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Do you actually get back to the T-Position? 

Or just part of the way?

Most people learn fairly early on in squash that you should try to get back to the T-Position, but do people actually get back to the T-Position? 

The ‘true’ T-Position

Generally, most players will get back towards the T-Position but not actually recover all the way to it. The ‘true’ T-Position, as everyone probably knows but forgets, is where the short-line meets the T-Line or serve line on the floor, which creates the ’T’ shape known as the T-Position. In some matches and on some courts during high temperatures, this might not be too damaging, but it certainly prevents you from fulfilling your potential.  

When it’s hot and there are lots of hard length shots being hit it might be sensible to not return all the way to the T-Position, but recovering to the ‘The average T-Position’ (pictured above) will give your opponent opportunities and also deny you key opportunities. 

The benefits of recovering to the true The T-Position include:

  • Being in position to create and use volley opportunities more often and earlier
  • Being able to cover short shots better 
  • Being able to do more damage with short shots by playing them earlier

Some players might think that they can volley enough from a deeper position, but the truth is even if you volley a lot from a deep position you will be missing some opportunities which could do even more damage to your opponent. The shots you are volleying will be hit half a second or a second later than you would be hitting them if you were on the T-Position. You shouldn’t underestimate the difference this can make. It puts so much more pressure on your opponent physically, which in turn puts pressure on their technique and mental game, all of which they’ll have to cope with in a faster paced game that will sap their energy. 

Your opponent is being let off if you are not taking advantage of these benefits. Who doesn’t like their opponent taking their time and not applying pressure? These opportunities are presented to your opponent if you are allowing them to take the T-Position by sitting deep behind the T. Then, you allow them more time to play a better shot, and because you aren’t in a great position to volley, you will probably be pushed to the back of the court and lose possession of the T-Position, which will then give them the chance to reap the benefits of the advanced T-Position. 

Pay attention to your T-Positioning the next time you go on court. Are you getting back to the T-Position as well as you can? Or are you comfortable to play against?

Is your long shot actually long? 




Does your length shot get your opponent behind you?

It can be very easy to get caught up in whacking the ball to the back of the court with little regard for accuracy and thought for why you actually did it. The whole point of playing a long shot is to get your opponent behind you so that you can take the T-Position. Do your length shots actually have this purpose?  

Getting the first bounce behind the serve box

In general, you need the first bounce of your shot to be behind the serve box. The exact area of the ideal first bounce will vary though depending on the court, the ball and what shot you are playing. It’s wise to spend a bit of time during the warm-up trying to figure out where the ideal first bounce is to get the ball bouncing twice right in the back corner. Sometimes it will need to be a good foot behind the service box or possibly even further back that that if the ball is cold or your are playing a slower shot, such as a lob.

Even on the hottest courts, you will usually need the ball to bounce behind the serve box to get your opponent off the T-Position. If it doesn’t get beyond the box, you will usually find your opponent is able to cut the ball off. It might mean the ball comes off the back wall a bit but this is definitely worth it to get your opponent off the T-Position (so long as your length shot isn’t coming off the back wall a long way!).

Most matches are won by the player who gets their shots into the corners of the court the most and if your length is getting your opponent to the back more than their length shots are able to get you to the back, you will have a great chance of emerging victorious in the match.

Ways of getting the ball behind the service box

If you’re struggling to get the ball behind the serve box it can be for a number of reasons. Typically people could do with opening their racket face more, which you can do by rotating your forearm. You can find out more about this here.

It might also be your positioning and/or footwork is preventing you getting enough power or leverage on the ball, in which case you might need to ensure your feet are pointing towards the sidewall or even a touch forwards, which might mean moving around the ball more to ensure you are more ‘side-on’ to the front wall. You might even use a little jump. You can find out more about positioning and footwork here.

You could also try putting more weight into your legs by bending your knees more and squatting slightly or lunging, although this lunge needs to be directed by your feet and body pointing towards the side wall as much as possible as previously mentioned.

During your next few matches, check if your length shot actually gets past the service box. The player whose length is weaker and shorter typically loses the match, as they don’t get possession of the T-Position as much and provide their opponent with more opportunities to attack.




Don’t wait for the ball – hit it early




Don’t gift your opponent time

A foot is a huge distance in squash. A second is a long time. If you stand a foot higher up the court or hit the ball a second earlier, even a half-second, it has a huge knock-on effect and changes the pace of the game. If you hit the ball level with the T-Position, as opposed to being nearer the back of the service box, that might be the difference between catching your opponent unaware and unprepared and catching them perfectly calm and positioned on the T-Position. Both of these scenarios would lead to drastically different rallies and outcomes for you and your opponent.

Doing everything earlier or higher up the court

The big opportunity that lots of people miss on court is when their opponent plays a long shot from the front of the court. Rather than stepping forward and volleying, many will move back and let the ball bounce. Some will volley, but often they’ll do so well behind the short line and T-Position or not volley as early as they could have because they were sloppy in recovering the T-Position.

If there’s ever an opportunity to hit a shot earlier or higher up the court do it, take it. If you let the ball bounce or travel further down the court, you are allowing your opponent time. It might be a small amount but it could make all the difference. Hitting the ball an inch higher up the court might leave them with too much ground to make up. Not hitting the ball that inch higher up may result in them scraping your shot back with their frame.

If you are struggling with hitting the ball early or being ready to hit the ball early, try practicing the volley exercises below:

As with any sport or pursuit, you really need the margins in squash. Any marginal gain is worth fighting for and time and distance are the biggest of them all. Don’t allow your opponent any time you don’t have to give them – play every shot as early and high up the court as you are able to do.




Moving back to the T after a drop shot




Being ready for the long return. 

I’ve heard quite a few people say before that they won’t play drop shots when they’re at the front as they’re worried their opponent will smash their drop shot to the back. This should be seen as a positive outcome though, because if your opponent is just smashing your drop to the back they’re giving you a great opportunity to make them run.

You can read more about playing a drop shot here. 

Why is my drop setting up my opponent? 

There are many reasons why your drop shot might lead to your opponent winning the rally but most commonly it is because players don’t recover the T-Position properly after playing a drop shot. If you’re standing at the front, it won’t even take a very long shot to put you under pressure. It’s not even uncommon for players to linger at the front without moving back towards the T-Position at all. This means that even if your  is effective, you may not be ready to return your opponent’s shots, let alone attack the shot. If you are back near the T-Position, you’ll be in a prime position to volley any loose length and at least return any length with a counter length of your own, forcing your opponent into a sprint from front to back.

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How to move back to the T

After playing a drop, it is important you start to move backwards to the T-Position. If your lunge technique is correct, you will be able to remain balanced and ready to make a quick and smooth exit from the shot, pushing off using the momentum of the lunge itself.

As you move towards the T, keep your steps small and stay low and with your upper body crouched forwards slightly, as you want to make sure you can cover a counter drop if need be.

Quality of the shot itself

If it’s the quality of your drop shots that are lacking, it could be a few different things. The most common problem I see though is people not getting down low enough, which you can read more about here. 

If you get lower, you can be closer to the ball, allowing you greater control and more options and a quicker route back to the T-Position by exiting your lunge.

If your opponent is attacking your drop and winning the rally or putting you under pressure, see if your movement back to the T-Position is of the standard it should be.




How to stop running



DEFENCE! DEFENCE! Using the four corners to stop running around.

The most dangerous position in squash to be in is running around the court, desperately retrieving the ball whilst your opponent stands around and keeps moving you.

It can get seriously out of hand and usually results in you eventually not being able to reach a ball or causing you to making an error. Occasionally, an opponent will be a bit casual or over-eager and make an error, so you should always try to keep the ball up one shot longer, but you’d of course rather be the person standing around than the one doing the running.

Breaking out of the vicious cycle

This sort of rally can become something of a cycle. Once you start running, it can be hard to stop running. This is because your opponent has found a gap on the court between you and the T-Position and they’ve played the ball into it, which has caused you to run more than normal. As you’re running quite a bit, it’s likely your shot will be weaker than normal as the pressure may well affect your technical and mental ability, resulting in weaker shot selection and execution. Of course this then allows your opponent to apply further pressure as the gap between you and the T-Position widens even more, further impacting your shot selection and execution. If you’re fit, you may find this process going on for some time as you fight desperately to survive.

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The four corners

The main reason this running cycle is able to continue is because people start playing poor squash under pressure. Most of the time, a bad shot choice is made and then the shot is also poorly executed, which is understandable given the pressure. The worst thing you can do is play the awful cross-court or smash shot that most people attempt to play, which just gives the ball right back to the person making you do all the running. Instead, you need to try and train yourself to produce an almost automatic shot choice for these situations where you aim to get the ball deep into one of the four corners.

In my opinion, the best shots in this situation are the straight drop or a lob shot. The lob will give you time to get back to the T-Position but frequently people are unable to execute it well or the pressure is so great it’s very hard to execute well and so the lob ends up being a feed for the opponent to volley. The straight drop in my opinion is the best option, especially if your opponent is behind you, as it is a counter-attacking shot. If you feel the ball into the front corner, they then have to effectively trade places with you while you can get back towards the middle. The pressure is now on them.

The lob is a great option if they’re high up the court and so vulnerable to a lob if you do have the ability to get your racket under the ball and therefore play a good lob. If you aren’t confident in your lob, I suggest you practice it but make sure this practice is pressurised and not easy to reflect the situation where you’ll need it most.

When you’re in your match, see if you can break your opponent’s attacks up by playing into the four corners, particularly with a straight drop or lob shot, and prevent yourself running around like a headless chicken.