ready for the next shot?

You need to be ready before he strikes, meaning both your mind AND your body.
Getting back to center doesn't mean you'll be ready for the next shot. As an example, you're smashing from the back and do everything you can to get back to center, but you haven't realized your opponent received it and counter attacked deep in the back, while you are still trying to get back to center. So you're taken flat foot because you weren't ready for the shot.

 

There isn't a sure fire way to predict how hes going to hit it. Running forward "predicting" hes going to drop would cause him to return with a clear. Or vice versa. Are you having problems on receiving that next shot? I do too haha.

 

is a double game. serve low ball better or high ball better??


singlez cox of is high ball yea.. wad but double?

 

i know you dont talk like that from your previous posts so dont talk like that. its very annoying.

 

haha! so sorry.. maybe i not good with words.. apologies..

i was trying to ask if in a doubles game. wad kinnde serve must i give?

 

well when i've only seen people in school and recreational games in gyms play, no olympic games. But almost all the time they just do a low drop barely over the line so the server can be on the offensive. However i play singles and like to serve very far. and i really dont like switching so i serve it far against the bad double players and watch them miss or get there slow and do a weak clear as they are not use to shuffling back and receiving a high serve hahaha.

 

from the rear court, you should only move about one and a half steps at the most back to the centre. never go to the centre, stay back a step or or so. this is because its easy to move forward than go back. so say, after playing a straight drop, move to a step in front of the doubles service line, so you can leap back to cut off a return lift. if he plays to the front, then motor it and lunge quick and fast. use this as a guide, when returning to base, move slow, when moving to the next shuttle, go in quick. always remember, going forwards is easier than going back, so adjust your position accordingly

 

serving high in doubles is a bad option. it allows the other side to get on the attack quick, giving away the attack. always serve low and to the front, and be ready at the net. only occasionally serve high to mix it up and make sure they're not rushing the serve. if you persist with serving high, let me tell you this, one day, you'll regret getting into the habit.

 

Split step

Are you performing a split step? This very important part of footwork is often overlooked becuz ppl sometimes don't notice it. It is usually very obvious when executed by competitive tennis players. However with badminton players it is a bit more subtle -- but no less important. It actaully is a timing hop done in response to the movement of your opponent's racket.

For further discussions try a search but start at these links:

badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34954

badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38738

 

so. in short singles serve far. doubles serve as light as possible yea?

double veri hard to play.. need have alot of power!

 

for me, i prefer doubles. singles is too taxing, man.. need to maintain fitness daily..

 

yup.. singles sure need maintain fitness alot.. doubles dun need staminar.. jux tatics and strength!
=xp

 

It sounds like more of a mental thing than a footwork thing. As I was taught by the coach of the OCBC, when you hit a drop, you shuffle step back, but not all the way to the centre. If you hit a clear, return to the centre. If you hit a net shot from the front, shuffle a step or two back... if you hit a lift, return to the centre.

But as SystematicAnomaly mentioned, the 'split-step' or 'compression' or 'hop' really is key. As well as being ready in mind. Try and mentally feel as if your legs and feet are light, supercharged, and ready to explode in any direction necessary.

 

If you want, you can be even more specific about it. Basically, for a given situation (location of shuttle and players on the court, shuttle velocity vector, player 1's stroking skills, player 2's retrieving skills, player 2's interception skills, etc) you can define an "optimum position" as being the best place to wait for the next shot. Now, generally this will be somewhere towards the middle of the court but the point is the place to go for everyshot is situation specific.

If you play a tight net shot, the possibilities for aggressive deep returns are eliminated so you can simply wait near the net. If you play a loose net shot, you need to guard against the flick lift, so you move back based on how well your opponent can push/drive/flick and how well you can intercept such a shot.

If you smash the shuttle hard, the shuttle will most likely return along some path very similar to which it came. It's simply the conservation of momentum. That's why for a smash you simply follow straight in for the kill.

Now, do keep in mind the difference between optimum position and a "gambling" position. Let's suppose you hit a net shot and you stand closer to net the than what is optimal. In such a situation, player 1 can flick the shuttle over player 2 for an easy point, or get killed if he doesn't pay attention and plays the net shot return. So, player 2 has essentially set the game up into all or nothing situation. If player 2 is poorer technically and positionally, this could be a good thing as it evens things out through chance. However, if player 1 pays attention to what's going on and responds appropriately, player 2 is screwed.

 

The high deep serve is probably still the dominant serve for most singles players. However, for world class male players, it's been the short backhand serve in most singles matches that I've seen in the past 15-20 yrs.

First saw this with Morten Frost serving to Yang Yang. I think that this happened in the late '80s. Yang**2 had such an awesome jump smash off the high serve, that MF started serving short BH serves. After Yang**2, a lot of Chinese & other players starting developing this type of jump. As a result more players at this level started serving short more often.

 

Stumblingfeet makes a good point about shot selection (and quality), situation, and tactics dictating the optimal base position. One thing that I will add is that while the base is usually somewhere around the centre of the court, it is almost never directly in the centre.

Factors affecting optimal base position include the shortest path of return for the shuttle, the most likely path of return, relative strength of the forehand and backhand sides, and, as mentioned earlier, that forwards movement is quicker than backwards movement.

Wayne Young

 

Good point, Kiwi & Stumblingfeet . When players practice footwork drills they often assume the center as a base. Often not realistic in an actual game.

 

Just run as fast as you can and get the shuttlecock !
of course you have to know how your oppenent plays
after some rallies. I guess that studying your oppenent
will help you more than to try randomly to anticipate his/her shots.

 

If you try to run too hard for every shot, you'll use up a lot of energy just getting from place to place. Try to focus on moving quickly without trying too hard. You'll find that you can reach many shots in singles at that kind of pace. Save the intense stuff for the shots that really need it, like jump smashes, net kills or intercepts.

Also, the tactic for playing against a player who runs hard like that is to hold more shots and use deception. Once a player gets to a fast speed, it becomes difficult and time consuming to change direction, so overeagerness for getting to the shuttle can be punished !