his service is there much reason to try to do anything very special with a service return. Then you must be very definite, but rather than take an unnecessary chance in trying to win outright, I advocate hitting a slow, low drive that gives the server a volley that he cannot do much with, and then hit out for your passing shot off his volley.
In hitting a service return, make it definitely cross-court or definitely straight, but allow yourself plenty of margin of safety. Do not hit for a line, since if you draw it so fine, you will make too many unnecessary errors. Hit your drive hard enough so that it will not sit up, but there is no need to use anything above good average speed. Should the server be careless enough to hit a weak serve that bounds up where you like it, then do not hesitate, but wade in and hit hard for a winner. These chances are few and far between, and you should not try for them off good attacking serves. You should give most returns of service plenty of room to clear the net. Off a service, when the server stays back on the baseline, the return drive should be not less than a foot nor more than three feet above the net. In the event that the server comes in, then the drive should never be higher than a foot above the net and the closer to the net cord the better, if you do not draw it too fine. Better to be too high and give your opponent a volley, than too low and give him the point by an error. A shot that clears the net always has a chance, but a shot into the net is dead and gone.
1. To return service (both attack and defence).
2. To make passing shots against the net player (attack).
3. To advance to the net behind a forcing shot (attack).
4. To hit clean winners (attack).
5. To open your opponent's court and manoeuvre him out of position (subtle attack).
6. To get yourself out of trouble when you are forced into bad position (defence).
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