Don't be predictable Crosscourt shots are risky only when you hesitate or do a backhander for crosscourt. Everybody expect a backhand shot to be weaker and often less accurate, guess what they would do when they know you got a weak backhand? They would pounce on it with lots of time to spare. Not many players could do a disguised backhand shot. When done well, an overhead forehand shot is a threat that looks like a threat. Therein lies the deception part -- you look like you have the option to smash when you're behind the shot, so you can do any shot that puts the pressure on the other side. When you're hit consistent quality downward shots, your opponents will always be under pressure and hesitate until the shuttle actually gets off your racquet. You only get into trouble when your opponents can anticipate your shot like observing your special stroke for a particular shot or when you use the shot too much in certain situation. With doubles, it's only confusing for the net player when the back player lift or clear to push opponents back because then your team will have to rotate back to side by side... fast! Otherwise, your partner at the front will seldom have trouble staying on the offense as long as you hit downwards from the back... whatever shot it may be. Remember that the back player has to setup for his partner at the front by forcing a midcourt lift or an opportunity netkill. The net player only has to block reachable high shots and/or kill weak returns, his only worries is a sudden lift or floater by his partner. He could setup his partner at the back more, but unless the back player is consistently hitting down strong and at the right places, the smasher will tire out fast regardless of strong stamina. To minimize confusion, both players must be fast on their feet and recover to the right place at all time. Side to side defensive when the other side has the high shot, and back-front offensive when the other side takes the shuttle late. As soon as you recognise an opportunity for offense, you gotta jump on it! Rotation is a breeze when you got a solid regular partner who understands. When you're decisive, there's little room for confusion.
Totally agree!! Plus there are things in singles that you should try to avoid when playing doubles, therefore, definitely need to be careful!!
definate Yes... my playsytl;e doesn't really change..but more my goals... I'm quite good at teh net...so that would mean: -in singels i usually get a winner at the net (my youthfull speed being an advantage..) dropshots, and sharp smash to force another lift (repeat drop/smash) till he tries to net it back..wich will be defensive...and i can usually do a sharp netdrop. or score a winnings lob (a tight one. not really a lob) -in doubles i tend to do whatever i can to give my partner a smashing chance. wic also requires net work..
Placement of shots, position, defensive/offensive tactics all change. in singles, you'd be running around everywhere and most of your shots would be effective due to your opponent being lone and having to cover court. Therefore you can still do an OK drop shot and the rally would continue. In doubles, there's always someone ready to pounce on it, bad drop equals kill by your opponent.
i think the answer is quite obviously yes to me. anyone tried playing doubles for lets say... 1 week. then switching to singles? i have lots of problems doing that. if i were playing singles first then doubles i tend to go for every shot and run the risk of colliding with my partner. so now i stick to singles
know you feel... after a long time fo singles doubles are like "erhm..hwo did this work again?" but after a long time of double's it's more like "ahhh, singles, nice" maybe because the game is not so complicated as in doubles
i answered no because it's basically the same game when you play singles or doubles... rallying, counter-attacking, placements and variations in speed and movement is still there... for me, strategy on how to win is the main difference...
Well im not quite sure if its "mentality", but i think you have to get used to each. There are obviously different strategies concering both and some maybe used as beneficial and some may not. In singles i find the exchanges a bit slower and its a bit more tactical. If you played with a person playing singles for a while and you having no singles experience, dont be suprised lol
absolutely yes. in single there is only 1 unknown. but in doubles there are 3!!! (i guess 2 if u're really close with your partner or something) single is so much more comfortable. i do what i gotta do. i know what i should do. any mistake from my side is mine. i can control the pace to what i like. it's like i have a full control of the game. but in doubles.. mehh..
Actually... I rather feel that because singles is slower, there are less tactics. There are holes everywhere... there are a few principals of attack like making them run as hard as possible for the most awkward shots and such, sure... But i don't find singles that mentally engaging, I find it comes down more to pure technical skills. It's in doubles, where there are two opponents deffending the opposite court territory that there are few openings, and that's where you need tactics to make openings since it's relatively more difficult to break through.
Ah, my bad. I didn't mean to say it's not mentally engaging at all or anything... I just meant, I don't have to think as much, strategically speaking. Mental toughness is something else. Sorry for not being clear.
Yes & No In doubles you're playing on the opponents, trying to take their space away, fast and hard, pushing them back to give you the space to win the rally. You know you can commit 110% full attack if you have confidence in your partner to support you. In singles, you're moving your opponent where you need him/she to go so that the point is setup for you. BUT, singles is a funny game and people have funny styles. Knowing how to play fast doubles is always handy when you're up against a singles player who plays flat and later than conventional players. If you can pressure their natural style of playing, you will force the errors from them. It can also put conventional players off their style if you're always attacking them. It will always come down to how much you know about your opponent(s).
I discussed the same thing about singles and doubles mentality with my coach. I use to play doubles, so when I made the sudden switch to singles, I found it hard not to smash every single high shot I received. Now, when I play doubles again, I still try to power through every rally and WIN the point instead of letting my opponent LOSE the point like I do in singles.
Technique-wise, I don't think your play would change in doubles or singles but I would say that the strategy should change drastically. In singles, to tire out your opponent you drop then clear (I wonder if anyone here read the 'triangle offense') but in doubles one if the main goals is to keep shots down -- your aim in doubles is to force the other team to lift. You would also have to adjust in terms of communicating with a partner -- in singles you have to run after every shot but in doubles rotation is very important and each partner has to know his or her area at a specific time, it wouldn't do for both of you to go running after a shuttle and leaving the rest of the court unguarded. 'Muscle memory' is also something that I think would need adjusting -- many doubles players sometimes drop to either corner of the net by instinct but if you try that in singles it'll be called out.
i say yes, my main game is singles, i have lots of stamina(from football and tennis) and i use that to my advantage, i play a allround game, attacking agressively when my opponent is tired or off-guard and the rest of the time i let him make the mistakes most of the time but i also like jumping alot(trying to do less of that), that i think is a common singles mentality, and in doubles, i play 90% of my shots are aimed to the ground, to force the opponents to miss or lift the shuttle, then lots of jumping, rotation and fast rally's
Meh, in doubles I allow myself to be lazier than singles, and smash more from the back, so not too much, but still a bit.
