playing singles

Hmm, improve your leg strenght? i've no idea, ask the experts.

 

I'm not by no means a great singles player, but I will give you my two-cents worth.

Right after you serve long, your first move should be to move towards base court. From there, your opponent could do three things: smash, drop, or clear to backcourt. But because you've moved to the center of the court, you can anticipate and react to all 3 types of shots with equal ease. So, realistically, if you are serving from the left side of the court, all you have to do is just move to the right and back about two to three steps and vice versa if you are on the right side serving. Also, at times to keep your opponent from attacking off the serve, try a short serve here and there to keep him on the defensive, forcing him to do a drop or lift.
The worst thing to do is to serve, then just stand there and move until he's actually hit the shuttle. Be ready to move the moment the shuttle leaves your racquet.

In your case, to attack dropshots, take long big strides and try to contact the shuttle while it's still close to tape height. This was one of my main problems earlier in the year when i tried to retreive drops. I would take about 4-5 little steps to get to the shuttle when my friend pointed out that it could be done in a fraction of the time with 2-3 long strides.

This has worked for me decently in my singles game, hope it helps you too.

 

I am no expert but I can give you my opinion from my experience.

-Try bending your legs slightly(lowers center of gravity) and wait on the balls of your feet -do not stand flat footed or straight up (the feeling should be that of a runner about to explode into a quick start... a sort of "on your mark,getset,...you are ready to go..then GO!!! when the bird gets hit)...appparently you could should do a slight "hop" as the bird is hit on the opponents side(maybe to prepare the muscle fibers for the elongation or explosion stage).
Now there are a bunch of ways to explode from this waiting stance with footwork. If there is anyone with coaching experience or exposure(s) they may want to comment here or about anything else I have said.

-Do not stand too far backwards when awaiting the response from your opponent. There are certain positions when awaiting the long serves to the two sides of the courts.

-Your oponent might have good deception also in which case the extra microsecond s to analyze his shot (is it a drop, drive,clear,smash... makes it too late for you to get to his drop. (frozen).

-Try not to anticipate too much -keep a fresh mind

-do foot drills

 

forgot to mention that the little preparatory hop is done on place

 

I agree with Hugo and rlue. The most important is after your serve, stand on the balls of your feet, ready to go. Tension on your legs, shoulders high (for fast drop returns).

Good luck!

 

Not leaning but a stance where you are ready and prepared to go. Being on the balls of your feet does not mean leaning. It is a feeling of lightnesss of being able to go.

The little bounce on place which you can do happens at the time when your opponent hits the shuttle and functions to break your inertia (my understanding of this would be a comparison to boxers Muhammed Ali bouncing and therefore being very agile and quick- as opposed to standing flatfooted and knees locked.

When you have served long adjust your waiting position depending on where you have served in the opponents receiving box. If it is to his deep forehand side you may want to be just slightly more to your left side of the center line.

Anybody else with comments.....please feel free to discuss and add from your experience or formal training...you will certainly have attentive ears.

 

yes...just expanding a bit..

one of my past coaches has mentioned the "hop" just like rlue mentioned. hmm..it's not a big hop...a very tiny hop like a jump start for a car. also...after you make the serve...(like everyone's mentioned, stay on the balls of ur feet)..but i'd like to add that you want to try to keep them moving..just TINY little steps (like "on the spot jogging, just little steps though..very miniture). Think of it this way..it's easier to push and move a car when it's moving than when it's in a still position. same as badminton, you keep your feet slightly moving..add the hop and it's that much more easier to react to your opponent's shot! i hope that helps

i guess i might as well throw this in...referring back to keeping on moving, that goes for the WHOLE game (but if it's during teh game and NOT after the serve, it's NOT tiny steps ...but just normal steps and if you find that you're returning to the center too quickly, slow down and take your time..but as long as your moving)..try to keep moving so you won't be at a standstill. once you stop..it's much harder to start up again and move..that fraction of a second will slow you down and it won't be fast enough to react and move to the bird sometimes.


Hope that all helps

 

There's an exercise. Maybe U already know it. Unfortunatelly I don't know how it could be called in English (in Russian we use a word "mill" - maybe cause it's an endless up-and-down cycle). It's like that:
U: Long serve
P(artner): Drop
U:leave the shuttle at the net
P: Lift
U: Drop again
P: net shot again
U: Lift again
...
AND you always have to return to the center after each hit. If you never practised it than try first to do it using only 1/2 of the court - it's a bit easier this way.
If you can, play this with that opponent you have problems with (when warming up e.g.). But even if you do it with somebody else you will be better prepared (in all sences) for drops anyway.

 

I'm not a good single player, but here are some of my inputs.

1. Try to take small first step toward the drop. Small step will be easier to initiate than large step.

2. Try to extend your racket first toward the shot. It'll lead your body toward the drop and make sure you don't over run (get too close) the drop.

I hope these tips can help you.

 

thiink of boxing.... jumping jumping all the time... you can get more anticipation.... although it gets very tired after a while...

 

Everything that has been said by others regarding initial movement is valid......I noticed that you particularly mentioned not getting to your opponants drop shots even though you know you have the ability to do so.

The question that I would like to ask is do you have a concern with rear court shots, i.e the attacking/punch clear, the reason that I ask is some players at a certain standard in singles after being caught out with these replies in previous games, sometimes unknowingly or not take up a deeper defence position after serving to cover the possiblity of an attacking clear, this obviously opens up your forecourt area for a dropshot which may be more difficult to cover because of your deep defensive base. I'm not saying that this is your problem but it's a question worth asking.
I've found in numerous cases when players tell me that they have a problem with a certain type of reply, it's not that reply that they have a problem with but usually the previous possible reply one shot before, usually if we have a weaker area we try and cover that possible reply moreso which opens us up in other areas.

It may only be a half step behind our normal singles base to cover a weaker backhand but that will make it just that little bit harder to get to a forehand net shot, particularly if you want to take it at net height, could be the differance between a net kill and a simple net reply, I know which one I'd prefer to play. So in this example I'd work on the players backhand to build up his confidence so that he'd take up a more forward base.

Hope this has been of some help even though it may not apply to you.

 

Re: Re: playing singles

Excellent observation Gerry!
One aspect of training that I do not see a lot of kids work on is recovery. From a movement, from a shot, even from the service. Once the shot is made, the player should immediately proceed with recovery from that shot. This means, completing the follow through, getting the body back towards the "ready" position, and even something as simple as getting one's head up.
Joanne,
From a service, I have noticed that some players in singles immediately bounce back slightly and get on their toes in preparation for the reply. While this is good and often taught, there are some players who will bounce but have their weight still going backwards rather than neutral. A suggestion is instead to bounce off after you serve the shuttle, a simple method to remain neutral is step forward naturally and get onto the balls of your feet in readiness.
My daughter had a similar problem, and after correcting her service recovery she can move in any direction without hesitation.

 

hmmm

i tend to lsoe shots when i serve.. After i serve.. if the opponents drops net do i net or hit to base?? If he hits to base do i hit back base and wait till he drops and i cant reach.

 

..by the way.. when serving...


when u contact the shuttle...

u must twist your back leg a little bit... towards the front

 

Here are a few observations taken from biomechanical research or other sports that might help:

1\ Improving the reaction time:

The brain takes far longer to plan a complex action than to execute it. A well planned action will also be better executed because the proper "neural program" is ready to be launched.

Applied to badminton, this means you should anticipate your opponent's potential returns and your responses ahead of time (you have ample time to do that when serving). You may find that your reaction time will improve because your body will react automatically as soon as the shuttle leaves the opponent's racket (the same applies to receiving serve if you want to play more aggressively).

2\ Getting the body to move:

Tennis: The receiver usually hops or at least sways from one foot to the next while awaiting a serve. It's easier to get the body to react when it's already moving (even if it's moving left while the serve is blasted right or vice-versa) than if it is static.

Golf: It is recommended to inititiate the swing with a forward press, i.e. a slight move or the body or arms/hands forward before starting the backswing. Again, it's easier to move a body properly if it's already moving.

Applied to badminton, this means that your post-serve stance should include some slight movement while maintaining an athletic balance on the balls of your feet as mentioned by previous posters.

Note also that an experienced opponent will likely see you standing flat-footed or ready to pounce in any direction and adjust his strategy accordingly.

Cheers,

Mike