Andy Murray shares three tips every amateur player should follow to improve their game.

It’s testament to Andy Murray’s career that he is often grouped in with the ‘big three’, despite winning a fraction of the Grand Slams they managed.

Murray won three Grand Slams in the era of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, as well as two Olympic gold medals.

The British star also managed to become world number one in 2016, ousting his rivals thanks to an incredible run which saw him win nine titles in a calendar year.

Murray retired in 2024, but he’s still kept a keen eye on the sport that brought him so much success during his career.

Andy Murray’s advice to amateur tennis players
Murray appeared in a video with The Tennis Mentor, and he was asked about how to improve your return of serve.

The British star was widely considered one of the best return of servers in the sport, alongside his rival, Djokovic.

Murray offered up three easy-to-follow tips for any aspiring tennis player looking to improve on a crucial aspect of the sport.

“Tip number one for the return of serve, particularly when you’re playing on slightly faster courts like this one, is you want to make sure you keep a nice short compact swing.

“A lot of players take a very similar swing the one they would to a ground stroke. Whereas here, the ball generally will be traveling towards you quicker. You’re standing quite close to the baseline. So you want to keep a nice compact swing.”

Murray then turned his attention toward body position as he unveiled another golden piece of advice for players.

“My second tip for the return of serve is to stay low or maintain your height after the split step. I think a lot of players struggle with the return of serve.

“Split step and then they pop up straight away which particularly when you’re trying to take a return early makes it difficult to time.

“On the return of serve once you’ve hit this the split step you want to stay low and keep keep your height. Don’t uh don’t pop up too soon.”

“And my third tip for the return of serve is to work on your split step. It’s critical that you time this properly.

“If you get it wrong, particularly when there’s a big serve coming at you, you’re all over the place. It’s very difficult to return if you time your split step badly. So, you need to make sure you work on that.”

Andy Murray’s return of serve helped him become a Grand Slam winner
Murray knows what he is talking about when it comes to return of serve, as it was arguably his key attribute when it came to his Grand Slam success.

The British star relied heavily on his return of serve when he won Wimbledon for the second, and final, time in 2016.

Murray got 85% of his opponent’s serves back into play during the tournament, which was more than any other player.

He also managed to hit 41% of points when he returned his opponents second serve, putting him third best at the tournament.

Murray won 63% of points on his opponent’s second serve too, making him near-unbeatable at his home Grand Slam in 2016.