Doubles net movement how do you approach it? (this is in mens doubles) After playin a straight net shot or lift i always recover from a stight net this could be about a metre if its a lift then usually two i thought this was fine and good practise its what ive been taught for a long time as a younger junior. HOWEVER now me and my squad in lead up to the U-17 ICT junior tournament in the UK are having coaching with Andy Wood (coach of emms & robertson + Clark munt & blair etc) and coaching with Roebuck. WHile playing a mock match with Woody as a doubles pair he kept leaping on the fact that i recovered backwards after a net or lift saying it was wrong and i should say close to the net. Is this generally correct or is it because the top international players he works with are capable of blocking top smashes from rite at the net and now he expects me to follow suit.. ... i ask because it doesnt seem to make sense.
some punctuation mark may help others comprehend what you wrote. comma, fullstops. if i understand what you said, then i think what you meant is that, in situations where you receive a shot from the front court, you always back up a meter or two? usually one backs up on a lift, but stay at the net for a netdrop.
As a younger junior you do need to back up 1 meter after playing a netshot to guard yourself against the opponent's crosscourt netshot due to reach factor. Now that you're older though, you decide for yourself. Usually after playing a tight netshot, I'd move back a little but still not too much to the point where i can kill any of his straight netshot reply. This is because I know I can react quickly enough to reach his crosscourt netshot early if he chooses to do so. If I do lift, I'd move back to cover my side of the court. As far as 2 meters or maybe even more from the net I'd say. It depends on whether your lift is a good one or not, whether your reflex is fast, how hard your opponent's smash is, confidence etc.
It would depend on the situation but in general, one would back up a couple of steps after lifting from the net (this opens up the possibility of the opponents doing a drop and thus catching you off guard or at least while your momentum is still going backwards) to get ready to defend. This is something that you will need to work out with your doubles partner as I know some who would lift at the net but still stay up front (esp. if the opponents are known to do a lot of deceptive shots) to pre-emp the drop return and trust that their partner can defend against the smash. I would suggest that if you are getting caught most of the time by your opponents then it is time to change the strategy and stay up front.
1. Ask The Guy-he is a pro after all 2.Depends on the quality of your shot, if the netshot is good, then you can stay in, since he can only do three things- A)lift (your partners shot), B)Cross court net (you should be able to reach this) C)Straight net( you will be able to kill). If you back off, you may not be quick enough to get back to the straight shot, or cover the distance to the cross side, and if he lifts, then backing off will be simply a waste, since it isnt your shot. If the quality of net shot is not good, thenyou need to back off inorder to cover the extra option your opponent has, namely the soft straight push-if you stay in, this may go past you, but not reachable for your partner. Take it as a compliment, your net shots were reducing the number of replies your opponent can make, and so the area of court you need to cover!! Try reading the game and judging what your opponent can do with what you have given him, and decide on your positioning from their. What you do changes from stroke to stroke, sometimes you may need to move a step back, maybe half a step, if your shot is really bad, maybe even two!
when u were a junior, maybe you needed to take a step back to cover a little for your partner? or the reach problem as mentioned before. jamesd pretty much sums it up above....also since you are being coached by a international coach, just ask him if u don't understand the reasons behind what he says. He's a coach, i'm sure he understands that not everyone will understand why he says everything. Also, it is very important for you to know why, and u can start to make your own dynamic decisions during the course of the game and play with greater tactical awareness. if u think about it, if u lift it, then unless you've got it beyond the opponents and they are hitting it underarm, then it would probably be wise to get back to a base position. If u play a net shot, and your partner is behind you...well even if u do take some steps back, if it is a high shot, then you're still going to leave that shot for your partner, so there is no need to take a step back, as it doesn't put u in a better position for the next shot. good luck on the matches
