WATCH THE VIDEO
LEAVE SOME OF THE COURT OPEN TAKING YOUR PARTNER’S SHOT
To recap, if the ball is on the left side of the court, one player
covers the line and the other partner covers the middle. But
who is covering the right side of the court? We’re able to
leave the right side (about a third of the court) open. If our
opponents hit the ball to that side of the court, they can either
hit it hard or soft. If they hit the ball hard, it will go out. If your
opponents hit a good cross-court dink to the right side of the
court, my partner will be able to take one or two steps over
and easily get to the ball—as it will be traveling slowly. It’s extremely common for the wrong player to hit the ball. One
frequent error is when a ball comes above the net halfway
between you and your partner, and the player on the right hits
the ball with his/her backhand. The player on the left would
have had a much better shot with a forehand. Taking your
partner’s shot can also leave you and/or your partner out of
position.
WHEN THE BACKHAND
IS THE BETTER SHOT
Assuming you’re both right-handed players, when you and
your partner hit the ball to the left side of the court, the person
on the left will cover the line and the person on the right will
cover the middle. This means that the person on the right will
be covering the middle with his/her backhand. The person
on the left will need to be focused on the line and stand quite
close to it, as that will be his/her backhand.
MORE REACH WITH
FOREHAND VS. BACKHAND
Stand facing the net and put your paddle in your right hand.
Move the paddle to the left side of your body like you’re hitting
a backhand. Think about how far you can reach. Now move
your paddle into your left hand and see how much farther your
paddle will reach. You have much more reach with a forehand
than you do with the backhand. Keep this in mind when you’re
deciding where to stand on the court. If you’re covering the line
on the left side, hold your paddle out like you were going to hit
a backhand. If you can reach the balls that are coming down
the line, you’re standing in the right place. If you’re on the right
side of the court and covering the line, reach out with your
forehand. On this side you’ll be able to stand a little farther
away from the sideline and still reach the balls that come
down the line.
Keep this in mind when the balls are coming between you and
your partner as well. The person who is on the right side of
the court has less reach (backhand), so the person on the left
will be able to reach more than halfway to his/her partner (see
diagram 1). If you both put your paddles in your playing hand
and reach out toward each other like you’re going to hit a ball,
you’ll be able to check that you’re standing a good distance
apart. The tips of your paddles should reach but not cross.
WHEN YOUR PARTNER
GETS MOVED OFF THE COURT
It’s important to pay attention to where your partner is on the
court. If your opponents hit a great shot and your partner ends
up off the side of the court, you’ll have to keep following the
ball over toward your partner and cover more of the center
of the court.
PLAYING WITH A LEFTY
If you’re playing with a lefty, the only thing that changes is the
distance between you and your partner. You have a lot more
reach on your forehand side than you do with your backhand.
When you’re playing with a lefty, you’ll either have both of your
forehands in the middle or both of your backhands. When you
both have your forehands in the middle, you’ll probably find it
quite easy to get the balls in the middle as you have a lot more
reach. You may be able to stand a little farther apart. When
both of your backhands are in the middle, you have a lot less
reach so you’ll want to pinch in closer together to avoid balls
passing you down the middle.
WHEN YOUR PARTNER DOESN’T MOVE
After you learn how to move correctly on the court, it can
become frustrating if your partner does not understand this
strategy. There are a few things you can do—explain the
moving philosophy and give him/her this article, deal with it,
or find a new partner!
COMMUNICATION
Finally, communication is key. It’s important to talk to your
partner, especially when the balls are hit down the middle of
your team. This starts with the third shot and continues until the
point ends. Be sure to say “me” or “you” as soon as you see the
ball heading down the middle so that you and your partner can
remain on the same page when executing all shots.
JULY/AUGUST 2019 |
MAGAZINE
19