Too often I find that I am slow to react to some shots in particular if I am attacking in the forecourt in doubles. If the defending player can hit the shuttle with good pace it passes me too easily and puts my partner in trouble. Alot of these shots I fell I should be able to hit. I think I am not reacting the instant the shuttle comes of the racket of my opponent but reacting only when a bit nore sure of its direction but of course this is too slow. Is there a drill or something I can do to improve on this and get out of this bad habit.
First of all, u will need to make sure that u have your racket head up at all time when playing at front (This is the basic, and I'm not going to explain it any further...) It'll be wise to have a coach to train you regarding to your front-court interception part, because it's difficult for us to give u a very comprehensive guide. When I'm in training, my coach will consistently serving/driving low returns towards the front net area, towards my backhand area or even towards my mid court area. I will need to return the shots by either: 1) do a soft block 2) net kill 3) drive the shuttlecock back 4) or even smash the shuttlecock using round-the head action. Another good thing about getting a coach is, the coach will tell you where u should stand your position (in relating to your partner) when doing those interceptions They will also correct any wrong technique u might have. After a few months of training, you should have tremendous improvement & shouldn't have any problem covering most of those shots. There's no shortcut - Correct Practice makes Perfect Technique.
Hi there, I thought I would offer you my opinion. It is my opinion that a situation like yours comes from potentially one of two things. The first is the MOST likely, given what you said about playing the front court. The first problem most players have is they stand far too CLOSE to the net. Watcha professional doubles player playing at the front. They are at least a METER behind the white line, most of the time. Why is this? Actually think about how possible it is for your opponent to get the shuttle into the front half a meter of the court... right next to the net. Imagine how they will manage it after your partner has just hit a massive smash. I would go so far as to say that it is virtually impossible for them to hit the shuttle such that it lands tight to the net, without the shuttle having to go extremely high and loopy (which you have plenty of time to pounce on!!!). So, actually we don't need to cover that part of the court. Take a step back. Look how much more of the court you can see! Its the difference between going to a gallery and standing with your nose against a picture to standing back and looking at it properly. There is a huge difference! You will see more, you will react quicker! The next potential problem is your stance - if your base isn't wide enough, you will have difficulty pushing off. The first step you take must be almost automatic! A lower base will help you push off. Also regarding the stance, consider LOWERING your body, so that you are almost looking upwards at your opponents. You WILL see more, and get a much better FEELING of where the shuttle will come. Why is this? The centre of our visual field (and i mean RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE within about 5 degrees) is the only bit that REALLY registers movement and colour with any great detail. Given your opponent will try to keep the shuttle low, positioning your head lower will help keep the shuttle in the area of your vision that has the most "processing power" assigned to it - helping you to react quicker, whereas standing upright means the shuttle will quickly pass from your "good range" of vision, and into your peripheral vision, where there is much LESS chance of you noticing it quickly. In order to help improve your reflexes, any kind of practice playing fast shots like drives or defensive drives will help you. Also, consider practising by covering the net with black bin liner - so you can't see through it. Now you will have to see the shuttle much LATER than before, and thus you will train your eyes to notice it quicker, making real games very easy. Hope these ideas help Matt
One thing that was helpful for me was to have a 'tapping' contest whilst knocking-up before the game. With both of you standing about 1 metre behind the service line, hit flat and hard at each other. Try and force the other person to take steps backwards. I found it helps to 'get my eye in' quickly, especially when playing at an unfamiliar venue. Also got me in the habit of keeping my racket up & watching the shuttle off the opponents racket.
Simple, 2 ways as suggestions. 1) You stand at the T and keep on tapping your partner to his waist level and he stands near the base line. Both of your shoulder and arm should feel the numbness. Racket up always please. You should feel the numbness after 3 minutes. 2) When your partner gets the opportunity to smash, stay further back nearer to his side and get ready to move in after his smash. More time for you to see the shots coming back and anticipate them. Hope this helps.
I think you have to watch price of tennis for more detailed technique. ---------------- portable speed bump
I found this popular video very informative when I watched it a couple of months ago. It's Lee Jay Bok's Doubles Attacking System video on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWkkM36Y_90&feature=related
