I play both doubles-singles 70-30. I am quite comfortable in doubles defense. But when it comes to singles, i find it hard to defend the smashes. Please help me by answering below questions: Where do you stand? (am asking along court length, not sideways) Do you assume the shot by opponent's movement and move accordingly? or do you wait for the shot to be finished by the opponent (which is hard in my view) ? FYI, i use a head heavy, medium stiff racquet.
Personally, I find that your stance when defending should not solely be based on smashes. The threat of the entire attacking arsenal should be taken into account. If someone has a disguised attacking clear, you might defend a further back, but if someone creates drop angles easily, you might want to step forward. Most important in singles when defending is the ability to move, because you will most likely have to move if the opponent smashes.
between front service line and doubles service line ^^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbciEg3kVs you can try drilling singles returns like this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yILyXDYI4WE
So, what is your suggestion about the stance? Do you suggest to stand casually or in a defensive position (like lowering the gravity)?
If you expect a smash, it is def a good idea to lower your center of gravity a bit, i.e. bend your knees.
it's important to lower your center of gravity a little, but not as much as in doubles, because you have more ground to cover in the case of a straight drop or attacking clear.
So like bending the knees halfway? Coz I find it difficult to move for a fake drop when am standing in defensive position expecting a smash. Is it me or is it difficult really for all?
I also am curious in the methods of getting drops/disguised punch clears when defending a smash. Does one do the split step to make it easier? I do, but I'm not sure whether it's the done thing. The split step technically allows momentum generation in a very short time to get to the smash/disguised shot so I thought logically it should be done if it's done for every other shot. So it goes like this in a small time frame: 1. I clear and move to position (for me, usually mid court and slightly to the backhand side) 2. Opponent gets ready to smash. 3. Just before racket hits shuttle, split step (my feet is still in the air at this moment) 4. Player smashes/drops/punch clears (feet still in the air). 5. Feet contacts the ground in good position to move towards shuttle.
Correct - you should always be doing a split step. As you describe, you should be LANDING, when you know where the shuttle is going. If you watch a professional player in slow motion e.g. LCW, he will LAND his split step sometimes AFTER the shuttle has crossed the net (i.e. his opponents shot has passed back to LCWs side before LCW lands). This means that when he LANDS, he knows exactly where he needs to go and can move explosively. Others got it right about the stance - you want a low WIDE stance. Make sure you maintain perfect balance (body is upright).
here's a good video to get a close look at the footwork and stance for smash defense https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5hRNwzpBys 0:51 nice return^^ some videos for footwork practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHE-Lly9FPs&list=PL2078E0C68066EA67&index=1
Thanks for the suggestions guys. MSeeley -> every time I read your post, I have no more questions on the subject. Very detailed and useful information. Thanks very much