Hi all, i am thinking if i am supposed to take the shot in the following scenario. i stand in right side of court, ready to receive the serve, opponents are in back/front position, the serve is a bit high, i do a tap down the line, the opponent in the back do a cross block/drop to the left side of our court at the net, i am at the right side at the net due to my momentum. Should i go to take that shot or let my partner take it since we are side by side position that time? Case 1: I take the shot: That cross-court drop is not high and quite tight at the net and by the time i reach the shuttle it is very low and i will be forced to do a high lift(i cannot do net since the serving opponent is waiting at the net). Then, i will retreat backwards on my left position and my partner need to shift to the right so that we are both side-side defensive pos since i just lift very high Case 2: My partner take the shot and lift high or do a push. Then we both are in side side position and this has less disruption to our coordination. His movement is forward while mine is sideways/diagonal and my momentum is forward after the tap, so i guess he is in a better position than me to take that shot. i 99% of the time think my partner should take it. Some people anticipate by moving to the left net but this is not safe. Any comments?
I don't think you should be side by side at this time. Receivers partner would normally start near the back. Receiver would start near the front, trying to attack the serve, to try to force a lift. Receivers partner would play the shot after the lift, from the rear of the court. Receiver would stay at the front. If the original serve was a high serve, pushing the receiver to the back, then receivers partner moves forward. If receiver is forced to play a clear, you then both move to a sides defense. In your actual case, where you are already in a sides formation, then I would say it is receivers partners shot.
crazy_smasher: To avoid giving away the offensive initiative, you should leave some of your energy in reserve after tapping the serve, and look out for the third shot. With enough practice and experience, it is possible for the receiver to take the 3rd and 5th net shots, even if they are to opposing corners of the net...
cs, It depends on your doubles strategy, and what was previously discussed with your partner. a) Offensive Front/back with side to side: All offensive returns of service - you would switch to front and back and all defensive returns of service (i.e. lifts or clears) you would switch to side/side c) Always side/side In the first (a) situations, as Neil has mentioned- your team is trying to gain the tactical advantage. Therefore you are trying to get into front and back position just as much as your opponents are trying to maintain the same position. If you are tapping or pushing the initial serve, you are being offensive in your return of service and hoping for a good return of service so your opponent will lift up. After your service, since the return was offensive, you are indeed in the "front" position, and responsible for the net. Get your momentum righted and get to the T section. Your partner should have shifted over to the back and covered any lifts, so the initial tight drop shot was yours. If you and your partner want to always be defensive/side to side, then the initial sort is his. This is a conscious decision to initially start in a defensive position, and has disadvantages but will also work if you and your partner are superior defenders. I would say 75% of club players play the first type of doubles strategy. good luck.
Some questions first: 1. Why are you ending up at the right side of the net position that's extreme enough to give you trouble covering the left net block? 2. Is your service return going down? Natural position after returning service would be to be at the net slightly favoring toward the direction where you hit your shot so that you can cover the blocks and interceptable drives down the line and crosscourt. And an important note is not to be so close to the net so that your field of view and reaction time can be maximized to respond to the next shot, not to mention giving yourself room and better angle to play any net shots that comes back. If you're hitting the service return down (angle), then even when the opponents hit the next shot crosscourt, the shuttle must travel up to clear the net. this slows down their shot giving you more time to respond not to mention they must hit a very difficult shot to keep the shuttle close to the net since it's coming back at upwards. If your push is above or at net level when your opponents hit the next shot, then the shuttle they hit can travel faster and can travel at downward angle to your side of the net/court so I think it's crucial to analyze your service return more in depth. But then there are people who are very very good at crosscourt block off of service return push. Sometimes you can recognize some players' tendencies to hit this shot all the time so that you can formulate a way for you and your partner for you to cheat over to that side in order to gain advantage. Otherwise if they're burning you all the time, change your service return to a net drop or soft push down right at the server's body. Hope this helps
Due to my forward momentum due to the tap down the line, i will be near the net. My service return is going down but only slightly. To Nicholls, I don't think you should be side by side at this time. Really??? i always stay side-side when receiving a serve. I think it depends on the strategy used like prophet say. Thanks for the replies, i will try to take charge of the shot tonite in my game and see if it works. I guess, i need to recover faster from my tap and be more nimble at the net.
It is easier said than done. I personally have this problem too. When I first started playing double, i would say that i rushed every service and gave my opponent a really difficult time. Serving to me was a nightmare. In return, my partner and i will always have an easier game due to some cheap points gained by the service return. Later however, when my opponent realised that i will rush every service, they started to return my service return with a cross court block to the net. To their delight, i will fail to take the shot cause i still have not recovered from my initial momentum. I stoped this when my partner started to blame me for failing to that the shot! I could not blame my partner cause i do think that it is infact my shot. Currently, i will not rush every service but incorporate some softer shots like a net drop or soft push to the side. I will occasionally still rush the service though.
Yes, it depends on what strategy you've agreed with your partner. What would you do if instead of the cross court shot to the net, your opponent pushed it fast and deep into the rear corner on your side of the court? Is that yours or your partner's?
If the opponent has really a good backhand clear, i know which one among my friends, i will tend recoil backwards, anticipating a clear. if on a side by side formation i get the shuttle fly over my head, i always accept it as my mistake. so, i have a bad habit of doing short drive deception serve and not going in front to cover the net, i got a phobia of the shuttle flicking over my head I tried today to cover that cross-court net drop shot, it is simply too fast for me to reach it for a non-lift shot. CS
The object of rushing a serve is to get the bird travelling quickly downward towards the floor, not quickly towards where your opponent can play it from! (Unlike other shots where the principle of taking the bird early/high is designed to minimise your opponents recovery time, when serving they are already in as close to optimal attack formation as possible, so this is not a factor.) Obviously your opponent is quick at getting to back-court down-the-line pushes - try a mid-court d-t-l push instead. This will take your opponent longer to retrieve and allow you to recover your position before he plays his shot. Another option for a high serve is to push it hard at the server's racquet-side shoulder or hip. He has to move to either make a shot or to allow his partner to take it, thus also increasing your recovery time.
CrazySmasher, If your service return is leading you to be out of position at net, then maybe you're investing too much in your shot, especially if it's not definitively going down on your opponents. Like somebody mentioned service return is a setup shot where you're trying to get your opponents to lift since at fairly high levels, outright service return winners are not that common. Practice variety of service returns (drops, half court push, soft push to opponents body, etc.,) so that opponents can't expect the push all the time to their backhand. Needless to say, if you do push to opponents' backhand and they cross court block, my couch always told me that if my partner is not able to get the shot, then it's my responsibility - hence doubles. So I would agree that your partner should be able to get that shot but you should also do whatever possible to either avoid that scenario which would seem to be difficult for your partner or try and get yourself in position to get the shot yourself. Hope this helps.
I agree with CHUN. Be carefull especially in doubles with your opening shots. Use them as set-up shots, to provoke errors or lifts, rather than try to win the rally with the first shot. When you push your return towards the sideline one of the following things will happen. 1) you win because they can reach it. 2) you are in truble if they catch it. Because you have left the door wide open. Your partner is away to the left, you are entangled in the net. AND your opponent has the advantage of free swing since the shuttle is away from his body. Try pushing the shuttle down the middle - aim for the chest of the server or the belly of the player in the rear. If you're early and good - you will win it anyway. If the service is good and you can't win it directly, you haven't given anything away. The player in the back receives a slowish shuttle direct on the his torso. It is fairly easy to return. HOWEVER, he can do nothing with it! If he is going to lift or drive, he has to produce all the speed himself - with no arm-swing or body momentum. If he want's to cross block, he is doing so from the middle, which leaves him very little space to get it past you. The usual outcome is a straight block back towards you. Be ready for that and tap it right back at him - again and again! It is great fun to see them squirm and see how many times they can get it back before they eventually fail. Just keep the shuttle between his shoulders and hips. The opening shots are like punches in a boxing match. Yes - you want to attack and score. No - you don't want to bare your jaw to the opponent. Jabs and soft taps to the body may be boring and unspectacular, but they serve as secure preparation for the kill.
