Should you serve to your opponents backhand? 

Whenever we play squash, we almost always serve to our opponent’s backhands and make a point of doing so. If we see a left-hander, we almost immediately proceed to the left hand service box and begin our service. Is this right though and which side should you serve too?

At a lesser level, players tend to be weaker on their backhand so it makes sense to try and get an easy point by serving to an opponent’s backhand, particularly when playing English Scoring to 9, where you need to be serving to score a point.

I challenge you to think before you automatically plump for serving to your opponent’s backhand.

So at a lower level, serving to the backhand seems a sensible idea. At many levels PAR (Point-A-Rally) scoring is now universal and this diminishes the importance of being the server – though not the importance of the quality of the serve.

Regardless of the scoring system, players still serve to their opponent’s backhand, despite the fact there is no real logic to this at a good playing standard except for custom, as there is less difference between the backhand and forehand of a player. In fact, many players become better at hitting touch shots on their backhand.

With this in mind, I challenge you to think before you automatically plump for serving to your opponent’s backhand. First, consider your own service. Is your service stronger when serving to the backhand side or the forehand side?

I challenge you to think before you automatically plump for serving to your opponent’s backhand.”

Secondly, what sort of positioning does your opponent take up when waiting for the serve? One player I played regularly thought he saw me moving too early preparing for a volley return on my forehand and so he used to elect to serve to my forehand and drill the serve down the middle, towards my body and it caught me out. Now though, I pretend to drift over as if I’m moving in too quickly, only to shuffle back waiting for his loose serve when he’s not looking!

Make sure you also consider the pace, angle, height, etc., of your serve based on your opponent’s positioning.

Thirdly, consider your opponent’s strengths. Some players attack and volley better on their backhand than their forehand. So why would you serve to their stronger volleying side?

Lastly, consider the mental effect this can have on your opponent. Whenever someone served to my forehand with their opening serve, I was curious and almost lost concentration. ‘Why is he doing that? My forehand is stronger than my backhand… isn’t it?’. ’What has he seen? He must have seen something on my forehand that he thinks he can exploit. What does he know?’. ’Is his serve stronger on that side?’.

Consider your opponent’s strengths. Some players attack and volley better on their backhand than their forehand. So why would you serve to their stronger volleying side?”

It might even lead other dangerous thoughts; ‘Right, my forehand is stronger than my backhand. I’m going to smash this into the nick to show him just how wrong he is to challenge me on this side.’ Whatever the reaction was, it was just that, a reaction. Even if it didn’t show outwardly, I was at least slightly distracted inwardly. It is worth serving from different sides every now and again in a match just to psych-out your opponent. This is particularly effective against players with strong return of serves and players who are reliant on them (the serve & drop volley merchants!). Disrupt their rhythm by keeping them guessing about the serve.

Next time you serve, don’t just head for the same box as always. Think about it. The serve gives you the time unlike any other shot to do just that. You can also read more about service in the post ‘Do you vary your serving?’.