Ruining the groove of your strings Don’t spin your racket in your hand between rallies. It’s a habit more common in tennis players but it’s something that does your shots and strings no good. Like how a table tennis bat has a red side and a black side, you should aim to use one side of your strings for forehand shots and the other side for backhand shots. If you spin your racket, you’ll end up hitting the ball with both sides of the strings when hitting forehand shots and using both sides of the strings when you play backhand shots. Sometimes you’ll notice immediately that you’ve flipped the racket and hit the ball with the opposite side of the racket face to usual, as the connection will feel ‘off’ or almost wrong. Other times, you might do it without noticing and suddenly find the contact when you strike the ball doesn’t feel right. 
When you play with strings they start getting into a groove and players who play with a lot of spin or slice will notice their vertical strings starting to go a little bit curved or wavy to one side. If you twist you racket and start hitting forehand shots with the face you’ve been using for backhand shots, this can start affecting your contact with the ball as the strings start pulling in different directions. Having an allocated side of the strings for forehand shots and backhand shots won’t take you to the next level but you may find you strike the ball cleaner and more consistently.
Getting the correct spacing for your shots
An arm’s-length between you and the ball.
Spacing is incredibly important in squash. It affects the quality of your shot and it will also have a huge bearing on the quality of your next shot and the one after because if you’re too close to the ball, you’ll be in a weaker position to return your opponent’s next shot.
Getting an arm’s-length between you and the ball
As a general rule of thumb, you want to make sure that the ball is about the length of your arm away from you when you hit it. You can get an idea for the distance by stretching your non-playing arm out in front of you. A lot of players – including myself – will actually have their other arm and hand outstretched as they play, which not only helps for spacing but can also aid balance and provide momentum for recovering from a shot.
You may not even notice it…
A lot of good players can still play good shots when they’re a bit close to the ball and so may not even notice there is anything to improve or anything going wrong. Unfortunately though it’s something that can be exposed when playing better players, as by being too close to the ball they’ll be further away from the T-Position. It might not be much but by leaving a bigger gap for their opponent to hit into, they are offering their opponent a more obvious shot to hit and the increased gap can easily be enough to leave them under pressure and chasing the ball.
Once you reach a certain level, squash becomes all about the very small details; the inch closer to the T-Position you could be, the inch shorter your drop shot could be and the second faster you are able to take the ball.
Check and see if you can play your shots from closer to the middle of the court without losing any quality. These inches can add up over the course of a game and make a huge difference.
Thinking ahead to your next shot.
Looking for combo moves.
In some sports you can think several shots or plays ahead but in squash this just isn’t the case. It’s a continually evolving game and the field is constantly changing. Even your best laid plans will need to be constantly adapted depending on how the game is unfolding and there are so many variables. One thing you can almost always do though is look ahead to your next shot based on the previous one.
Did you limit your opponent’s options?
Anticipation isn’t an exact science. It requires you to watch the ball and the opponent and then your subconscious to instantaneously consult all of your previous experiences to create an idea of what is coming next. The result is a sense of knowing or an instinct of what will happen next.
You can also get an idea of what is coming next based on what options your opponent has available to them. Hopefully, you’ve limited their options with your previous shot, which is the key to allowing you to think in combinations of shots. If I’ve played a tight accurate Drop Shot, I can be fairly sure my opponent is not going to be able to hammer the ball deep to either side of the court. They might attempt it but it is unlikely to get to the back of the court if my ball was tight. Realistically, they’ll be forced to Counter-Drop me or if there is a bit of a gap between the ball and the wall, Lob me. I can use this information to consider my next move. With their long options reduced, I would push high up the court. If they play a Drop, I’ll be there for it. If they do go for Length, it is unlikely they’ll be able to play a great shot and so I’ll be ready to intercept and Volley any loose Length.
Perhaps you’ve played a good Lob Serve and your opponent has let it bounce in the back corner and it’s not coming off the back, so you can push forward knowing they’ll realistically have to either Boast it or dig it out with a weak Lob which you can Volley. The potential scenarios for working out combination plays are plentiful!
Thinking in Combinations
As previously mentioned, it’s the combinations you should be looking for – they come in twos. Long then Short, Straight then Cross-Court, short then long are all simple but very effective examples of shot combinations you might look for.
See if you can string two shots together to make your opponent work hard and where possible, calculate their options so that you can make your combination play stronger and more effective.
What to do when you can’t run…
There’s always a time.
I played a match this week when I was recovering from injury and probably wasn’t really fit enough. I don’t recommend playing when you’re injured in the slightest. I’ve done it before and paid, and you will too if you do it. It may seem brave but when you play on through injury, there is a good chance you will make it worse and be out injured for longer.
If you can’t run for other reasons i.e. tiredness, lack of fitness or your opponent is a lot fitter than you, here’s what you do:
The Three Shot Rally Rule
The last thing you want to do is get caught up in long rallies when you’re tired, so you should aim to change the rules of engagement; try to make the rallies end within three or four shots. This doesn’t mean aiming to outlandish winners from your opponent’s serve or aiming to hit amazing trick shots, but to make sure that every shot is geared towards winning the rally. Every shot should be attacking – your Drives should be low and bouncing twice before the back wall, you should continually look to twist and turn your opponent and you should take any opportunities to go short. Whenever you get an opening or an opportunity, don’t hesitate to take it, even half-chances. If you’re wanting to win still you’ll need to play to win so you’ll need to take a few chances.
Breaking your opponent’s rhythm
Playing three or four shot rallies will upset the rhythm of most players anyhow but it’s worth also doing other small things where you can to break your opponent’s rhythm. By this I mean stopping them getting momentum or getting a run of points. If they do this, it’ll be hard to peg them back if they’re in better shape than you.
Increased importance of Serve and Return
Serve and Return is a big opportunity to stifle their momentum. Try to vary your Serve frequently. Throwing in a few awkward Body Serves is certainly recommended, as these are good for unsettling your opponent. I said earlier that this style isn’t about going for amazing winners on your opponent’s Serve but it is something to consider from time to time. If your opponent has just won the Serve, it can be very effective to go for a Straight or Cross-Court Drop Volley to try and stop them before they put together a sequence of points.
Try out the Three Shot Rule strategy and see how it works for you. It’s a style and tactic worth practicing, as some day you might need it if you come up against an opponent who is a lot fitter or you’re playing your fifth match of the day.
Using the side wall to shorten your Kills
Making your short shots even shorter.
Squash is all about the small details. Anything you can do to make your shots that tiny bit better or get back to the T-Position a second quicker is worth doing. In this case, there’s a small thing you can do to make your Kills a little bit shorter and make them that bit more deadly.
For information on playing a Kill, please visit our page on how to play a Kill here.
Using the side wall to slow the ball
To make your Kills that bit shorter and cause your opponent to move further up the court, you can angle them to hit the side wall – ideally the nick. The best way to achieve this angle is to make sure you get really round the ball and very side-on – almost too much so. It can also help to hit the ball a little bit later than normal.
You do of course also need to use a very nasty high to low swing to generate the downward angle to give you a chance of hitting the nick.
Deception from the back
I find this is a particularly effective way of playing a Kill from the back of the court. If you go into a shot at the back of the court with a big swing, it looks like you’re going to play a Straight Drive and so often people will start dropping back. This makes it all the worse when your Kill hits the side wall and ends up even shorter than a normal Kill would.
Do your best to push high up the court hunting the Volley or an attacking shot as people will often play a loose ball of middling height in response as they are caught out by the angle.
Have a go and see just how short you can make your Kills go.
Take a look at the 2016 Shot of the Year – Omar Mosaad playing a fantastic Straight Kill into the nick.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- …
- 20
- Next Page »