I noticed that when I smash I don't move forward as fast as most other players seem to. It seems like the right thing to do though because it seems that almost all the time players in singles block smashes to the front court. So I am curious if you guys think that it's unlikely for people to lift to the back when defending a smash. Do you see it happen often?
yes people do often block smashes and let them fall close to front court you need to practice using the power of the smash to get your backfoot firing forward as soon as u start your following thru even smashing in the air and then taking a lunge forward will help strengthen this motion i sometimes lose focus and forget to keep moving back to base position and the opponents defensive block beats me
I'm fine moving forward like I can do it well. (It's slow but I can do it) I just didn't know if it was a good idea to always start going towards the net or if I should wait to see if they are going to block short just based on assumption.
Your pre-smash preparation affects your closing in to the net. If the lift is shorter, and you are totally behind it, you are able to complete the weight transfer/rotation on your smash. You will notice 2 things happen. One is that your smash momentum carries you forward. The second is that the power of the smash make the block return "longer". It is not easy for your opponent to cancel out the force so that the return skim the tape and heads downward. Verses a sudden injection of speed moving backward to intersect/smash. Most players land with momentum going backward on the smash. Watch out for your landing foot (non-racket) position. Don't injure yourself as it is the only thing that absorbs the impact and pushes you forward. Even pros have to hurry to retrieve the block returns...some don't even make it on time. You are not along.
I'm not saying I don't get their in time. I don't think I was clear. I mean that when I smash should I just go forward assuming they will block short? I'm always worried that the other player will lift after I smash and that I will get stuck in the front. I personally don't see a lot of lifts to defend and I'm wondering how common it is to see.
If you do a good smash down the line or a good body smash then move in as fast as you can because the chances of them lifting off these are very slim. If your smash is weak or positioned onto an easy forehand or backhand then there is every chance they will lift back to you if they see you move. Any good smash from half court move forward to finish.
Ideally you want to get back to center court if you can't predicted where your opponent is going to counter! Jump smashing from the rear is risky business anyway especially if your opponent is very good and you are not fast enough to recover!
Yeah. It happens a lot to be honest. Smash return is an underrated technique. Proper smash return allows you to counter smash and control the rally. Singles players have to be master a variety of shots. Lifting to the back, counter with drives or blocking to net can be options from smash returns. It helps to let the opponents guessing. Decoy. The right foot should be in front. That's the basic you need to remember. Every time you are on standby.
In my opinion, it depends on your opponent. Usually, I move forward to kill drops but if your opponent catches on, I'd be more cautious about running forward to finish the bird off.
