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Trying to win the first game before your opponent is ready

Taking advantage of slow starters 

We’ve  talked before about coming throwing your all into games like the match is just a best of one game before, and this is more true than ever in the first game.

Getting the edge on your opponent  

The majority of players don’t bother to warm-up enough or even at all. This means they might not start hitting their rhythm until the second game, which is a fantastic opportunity for you. If you can catch them off the pace in the first, you can deal them a mental blow as well as taking the lead, which might even be enough to demoralise them and give you further advantage going into the next game. 

Really throwing your all into the first game can make a massive difference if you are playing someone more experienced or who may even be better than you, as it can make them uncertain, help you to build momentum and confidence and of course give you the lead.

How to make sure you are ready 

It’s important that you warm-up not only your body, but also your mind and hitting. 

When warming-up your body, try to hit the following areas over the course of 3-5 minutes: 

  • Running forwards and backwards – the change of direction at each end of your run is particularly important.
  • Sidestepping and cross-over stepping
  • Lunging at the end of the run – after a couple of minutes of the running and sideways movements, start putting in a lunge at the end of each movement. This should be shallow at first and get deeper as you do more. 
  • Jumping/skipping/hopping – doing just a few jumps forwards and backwards and side to side is great for getting your fast-twitch muscles moving and helping you push off explosively into and out of shots, something which is often difficult in the early stages of a game 

Warming-up mentally is always helped by warming-up physically too. This part of your pre-match preparation can really depend on the individual. It’s best to try and get yourself into the mindset that works for you, be it relaxing or getting yourself fired-up. For more in depth advice, check out our posts on warming up your mind and for coping with over-motivation. 

Warming-up your racket means getting to the stage where you can hit all shots to the best of your ability and also be able to move it as fast as you possibly can, known as racket head speed. The best way to do this is to try and get on court before your opponent and play a variety of different shots. Most people will focus on just hitting the ball hard, but do your best to incorporate lots of volleys, lob shots, drops and as much movement between shots as possible so that you are also practicing moving onto the ball as much as possible, not just standing still whilst hitting. For further advice on this, please take a look at our post on warming-your racket up. 

The first game is a great opportunity. Make sure you are the one who takes advantage and not the one who is taken advantage of. 

For further detailed tips on how you might make best use in our series of posts on the knock-up and in our post on winning the warm-up. 

How to improve your movement to get counter drops back

I always found that having a tall and rather large build meant that I was vulnerable to counter drop or short shots; short shots which my opponent plays in response to my short shot. This was most apparent when I played a short shot from the front of the court and so was required to move into the front corner twice in quick succession; once to play my shot and then again to cover their counter.

How can you improve your movement to deal with counter short shots? 

Weight transfer is the most important thing when you are moving out of the front corner, as if you keep your centre of gravity in the right place you can leave yourself the option to move into the front again. 

The first part of the weight transfer is the lunge, squat or planting of your legs when you go to strike the ball. If you are lunging to an extent – whether it is as full stretch or a fairly shallow lunge – try to make sure you are using your back leg and non-racket arm to help you move out of your shot. This is done by allowing your back leg to drive through towards the ball as you follow through and keeping your non-racket arm back and out to the side. The momentum of the back leg driving through and the non-racket arm’s balance can then be used to help you move out of a shot and back towards the T-Position. 

Now comes the part where you need to really watch your weight transfer. Like a sprinter moving out of the starting blocks, it is really important that you stay low as you move backwards to the T-Position. It is very easy to spring out of a lunge and end up standing completely upright, but by doing this you will shift the majority of your weight backwards towards the T-Position, thereby throwing all of your eggs in one basket and making it very difficult to go forwards again. If you ‘unfold’ yourself gradually and stand upright again only as you get back to the T-Position, you will find it easier to shift your weight and move back towards the front corner again if necessary.

Whilst you are staying low and unfolding, you need to make sure you are taking small steps back towards the T-Position. The lunge might be a big step (of course assisted by the back leg and non-racket arm), but after that, you need to make sure that your steps are small and skimming the floor. Small, low steps also help to keep your weight in a more neutral position, as when you take big steps in any direction, you are committing your weight and therefore yourself to that direction and making it very difficult to change. That won’t help at all here given you need to go back in the opposite direction to which you were previously moving. 

Moving with shorter, lower steps is comparatively easy to practice compared with the lower centre of gravity, which can take a bit more practice and awareness. Ghosting and practicing the movement pattern is a very good way to start so that you can really feel the size and height of your steps, and also where your weight is as you move. You can then build that up by having someone feed you shots to the front corner, then the front corner and the back corner in a fixed order and lastly the front and back corner at random. You can then swap sides and add in more shots to make it more match-like.

One final thing; it can also help to change your grip as you move towards the ball. As you are taking your first step towards the front corner again, shift your hand down your grip to the very bottom of the handle in order to give yourself a touch more reach. You can read more about that on our post here.

Best of luck in maintaining a low centre of gravity and covering the front corners repeatedly! 

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?

Playing at a slow tempo

Last week we discussed playing squash at a high tempo in order to keep an opponent off balance and under pressure, and when and how doing so can be effective. This week we’ll discuss playing at a slower tempo and how this can be effective in matches.

Playing at a slower tempo is often associated with older players, but disregarding it robs you of a very valuable tool and dimension.

When can it be effective to slow the tempo down?

When the court is cold, playing a slower tempo can be absolutely devastating. You’ll need to take a very high T-Position though as the ball won’t rebound off the front wall as much. It can also be effective on a warm court where the ball is bounce high, as playing a slower length shot may enable you to prevent your shots coming off of the back wall too much. 

You can see more tips for playing on a colder court here, and tips for playing on a warmer court here. 

As with playing a high tempo against a player who wants to play slow, playing a slow tempo against someone who loves a fast-paced game can be lethal. Changing the pace is a great way of disrupting your opponent. If you try to play their game, or don’t impose your game enough, you are likely to struggle. If you can’t take your opponent on at a high tempo, try slowing things down a little. 

How can you slow the tempo down?

Taking longer between rallies can be a bit risky, and you don’t want to take so long that it is considered cheating or immoral. Just taking a few extra seconds than normal can help to compose you and also just to slow down your opponent a bit, which can be really useful if they are having a strong sequence of points. 

Hitting slower and higher length can be really useful for all players. If you’re tired or if your opponent is on top, doing this can give you a better chance of getting your opponent to the back and getting yourself back to the T-Position. 

An accurate lob serve can be the staple of a slower tempo game or spell, as if you get the ball dropping in the back corner, you can force an incredibly weak shot and have the chance to play a winning shot straight away, which will lead to more shorter rallies and a generally slower pace.  

Delaying your shots is not only a great way to wrong foot your opponent, it can also really disrupt their rhythm and movement by causing them to slow down all the way to a stand still and then sprint again for your shot. Delaying shots off the back wall is similar in that regard and will keep the pace a bit lower if you need it. 

See if you can recognise when you are tiring or your opponent is on top and have a go at playing a slower tempo for a few rallies and see if it can help get you back into the game. Of course, if your opponent is dominating you with the slow tempo, you might want to look at our post on playing at a higher tempo! 

Add more strings to your bow!

Playing at a high tempo

Tempo is an invaluable weapon for keeping an opponent off balance, particularly if you are able to change it unexpectedly during the course of a game.

Playing at a high tempo doesn’t necessarily mean hitting the ball hard, although it might involve that. Playing at a high tempo means giving your opponent less time between their shots by hitting the ball earlier, typically done by using the volley or half-volley more or hitting the ball higher up the court, i.e. closer to the front wall. Playing your shots early again and again over the course of several rallies adds up and it will make your opponent work a lot harder than they otherwise would, which can lead them to tiring quicker and making errors.

When is it effective to play at a high tempo?

  • When playing someone who isn’t as fit
  • When playing someone who is is more skilful than you are 
  • At the start of games 
  • When the other player is trying to slow the game down
  • When the other player is older
  • Almost always!

I would argue that there’s very few times where it’s a bad idea to play a high tempo. There’s a school of thought that says you should throw your all into every rally, regardless of whether you won’t be able to keep it up for four or five games. This is because it might be enough to wear your opponent out doing it for two games and it also will help you to get fitter and stronger and get to the stage where you can do it for five games if required. However, you may want to avoid playing at a high tempo if:

  • Your opponent is also playing at a high tempo – you may not want to get drawn into their game (or perhaps a high tempo suits them) 
  • You are very tired 
  • You are unable to hit the ball accurately enough at a high tempo to win any given match

I believe it’s always effective to start a match at a high tempo. Lots of players start slowly, so if you can come out of the blocks flying, you might build an early lead and quite possibly even take the first game. This will also test your opponent mentally, as even if they get going in the second game, they’ll now be 1-0 down and will have to stave off fears that you can sustain that tempo for the entire match, or that you are even that much better than them. The same goes for the start of games. If you can get off to a good start, you can test your opponent’s mental strength. 

It’s also of course a great physical test. If your opponent is older than you or of questionable fitness, you can try to burn them out by playing at a high tempo. This is particularly effective against players who are more skilful than you, but lacking in fitness. 

It’s also good if your opponent is trying to slow the game down. Refuse to be drawn into your opponent’s game! 

How do you play at a higher tempo?

  • Recover all the way to the T-Position between shots – where the two lines meet – with your racket ready! 
  • Volley and half-volley as much as possible – especially when hitting a short shot
  • Volley all serves 
  • Hit dying length 
  • Move quickly in a straight line towards the back of the service box to intercept lengths before the back wall 

Naturally, if you want to play at a high tempo you need to volley. Don’t let serves bounce, and use the volley to stay on the T-Position for as long as possible.

One classic mistake that players make when playing at a higher tempo is overhitting. If you take the ball early, you’ll take time away from your opponent. However, if you’ve hit the ball so hard – or played it so that it bounces very close to the back wall – that it rebounds off of the back wall a lot, you’ll give that time back to your opponent. So, make sure all length shots you hit are dying in or around the back corners. If you are going to hit the ball very hard, make sure you hit it low on the front wall, but do your best to keep an open racket face so that you are still getting the ball to bounce behind the service boxes and actually get to the back of the court. If you get this right, your opponent will have to return most of your shots before the back wall, which is demanding physically and technically and will effectively force them to play at a high tempo.

Also, it’s really good for you to look to intercept their length before the back wall. The best way to do this is to move in a straight line from the T-Position towards the back corner and aim to take the ball around the service box. This can take a bit of practice, and even if you have to hit the ball a bit higher on the front wall, you are stopping your opponent getting settled on the T-Position. 

See how many people you can unsettle and keep off balance with a high tempo! Look out for our next post on how you can use a slow tempo to great effect.