i am 15 and still play both singles and doubles; i am definetly stronger at doubles as i have been taught how to play well by good coaches and experienced players at my club every week. however, i only get to play singles (in proper tournament conditions) every few months and when i do, i am usually playing against people who are weaker skill wise and usually beat me as i dont really know how to play singles properly, i feel that i try and move the player around the court but dont finish rallies of very well, i am a fast player and am best with drops and general net play, how do i move an opponent around to win rallies, and how do i also detect weakness as this is another thing i suck at . singles leaves me very frustrated as i have the ability, just need to know what to do with it, thanks.
play to the 4 corners. Your overhead strokes must look the same otherwise opponent can predict where to go before you even strike the bird. Add a bit of deception can often wrong-foot oppo and lead to weak(er) replies. singles footwork is different to doubles so there are extra techniques to learn.
ok i will look into this, should i also be smashing alot more or what? im clueless when it comes to singles haha....
im going to book a court tommorow, ill try to upload footage on here. it might not come of very well as it will be filmed on my mobile aha ))
Use your sharp drops to pull your opponent forward and then try to play fast to the back court. In singles you have to use the back court a lot. You need a stable clear that you must use a lot to push your opponent to the back. In doubles you don't use the clear a lot, so if your clear is not steady enough this can be a reason why you struggle. Also when you're at the net it can be tempting to hit tricky diagonal net shots but it's generally more useful to try to play fast to the back court instead. Singles is less about taking risk and more about playing safe, drawing errors from your opponent. When your opponent is late to return to the base position, you can smash. But smashing too much or as a way to start the rally can be unwise.
youre looking to move your opponent around to open up a space to attack this can mean playing rallies to see where they are slow and attacking at the appropriate moment also, attack does not mean smash ONLY. paced drops , tap smashes, drives close to the sides are all attacking shots to someone who is out of position. placing a shot to where your opponent cannot get to is a good approach.
Also avoid jump smashing from the back cause you may not be able to recover fast enough if your opponent returns your smash to the net. Drop from the back and smash from mid court! That helps me for singles. In doubles you have a partner for the front so you can be smash happy at the back all day.
^true in my doubles experience my partner was never good at covering the side where my smash would go, so i have lots of practice going from rear court smashing to getting the blocked shot near the frontbut its all based on strengths youve discovered during play
Experience counts and you do need to train for singles play. One thing about moving people around the court is to make them change direction - sometimes you do want to make them run the full diagonal of the court but to do so all the time is too simplistic. A far better way is to make them change direction and a few times make them run the diagonal. Assuming you are right handed at the rear court, right hand side: Let's say you play a straight drop shot, the opponent plays a straight lift to you again, the opponent goes back to base position, where is the next place to hit it? A) Straight drop B) Cross court drop C) Straight clear D) Diagonal cross court The other thing about singles is being patient and changing the pace of the ally is a good attribute. so play slow shots and then to create an advantage, hit a clip smash, sudden attack clear etc. These tend to produce errors in the opponents play.
Being a Varsity singles player for high school, I recommend incorporating backhand shots to save time and energy. Since you get training, I'm assuming that your shots are pretty consistent. If they are, I suggest trying to use some deception to throw off your opponent. As said earlier, try not to jump smash too much from the back, UNLESS you've got quick recovery. Goodluck!
Consistancy - Direction Change - Speed. Singles requires a different type of footwork to doubles and alot of people get confused about singles gameplay. You dont have to have a specific routine or plan for shots each rally. I wouldnt even reccomend it as this becomes a simple routine for your opposing player to pick up on. Instead you need to learn to think on your feet and watch not only the shuttle but your opponents movement. This is of major importance for not only giving yourself the tactical advantage but choosing the correct shots to play each time. Ultimately singles is about keeping the shuttle in play long enough and effectively enough to find the right opportunity to kill and win the point or have your opponent make a mistake and kill it for you. The other thing is alot of the time this cannot be taught or coached as matchplay and thinking on your feet starts in your head and strengthens over time with experience. MY RECCOMENDATION - START TRAINING SINGLES. SPECIFIC DRILLS AND FOOTWORK AND FITNESS TRAINING. START COMPETING MORE IN SINGLES COMPETITION AND THE MATCH PLAY WILL COME OVER TIME AND EXPERIENCE.
http://bvm.s3.amazonaws.com/singles-tactics.pdf go to page 8. its called the v tactic or triangle reason being 1. distract the pace of the opponent 2. create empty spaces 3. create opportunity for kill 4. and many more that you could describe by yourself.
Wow, nice! This really point out some of the important points of playing a singles game. I knew some of them but not all, thank you!