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General doubles tips
Can't block opponent's partner
when your partner is shooting
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Since I started using them, I haven't needed to use time-outs to
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The gloves are reversible and work for both left and right handers.
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I first became interested in doubles shot selection when I played a game
with some old guys who effortlessly beat me without needing to hit the
ball hard. I started playing regularly with them, and they showed me how
to maneuver around the court, cover their shots, and analyze the angles
and placement of effective shots.
Of course some doubles shots aren't logical in singles, where the opponent
is defending from the middle of the court, because in doubles, the middle
is more open with each opponent closer to one of the sides.
Most of these scenarios assume that you have a set up and that you're
about to swing, and that your opponents are giving you enough room for
the straight in, and cross court shot. For convenience of illustration
for the serve examples below, it is assumed that a right handed opponent
is returning a serve from the right side of the court, but left side shots
are identical
General doubles tips:
- You need to set up for a specific shot first, before
you can determine where your opponents will be standing. Then
finalize your shot selection based on which way your opponent is leaning.
Making this last minute decision feels mentally weird/difficult at first,
but is one of the most important skills to learn. How you set up for
shot often determines which way your opponents will be leaning. Set
up for a kill shot no matter what your really plan, because you can
always change to a pass or lob from that position, but its harder to
not be set up, then try and wind up at the last minute for a kill shot,
especially during a fast moving rally. So use your set up for a shot
in a way that will give you the most options; click here to see an example.
Taking this a step further, sometimes an opponent from deep back court
waits till you've committed yourself to a shot, like a pinch,
then rushes up and can get it because he's guessed ahead of time. For
this situation, just hit the ball around him at the last second or hit
a jam at him since he can't stop himself during this type of rush.
- Don't take your eye off the ball to look at the opponents,
keep your eye on the ball when swinging and watch the opponents with
your peripheral vision.
- Where does an opponent become passable? As soon as he takes
a step (forward, towards the front wall) beyond the dotted safety line.
At this point, your inner alarm should go off and you should begin including
pass opportunities as one of your shot selections. But this is doubles,
so you have to take into account if the opponent's partner can get to
the pass after his partner misses it.
- Shot selection needs to made quickly. The faster you think,
the more opportunities will become available for easy points. The first
thing I check is if any opponent is up too close to the front wall.
This quickly helps me key into which shot to select.
- If both opponents are way up front, use the passes and jams described
in the shot selection diagram below.
- If one is up and the other is back, and you have a setup, then
choose a pinch, splat or straight in kill so the ball ends up on
the side of the court of the opponent who is staying back.
- If you don't have a set up, then pass/jam the opponent that's
too close to the front wall to invoke a weak return/set up from
opponent.
- If neither opponent is too close to the front wall, and
you don't have a set up, look for an opponent that is too close
to a side wall, and jam him.
- If nothing else is available, hit a ceiling lob, preferably to
the opponent who has to run the furthest to the back wall to return
it, or to the opponent least capable of hitting rollouts
- Around the world shots
- Must be hit when both you and your doubles partner are behind
both opponents. Otherwise there are multiple points at which the
opponents could take the shot early and hit you or your partner.
- In doubles, only hit the around the world where the first side
wall that the ball hits is the one closest to you, which causes
the ball's path to end up on your side. Otherwise, if you hit the
opposite side wall first, your partner has to clear a huge area
of the front court for your opponent where he can make an easy put-away
shot.
- If your opponent can take the around the world ball early and
hit a winner with it, then only hit an around the world when opponent
is up way too far. Otherwise, look what happens: opponent steps
forward from back court to short hop the around the world, and both
you and your partner have to move out of his way behind him, and
are blocked out of the rally, waiting for opponent to make his shot.
- I like to hit the around the world so that it first contacts the
floor pretty close to the side wall that it first hit. Otherwise,
it lands in the middle of the floor where it can be more easily
short hopped.
- See Adam Karp's caution on
using the around the world shot
- Combination shots: A good strategy is to use combination of
shots, e.g., regarding your cross court opponent, first hit a jam/pass
at him two times, then next time when he's backing up anticipating the
same thing, hit a pinch/splat.
- Floater/Jam shot: I believe that the floater jam to the chest
is one of the most overlooked shots in racquetball. It's counterintuitive
in this hard hitting sport, but when an opponent is up too far in front
court (in front of the dotted safety line), try hitting a soft (so it
doesn't come off the back wall) shot so that it hits the front wall
and travels directly to the opponent's chest. Its hard to hit an offensive
return against this shot and caught off guard, opponents often get hit
by the ball for an easy point for you. I watched the 1992 doubles national
championships video, and the women's division champions won against
hard hitting opponents, with floaters to the chest. Don't hit a floater
at an opponent in back court since he has too much time to react and
the ball will come off the back wall if its hit high enough to hit his
chest in back court. If opponent is against a wall, ball should should
contact side wall about 1 foot in front of opponent, at his chest level.
- Also see these other great general doubles
tips
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shot selections from back
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You're receiving a set up shot in
far BACK court and close to the RIGHT side
wall
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Both of your opponents are very close
to front wall, both standing inside solid service lines
in front of you (not in the way of your shot; they're in front
and you're in back)
Don't try kill shots if they are not working; from this position
opponents can easily re-kill any kill shot attempts that don't
perfectly roll out while you are left in back court. Duh.
- Safest and most effective shot: jam them with a floater
to the chest (Note: once they're jammed a few times, smart
players start standing back, so don't keep tying to jam
them if they move to back court! Pay attention to the evolving
positions). If they are both extremely close to the front
wall, I hit an around the world as it is harder to return
once its beyond the point where it can be cut off. A jam
does not require that the ball you're hitting be a set up
shot. You can hit it regardless of where its at. Effectiveness
of this shot in this situation: A
- Overhead drive to left. If its hit extremely hard, its
difficult to do much with it because its too high to hit
with much control. Hits side wall at difficult point for
opponent to do much with it. Make sure it doesn't come off
back wall. This a a safe shot and doesn't require a setup
to execute it.
- Drive pass down the center of the court, in between them.
- Ceiling lob over opponent who has the farthest to run
to get to back court
Again, you're standing at far back court
and along right side wall, but this time both of your
opponents are standing on the dotted safety line in
front of you.
- Safe shot: up the middle of the court ceiling ball
- Jam opponent who might be too close to the side wall.
May not always hit a hit a winner on this, but possibly
invoke a weak return. This can either be a floater to the
chest, an overhead drive to the left (best if it hits side
wall before back wall), or a shot at the opponent's feet
on the left.
- Splat, pinch and straight in kill are now possible but
not high percentage
This time your cross court opponent
is standing behind the dotted safety line.
- Doesn't usually matter where the opponent on your side
of the court is. Both are in front of you. Splat on your
side of the court, but if opponent in your side of the court
is moving too far forward or way over to the left to cover
it, pass him on the right.
- If your don't have a setup shot and the opponent on your
side of the court is too close to the front wall, hit a
hard drive right at the middle of his body, or just a bit
towards his backhand.
You're still standing far back court along
right side wall, but this time your cross court opponent
is standing in the service box anticipating your splat,
while your opponent on your side is hanging back covering
passes. Both opponents are in front of you.
This is a common and effective position for your opponents
to take.
- Because he's so close to the front wall, hit a driving
jam right at the cross court opponent, or high floater at
his chest (beginners please note that the ball is supposed
to hit the front wall first, before it hits your opponent).
Effectiveness of this shot in this situation: B+
- Smart shot: hit a defensive lob over the opponent who
is closest to the front wall. Make him scramble to get all
the way back to the back wall.
- Note: Its may not be easy to hit a pass around cross court
opponent because opponent who is hanging back can get to
it
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Now you're standing far BACK court evenly spaced
BETWEEN the two side walls
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Both of your opponents are very close
to front wall, both standing inside solid service lines
in front of you.
Don't try kill shots if they are not working; from this position
opponents can easily re-kill any kill shot attempts that don't
perfectly roll out.
- Safest and most effective shot: jam them with a floater
to the chest Effectiveness of this shot: A
- Hit a pass/jam drive against side wall to jam the opponent
who might be trapped against the wall
- Drive down the center of the court, in between them. Especially
if your opponents are a lefty and righty team.
- Ceiling lob up through the middle of the court
- If they are both extremely close to the front wall, I
hit an aground the world as it is harder to return once
its beyond the point where it can be cut off. Effectiveness
of this shot in this situation: A
Again, you're standing far back court
in the middle between the two side walls, but this
time both of your opponents are standing on the dotted
safety line in front of you.
- Safe shot: Up the middle of the court ceiling ball
- Jam opponent who might be too close to the side wall.
May not hit a winner on this, but possibly invoke a weak
return. This can be a floater to the chest, an overhead
drive which hits side wall just before where opponent is,
or a pass at the feet of the opponent, hitting side wall
just before the spot where opponent is.
- Splat, pinch and straight in kill are now possible but
not high percentage
This time your one of your opponents is standing
behind the dotted safety line. Doesn't usually matter
where the other opponent is.
- Pinch on the opposite side of the court that your far
back opponent is on, but if the other opponent is moving
too far forward or way over to cover it, pass him on the
side he leaves open.
You're still standing far back court
along in the middle between the two side walls, but
this time one of your opponents is standing in the service
box anticipating your pinch/kill shot, while your other
opponent is hanging back covering passes.
This is a common and effective position for your opponents
to take.
- Hit a pinch on the side that the opponent close to the
front wall is standing: Effectiveness of shot in this
situation: A
- Smart shot: hit a defensive lob over the opponent who
is closest to the front wall. Make him scramble to get all
the way back to the back wall.
- Hit a driving jam right at the opponent closest to the
front wall, or chest high floater at his chest
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shot selections from mid court
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You're standing in MID COURT close to the RIGHT SIDE
wall
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Both of your opponents are very close
to front wall, both standing inside solid service lines
in front of you
Don't try kill shots if they are not working; from this position
opponents can easily re-kill any kill shot attempts that don't
perfectly roll out.
Because you are now closer to the front wall, you have some
new billiard-like geometric directions in which to send the
ball
- New shot! Hit a hard Z jam/pass
that threads through the two opponents. Its a 4 foot high
Z drive that passes the opponent on your side on his right
side on the way to the front wall, contacts the front wall
first, left side wall in front of the left side opponent
(ball passes past him on his right), threads in between
the two opponents behind the right side opponent
on his left side, and dies before hitting the back wall.
This great shot has many things going for it. First, it
doesn't have to be a set up, so you can cut off lob serves
early. Second, because you're on the right, the two front
court opponents are kind of squeezed together to stay out
of your way, so when the ball passes through them they either
can't swing at it for fear of hitting their own partner,
or they can't decide who is to hit it. It comes at them
at an awkward angle with great speed, which makes it harder
to handle. Remember, they both have to be up very far for
this to work. Both opponents are always up front during
their serve though, so this is a common serve return. Effectiveness
of this shot: A
- New shot! Around
the world hard drive jam/pass. The hard Z described above,
only works if the opponent in front of you moves over a
couple of feet to the left (most do) to allow your shot
to take that Z angle. But he doesn't legally owe you that
much room; he only owes you the cross court pass (whose
angle has ball end up at the back wall corner opposite from
you). What to do? Hit an around the world drive. The ball
hits the right side wall very hard, passing opponent on
right side (closest to you) on his right, then ball
hits front wall, left wall at an angle before and
away from the opponent on the left (ball passes to his right),
threads through both players, and around back of
the opponent on the right (ball passes to his left), then
dies at the back wall. What has happened was that by moving
further to the right (blocking your Z shot), the opponent
on the right has opened a bigger hole down the middle between
him and his partner. Also, this shot is safer for your opponents.
You can be receiving a chaotic hard drive serve, but your
return will hit the right side wall first, so there's no
danger in hitting your opponent; you can hit the ball as
hard as as you want. If it's short-hoppable by your opponent
or dies in center court, you must hit it deeper; do this
by hitting the ball either higher, closer to front wall
or harder. It must end up dying on the back, hitting the
back wall one foot higher than the floor. If only your cross
court opponent is up front too far, that is, too close to
the front wall, hit the side wall on your side very far
up front, very close to the front wall, and the ball will
jam him. If only the opponent on your side of the court
is up too far up, then hit the side wall on your side closer
to where you are standing at an angle so that the ball will
jam him. Raise or lower the height of the ball to adjust
for maximum effectiveness. The safest angle, is that where
the ball hits the right side wall very close to the front
wall.
- Effective shot: jam them with a floater to the chest .
A jam does not require that the ball you're hitting be a
set up shot. You can hit it regardless of where its at.
Effectiveness of this shot: A
- Hit a pass/jam drive against left side wall to jam the
opponent who gets trapped against the wall. This can be
an overhead drive which hits side wall at a spot a couple
of feet before where opponent is, or you can shoot at the
same place but lower, at opponent's feet. Effectiveness
of this shot: A
- Drive down the center of the court, in between them
- If both opponents are too far forward and the opponent
on your side is blocking your cross court shot, before asking
him to give you the cross court shot (which he legally owes
you), first try hitting a drive down the center of the court,
in between your opponents, as all he's doing is opening
a bigger hole between himself and his partner for the ball
to go through. Also, try hitting the ball right at the middle
of his stomach (i.e., ball goes towards the front wall passing
opponent on his right side, hits front wall, then comes
right back at opponent's stomach. Note to beginners: this
is not to hurt the opponent. This just makes the ball hard
to return.)
- Ceiling lob
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Serve return
The two shots above, hard
Z pass/jam, and hard around
the world hard drive pass/jam, work together
to handle alternate position variations of opponents
too close to the front wall. They can be used in
the middle of a rally or during every serve that
can be cut off. They greatly simplify serve return
selection. Just watch the opponent on your side
of the court: (a) if he moves towards the center,
hit the hard Z pass that threads between opponents
(b) if he stays to the right side, this opens a
bigger hole between him and his partner on the left,
so choose the hard around the world drive pass that
threads between them. Take the ball early, to give
opponents less time to get into safe territory.
If they change their strategy and rush to the back
court immediately after serving, hit a reverse
pinch which dies up at the front wall. If your
cross court opponent goes to back court while the
opponent on your side stays up front, hit a driving
jam at the middle of his body. You don't need a
setup to hit any of these returns except for the
reverse pinch.
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Again, you're standing at mid court along
right side wall, but this time both of your opponents
are standing on the dotted safety line
- New shot! Reverse
pinch (hit left side wall first, then front wall). Effectiveness
of this shot: A
- Safe shot: Up the middle of the court ceiling ball
- Jam opponent who is too close to the side wall. May not
hit a winner on this, but possibly invoke a weak return.
This time your cross court opponent
is standing behind the dotted safety line. Doesn't
usually matter where the opponent on your side of the court
is.
- Splat or pinch
on your side of the court, but if opponent in your side
of the court is moving too far forward or way over to the
left to cover it, pass him on the right.
You're still standing in mid court along
right side wall, but this time your cross court opponent
is standing in the service box anticipating your splat
shot to your side of the court, while your opponent on your
side is hanging back behind you covering passes.
This is a common and effective position for your opponents
to take.
- Reverse pinch
to left side. This shot is almost irretrievable. Effectiveness
of shot in this situation: A+
- Smart shot: hit a defensive lob over the opponent who
is closest to the front wall. Make him scramble to get all
the way back to the back wall.
- Straight in kill shot; ball moves close to, and parallel
to the right side wall.
- Hit a driving jam right at the opponent closest to the
front wall (your cross court opponent), or chest high floater
at his chest (beginners please note that the ball is supposed
to hit the front wall first, before it hits your opponent
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Sample game - focusing
on your serve return
If the above shot selections seem complicated,
an easy place to start making them automatic is during
your opponents' serve, since you know where your opponents
are. Later, you can start transferring your new smart
shot habits to the rest of the rally.
Assumption: you're receiving serve on
the right side of the court and cutting off all serves
early.
- The first few times that you return serves from
the right, you cut off the ball and hit the around
the world hard drive. At first, it works great
and jams your cross court opponent.
- Now your cross court opponent finally figures out
what's going on and rushes backwards out of the box
towards the back wall when his partner is serving
and successfully takes the ball from back court. You
stubbornly continue with your shot (now ineffective)
until you see that your partner inadvertently gets
trapped behind your cross court opponent against the
back wall on the left, and is effectively blocked
out of the rally.
- You respond by observing that your cross court opponent
is getting so far back that you can now begin pinching
the right side corner.
- This works at first, but then the opponent on your
side changes his strategy to move to front and middle
of the court to get the pinches, which works pretty
well.
- You stubbornly keep trying the same (now ineffective)
pinch attempt until you finally notice that the opponent
on your side has now opened up an alley down the right
side that you can hit down the line passes through.
- You spend the rest of the game cycling through the
above variations depending on which position your
opponents take.
Time to improve! Your goal is to get good at quickly discerning
if cross court opponent is getting to back court so fast
that you have a pinch available, and if yes, watching
what the opponent on your side is covering, the pinch
or down the line pass. |
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You're standing in MID COURT evenly spaced BETWEEN
the two side walls
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Both of your opponents are very close
to front wall, both standing inside solid service lines.
You are standing behind both opponents.
Don't try kill shots if they are not working; from this position
opponents can easily re-kill any kill shot attempts that don't
perfectly roll out.
- New Shot! From this position, your hard Z drive often
threads between the two players without them being able
to touch it. Why? You're in the middle, so they have to
spread wider apart, close to each side wall, so the ball
has more room to go between them. Traveling between both
opponents on the way to the front wall, ball hits front
wall first, then left side wall before opponent on
left (passes him on his right), goes past right side opponent
behind him (ball passes him on his left) so ball
passes between opponents on the way to back court, and dies
before it hits the back wall. Doesn't have to be a set up
for you to execute this. Also, the ball doesn't come right
back at you, and the angle causes some confusion because
the opponents aren't sure which of them should go for it.
- Safe and effective shot: jam them with a floater to the
chest Effectiveness of this shot: A
- Hit a pass/jam drive against side wall to jam the opponent
who gets trapped against the wall
- Drive down the center of the court, in between them
- Ceiling lob
Again, you're standing in mid court, but
this time both of your opponents are standing on the dotted
safety line
- Pinch
- Safe shot: ceiling ball to one of the corners Why not
ceiling lob to the center? You're standing there and an
opponent may want to short hop it and accidentally hit you
with his racquet.
- Jam opponent who is too close to the side wall. May not
hit a winner on this, but possibly invoke a weak return.
- Hit a controlled wide angle pass, one that doesn't bounce
off back wall, against side wall that opponent closest to
front wall is.
This time one of your opponents is standing
behind the dotted safety line. Doesn't usually matter
where the opponent on your side of the court is.
- Pinch to the opposite side of the court that that opponent
is on, but if other opponent is moving too far forward to
cover it, pass him on the side that he leaves open.
You're still standing in mid court between
the two side walls, but this time one of your opponents
is standing in the service box anticipating your splat/pinch,
while your other opponent is hanging back covering passes.
This is a common and effective position for your opponents
to take.
- Pinch to the side that the opponent that is closest to
the front wall is on.
- Smart shot: hit a defensive lob over the opponent who
is closest to the front wall. Make him scramble to get all
the way back to the back wall.
- Hit a driving jam right at the opponent closest to the
front wall (your cross court opponent), or chest high floater
at his chest
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shot selections from front
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You're receiving a set up shot in
FRONT court along RIGHT side wall. Now you
are always in front of both opponents.
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General front court
game plan
In general, whenever you're in front of both opponents
and you're off to one of the sides, try and set up so that
you can see both opponents, that is, if the ball is on the
right side of the court, set up for a back hand if there's
room, because that way you're facing both players (the most
wide open court area), otherwise, if you set up for a forehand,
you would be facing the side wall and couldn't see where
the opponents were positioning themselves. Remember, they
may be dynamically running up at the last minute and you
need last minute awareness of where they are. If there's
room for you between the ball and the wall, always set up
to hit a pinch with your back towards the the closest side
wall and watch which way your cross court opponent is leaning.
You don't have to worry about the opponent on your side
since he is blocked from coming too far forward by your
body (you're not blocking his access to the ball though
because when the ball's hit, its going away from you). If
your cross court opponent comes towards the center to get
the pinch, hit a wide
angle pass around him. If he stays back, follow through
with the pinch.
If you have the angle, its prefereable set up for a reverse
pinch since it dies further from both opponents, very
close to the front wall. When opponents are in front of
you, you can see them both so you don't have to set up facing
any particular side. If you can't see your opponents when
you're up front (because you're chasing the after the ball
that's going towards the front wall), generally go for a
reverse pinch, the holy grail of doubles shots. If they
start correctly predicting and retrieving your reverse pinch,
alternate your shots.
Both of your opponents are close to front
wall. Your opponents are still behind you.
Don't try kill shots if they are not working; from this position
opponents can easily re-kill any kill shot attempts that don't
perfectly roll out. If your shot is not perfect, you are trapped
in a compromised defensive zone too far up front.
- In this situation, let's say that the ball is too close
to the side wall so that you can't get in between in and
the side wall and implement the technique above.
If you're hitting a forehand and facing the right wall,
FIRST set up to hit a hard down the line pass on the right
side, look to see where your opponent is, THEN decide where
to hit after you've seen which way he's leaning. If you
see your opponent behind you next to the side wall, covering
the down the line pass, hit the ball down the middle between
both opponents. If you don't see him behind you, hit the
hard down the line pass along the right side wall that you
set up for. If he gets that return, and you are having a
hard time seeing where he's standing, alternate your shots
to include reverse pinches, wide angle passes, splats, down
the middle drives, jam your cross court opponent, etc.
- Effective shot: jam with hard drive at the center of your
cross court opponent's body
- Hit a pass/jam drive against left side wall to jam the
opponent who gets trapped against the wall. This works best
when both opponents are up front, because no one is left
back to cover his passed partner.
- Ceiling lob (away from your own body)
Again, you're standing front court along
right side wall, but this time both of your opponents
are standing on the dotted safety line behind you
This time your cross court opponent
is standing behind the dotted safety line. Doesn't
usually matter where the opponent on your side of the court
is.
You're still standing in front court along
right side wall, but this time your cross court opponent
is standing in the service box anticipating your splat
to the right wall, while your opponent on your side is hanging
way back covering V, wide angle, and straight in passes.
This is a common and effective position for your opponents
to take.
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You're receiving a set up shot in
FRONT court in the MIDDLE between the two side walls
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Both of your opponents are close to front
wall. You are in front of them.
Don't try kill shots if they are not working; from this position
opponents can easily re-kill any kill shot attempts that don't
perfectly roll out. If your shot is not perfect, you are trapped
in a compromised defensive zone too far up front.
A problem with this position is that if you hit the ball
down the center between them, you will be in the way or get
hit by your own shot.
Again, you're standing in front court in
evenly spaced between the two side walls, but this time both
of your opponents are standing on the dotted safety line
This time one of your opponents is
standing behind the dotted safety line. Doesn't usually
matter where the other opponent is.
You're still standing in front court evenly
spaced between the two side walls, but this time one of your
opponents is standing in the service box anticipating
your pinch or kill shot, while the other opponent is hanging
back covering passes.
This is a common and effective position for your opponents
to take.
- See general front court
game plan
- Pinch to the corner closest to the the opponent who is
closest to the front wall so that the ball rolls away from
him.
- Smart shot: hit a defensive lob over the opponent who
is closest to the front wall. Make him scramble to get all
the way back to the back wall.
- Hit a driving jam right at the opponent closest to the
front wall or chest high floater at his chest
- If you're thinking about hitting a pass around the opponent
closest to the front wall, take into account the possibility
that the other opponent is covering that. Try and control
your pass so that it dies soon after passing him.
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Wall paper lob serve
Some opponents can serve a wall paper serve so close to the wall that
not much can be done besides sending it to the ceiling. You can't get
enough of an angle on the ball to even hit it down the center, let alone
a cross court pass. One possibility is to hit a spinning around the world.
That is, hit the ball against the side wall its closest to, so that you're
aiming for a spot roughly 5 feet before that side wall meets the front
wall (spot on the wall that the ball hits will vary greatly depending
on your position; sometimes ball will contact side wall much closer to
you) so as to impart a very strong spin on the ball. Have the ball path
angle upwards. The ball should then hit the front wall, opposite side
wall, go over the head of and out of reach of your cross court opponent
and come down spinning wildly behind your serving opponent's head against
the side wall it started on, and die in back court. This works best when
server opponent stays too far up front.
If there's room between the ball and the right wall, a better return
is the high Z return. Wait for the ball just behind the dotted line. As
soon as it bounces hit a high Z: front wall near left corner, left wall,
zooms over opponent's (on right side) head, hits right side wall on the
fly, then moves parallel and very close to back wall.
An even more effective shot is to short hop the ball, because you are
so close to the front wall, you have many options. This requires a lot
of practice, but once you get it, it can be executed at a very high sucess
rate.. (1) You can hit it extremely hard down the line, very close to
the right side wall (jump quickly out of your opponent's way, as you won't
have much time to give him clear access to it) (2) splat it (3) cross
court drive right at left sided opponent. Hit the ball after it bounces,
on the way up, about an inch or two from the floor. A perfect lob serve
however, will land very close to the short line, and end up a couple of
feet above the floor no matter how fast you cross the dotted safety line.
However, once you get good at short hopping the ball, you can still exercise
most of the options above.
Cat and mouse game
My strategy usually ends up being a cat and mouse game with the opponent
on the left side. If I get a set up in back, right court, the smart opponent
on the left side pretends that he is staying back, safe from getting passed,
and giving up the whole front left court. I then pretend that I believe
him and I begin to fake setting up for a pinch on the right/front wall
(pointing my feet and shoulders at the right side wall). This shot normally
ends up in the front left side of the court. He reads me wrong
and starts moving up to cover the pinch, and I pretend that I don't notice
him moving forward, and I continue making my swing look like it's going
to shoot a pinch/splat on the right side wall (that would end up in the
front left side of the court), but I am watching him out of the
corner of my eye. Once he crosses the dotted safety line I subtly switch
my shot selection at the very last moment and hit a hard pass around him
(ball hits sidewall a foot or two in front of him, goes around him and
dies before his partner can get to it). This is difficult for my opponent
on the left, because he knows that I can hit a splat almost every time
I have a set up and there's not much he can do about it if he takes off
for the front court too late. The advanced opponents hover in the gray
area just between the two zones (pass or splat), ready for any possibility
as much as possible, and try to double fake me out. The cat and mouse
game becomes pretty elaborate.
Cross over strategy
During all of the jam and pass shots that your partner hits to the right
side, you may sometimes get trapped behind the opponent that is chasing
the shots, and you may be unable cover any of your opponent's shots to
the front right side of the court. You're kind of trapped against the
back wall. In this case you and your partner must cross over and switch
positions. You should run behind and around to the left of your opponents
so that you you are now on the left side of center court and your partner
should quickly run over to the right side of the court, just to the left
of and in in front of the shooting opponent. Often the opponent will see
your partner from the corner of his eye and think that he has committed
himself too far to the right and hit what he thinks is a passing shot
to the left of your partner. But the shooting opponent often won't see
you and will often hit the ball right to you, on the left side.
Once you and your partner have switched sides, you might as well stay
on those sides until the rally is over, because you may leave an opening
for your opponents when you're in the middle of changing back to your
normal sides.
Also, when your partner successfully passes the opponent on your side,
be ready to get out of the way of the opponent's partner who may be trying
to get by you to cover his partner's ball.
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