one. Sometimes that’ s pace. More often, especially early in a point, it’ s just the ball staying in play long enough for your team’ s structure to take over.
Positioning agreements matter here too, and one of the most basic should be automatic on every team: If the returner sends the ball back to the middle of the court, the forehand player takes it— not because the backhand player can’ t, but because the forehand is the higher-percentage shot and the team should default to it without a conversation.
The partner on the other side reads that and scoots up alongside, because the return to the middle usually sets up a drop to the opponent’ s backhand, and both players should be advancing behind it together.
That’ s not advanced tactics. That’ s a rule every team should have locked in before the first point of a match.
Position is a Promise
Court coverage isn’ t just strategy— it’ s a contract. Crash the middle on a put-away, and you’ re confident your partner will cover what you left open. Switch sides after a lob, and you’ re trusting a system you both agreed to before the point started.
I see teams break this promise constantly, and it’ s rarely a footwork problem. It’ s a communication gap wearing a footwork costume. The player who got burned covering the middle isn’ t mad about the shot; it’ s that the promise wasn’ t kept. Fixing it doesn’ t take more athleticism. It takes five minutes before the match agreeing who owns what, then actually trusting it under pressure instead of freelancing the moment things get tight.
NOT INDIVIDUAL SKILL, BUT HOW QUICKLY
TWO PEOPLE BECOME
ONE TEAM.
Reading the Other Team’ s Weak Link— As a Partnership, Not as Two Players
Once you’ ve built that trust with your own partner, turn the same read outward. Most players stop too early here— they find the weaker individual and just hit at that one all day. That’ s a start; it’ s not the real skill.
The real skill is reading the weak link between the two players across the net— the seam that only shows up when you look at them as a pair. Maybe neither player is individually bad, but there’ s confusion between them on middle balls. Maybe one has a strong backhand but genuinely struggles with anything to the inside foot, and the partner doesn’ t cover it. Taking advantage of those combination weaknesses wins more points than picking on whoever looks worse.
Here’ s a pattern I like: Work the ball crosscourt for a few shots, letting the other team settle into the rhythm, then break it— a soft dink into the middle, targeted to the inside foot of the player who struggles there. Not because it’ s unreturnable, but because you’ ve built confusion about whose ball it is. You didn’ t just find a weak spot. You used the crosscourt pattern to open a seam that wasn’ t there on the first shot of the point.
There’ s a more advanced version that requires real trust in your partner’ s hands. Say you’ re on the left, working crosscourt with the opposing left-side player, and you know this individual loves attacking anything left and slightly high out of the air. Instead of avoiding that ball, leave one just a touch high on purpose— low and soft enough that the attack won’ t carry much pace— because you trust your partner to counter it. You’ re not giving up a free point. You’ re trading a manageable risk for a predictable one and letting your partner’ s hands finish what you started.
None of this works if you’ re chasing a guaranteed outcome. Think in percentages. A pattern that wins the point 100 % of the time doesn’ t exist at any real level of play. You’ re looking for a pattern that shifts the odds— 60 to 70 % instead of a coin flip. You’ ll still lose that point sometimes. That’ s fine. Working the percentage play over and over, all game, is what separates a team that’ s dictating from a team that’ s just reacting.
Covering for Mistakes
Here’ s the part nobody puts in an instructional column, because it’ s not technical: what you do with your face after your partner misses.
I’ ve watched teams lose matches they were winning, not because of the errors but what happened after them. A sigh. A look at the ground instead of at your partner. A shift in body language
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