The low to high tactic. 

If you find yourself up against big, tall rangy players there are different things you can do tactically to try and spin things to your advantage.

Sure tall players can dominate the T-Position if they’re good on the volley and reach the front and back of the court with a few effortless strides if their movement is good. There is no shortcut though for them in bending down low, especially if they then have to reach up high again after.

A good tactic for testing taller players is to play a high shot and then a low shot and vice-versa. Try abandoning all middling height shots and aim to use only the lower and upper parts of the front wall. By doing this you can force your taller opponent into a cycle of constantly bending and stretching, which can be very tiring and tough on the legs. The best combination of shots to use is going in short with a drop, boast or kill and the following up with a lob.

Clearing the ball

It’s not uncommon for tall players to get in your way as they clear the ball and return to the T-Position after playing their shot. If they are in your way and blocking your path to the ball, do not be afraid to call a Let-Ball no matter what their size. A lot of players will attempt to play on as they are scared to call a Let-Ball and end up being bullied off court. This is not to say you should beat them by calling huge amounts of Let-Balls to disrupt play, but that you shouldn’t be afraid if you are genuinely unable to get to the ball cleanly, even if it happens a lot during the course of a match.

Seeing the ball 

At times, you might actually have problems seeing the ball due to them clearing the ball badly or just in general due to their size! This can often be intentional though, as players can use their body to hide their intentions and disguise what shot they will play.

However, if you’re doing the right things you shouldn’t have too many problems too often seeing the ball. If you are moving them around and getting them off the T-Position, you should generally be able to see the ball. A lot of the time tall or big players are difficult to get off the T-Position, so your shots have to be good to move them away from it, especially as they’ll be aiming to stay there to maximise the use of their reach. If your shots are loose or into the middle, they will quite literally be able to swat them away easily.

When you next play the big player, see if you can work them hard with the high then low tactics, but make sure you move them around enough to prevent them hogging the T-Position and using their body to disguise their shots.