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Swinging towards the ball with the edge of your racket

A tip for getting an open racket face 

Sometimes in coaching you hear another coach, or even someone you are teaching, explain something in a way that you’ve never thought of and the way they explain it is better than you could have put it yourself. I had one such experience recently when at a coach workshop regarding playing with an open racket face that I think is worth sharing.



Explaining how to hit the ball with an open racket face 

While discussing developing an open racket face (an open racket face in squash means having the side of the racket you will strike the ball with tilted up slightly. For more information check out our page on the grip), one coach described hitting the ball with an open racket face as swinging towards the ball with the edge of your racket. I thought this phrasing offered a really clear and simple way of not only describing hitting the ball with an open racket face, but also giving listeners a clear and easy target to aim for. When hitting with an open racket face, you are swinging edge first towards the ball. Just to be clear, the ‘edge’ mentioned in this phrase is the bottom edge of the racket, which is the side of the frame that is closest to the floor when you hold the racket in your hand.

Swinging towards the ball with ‘the edge of your racket’.

This way of visualising the swing could help you particularly if you struggle with getting the correct grip, or with hitting drop shots, lobs or getting the ball out of the back corner. These areas all rely on a strong grip and an open racket face to achieve an accurate and quality shot consistently.

If you are someone that struggles with either your grip or the idea of hitting the ball with an open racket face, see if you can use the idea of swinging with the ‘edge of your racket’ to help you achieve your aim.

Check out our other posts on racket faces, which include the importance of manipulating your racket face for different shots, how it can improve your cross-courts and its usefulness in the back corners.



A guide to squash strings 

The Squash Company’s complete guide to squash strings

In most cases a racket will come with poor quality factory squash strings which don’t have the performance of squash strings purchased from a stringer. Some players will even have their rackets re-strung as soon as they’ve bought them without even using the default strings.

There are some manufacturers who have deals in place with major string manufacturers. Black Knight rackets often come pre-strung with Ashaway strings and Tecnifibre rackets utilise their own popular strings.

String type and tension is, however, very important in the performance and style of a racket.



Which strings should you buy?

The strings you should buy depend on how much you play and what you prefer. The best performance strings are Ashaway and Tecnifibre, but these are also the most expensive and are typically less durable than cheaper options.

Unless you are playing to a high level, or are not bothered by the extra cost, it is probably better to go for the mid-range options, which are typically labelled as ‘synthetic gut’ and similar names. Most stores and stringers have their own preferred, mid-price string that they use.

What tension should you get?

The tighter your strings, the easier it is to get control and the looser your strings, the easier it is to get power. Of course, any accomplished player should be able to achieve both power and control with any reasonable string tension! It mostly comes down to preference in the end. You also might find as you become more experienced, that a higher tension suits a racket more than a lower one or vice versa.

The most common string tension is usually around 26Ibs, which is fairly middling and neither too tight nor too loose.

Higher tension – 28Ibs or above

Tension around 28Ibs is typically the highest you want for a racket. Any tighter than this, and you will be putting quite a lot of pressure on your frame. You are also going to make it hard to achieve power with your shots and you will also make it a bit more likely your strings will snap or wear away a bit quicker.

Medium tension – 24-27Ibs 

As mentioned above, 26Ibs or thereabouts is the typical tension favoured by most stringers. If you haven’t got a particular preference or are unsure what to get, this is the best range to go for.

Loose to medium tension – 22-24Ibs

Having your racket strung between 22-24Ibs is on the loose side of normal but isn’t out of the ordinary. If you wanted to try having looser strings, this would be the tension range to go for to get a feel for it without doing anything too drastic. This might be worth considering if you thrive on a hard-hitting game to try and maximise your strength.

Very loose tensions – 21 lbs or under

Having your racket strung at 21Ibs or lower is quite uncommon and this is typically only used by very particular players or professionals who know exactly what they want. It is believed that Gregory Gaultier has his racket strung at 14Ibs, which beggars belief! Maybe he knows something we don’t!

When you have your strings strung this loose, you may find it more difficult to achieve accurate drop shops and ‘touch’ at first.

String gauge/thickness

Squash strings only come in 17 or 18 gauges. If yours is different to this, you may have been given strings intended for racketball, or tennis if they are around 15, and badminton if they are around 20 gauge.

The 17 gauge is slightly thicker than an 18 gauge – typically 1.25mm vs. 1.15mm or thereabouts – and so will last longer. However, you will get slightly more power with an 18 gauge to make up for the slightly reduced durability. Much like other things involving your racket, it’s down to your needs and personal preference.

 

How your racket can affect your strings – minimising the risk of snapping

The effect of racket shape on strings

The shape of the racket can have an impact on the life of your strings, as some rackets put more tension on certain areas of the string, which can cause strings to snap or wear quicker. Unfortunately, with tear-drop shaped rackets, the strings tend to break earlier, as the string bed is very long and so the strings are pulled tight over a longer area, which means the vertical strings are more prone to snapping.

Tear drop squash rackets tend to work through strings quicker but make up for it in the quality of their sweet spot.

Round headed rackets tend to last a bit longer as the vertical strings aren’t pulled down over such a long area and so are less prone to snapping.

The round headed frame.

Grommets

Grommets protect your strings from being cut into by the frame and so if they are damaged or missing, strings may break sooner than expected. This can really put your strings at risk of snapping if you hit an off-centre shot.

Mis-hitting the ball and off-centre shots

If you typically hit the ball in the middle of your strings, you will most likely get the best out of your strings. If used correctly, strings should eventually break around the centre due to the repetitive impact of the horizontal and vertical strings when you hit the ball, resulting eventually in one of the strings cutting deep enough into another to snap it.

However, be warned: if you mis-hit the ball frequently or maybe even just hit the ball off-centre once, you may snap the strings. This is not because of faulty strings or a poor stringing job and it is usually not the racket (though as mentioned elsewhere in the article you want to check on the grommets, bumper and frame!), but because the strings can’t properly absorb an impact around the edges of the string bed. Ordinarily when you hit the ball in the middle of the strings, the surrounding strings around the ball will absorb the impact. When you catch the ball on the strings near the frame, the strings can’t stretch around the entirety of the ball and so the strings on one side of the ball take the brunt of the impact, which can result in them snapping.



Damaged bumper strips

If you have a damaged bumper strip, you may find that strings snap etc., when your racket hits the floor or wall. Hitting the floor or wall can be rather hard to avoid and so if you have a racket with a damaged bumper, it is worth putting electrical or racket tape over the top of the racket to protect the strings until you can get a new one when you have your racket re-strung. If your bumper strip is damaged, you need to make sure that there are no sharp bits of plastic attached or hanging off which could hurt your opponent. It is your responsibility to remove these bits and put tape over the affected areas.

If you have a racket model which doesn’t come with a bumper strip, you might also want some electrical or racket tape for extra protection, although this may alter the balance of the racket slightly.

Miscellaneous points about strings 

Stringing your racket with cracks in the frame

If your frame has a crack, your stringer might refuse to string the racket as it is quite possible the frame will crack when the pressure and tension needed to string the racket is applied. You might be able to get them to re-string the racket in spite of this, but be warned you’ll need to pay extra and there is no guarantee your racket will make it through the process without breaking completely.

Buying a reel of string

If you do have a favoured brand of string and you play a lot, it is worth your time and money to buy a reel of string. You can then leave this with the stringer when you get your racket restrung and they will only charge you for labour, which will save you money in the long run.

For more information about what equipment to use, we also have detailed guides on rackets and balls. 

Whose game do you play: yours or your opponents? 



Changing the rhythm on your opponent. 

Quite often squash matches can become battles of charisma. Whose game style is stronger? Most players will have experienced playing someone who plays a really slow tempo and style with lots of high, slow serves, drops and boasts. Everyone will have also played someone who ran around and hit the ball so hard it’s a wonder the floor and the walls are still intact. These are extreme examples though as quite often playing styles aren’t as easy to pinpoint as this. This can be bad news for you as you may be unable to work out what your opponent is doing and how to change it and worse, you may find yourself ‘playing their game’.

Synchronising with your opponent’s game 

When you play someone who plays slowly and slows the game down with lots of lobs or drops, it can be very easy to be sucked in to their game and way of playing. Typically players will also start playing more drops and boasts etc, as it can be easier to play at this pace than to change it. The real damage isn’t done though in the slowing of the shots played but in the effect it has on movement, positioning and urgency. It is very common for a player to move a bit slower, drop deeper on the court and lose attacking intent when playing someone who plays lots of slow shots. This does a lot more than any shots to create a very slow tempo, which usually worked out better for the player who wants to play slow shots. The slow tempo is their arena, their home ground and you’re the one out of place.

Equally, it’s very easy to get caught up in a ‘hitting contest’ with someone who likes to hit the ball hard. Before players have noticed what is happening, if they ever notice, they might find they have been caught up trying to hit the ball harder and faster than their opponent and ended up losing all accuracy and control of the ball and the game. This can create a tempo and situations where you are rushing into the shot in order to try and make it faster, which can be just as bad as losing urgency in a slow tempo game.

What to do?

The most important thing is awareness. It’s very easy to fall in sync with your opponent’s style without realising anything has happened. The first thing to do is to be aware of whether you are playing the game you want to play or whether you have started playing the game your opponent wants to play. At the end of a rally, think whether you were playing to your strengths and hitting the shots you want to play in the manner you want to play them, or whether your opponent had it their way or you had played shots or a style that played into their hands. At first, you are just trying to look retrospectively at what has just happened. If you keep practicing this, in time you will be able to start recognising the signs of getting pulled into your opponent’s game while it’s happening or without having to stop and think about it. Once you are able to do this, you can start to actively resist them with your play, stepping forwards and taking the ball earlier and giving a slower paced opponent less time or slowing down and focusing on accuracy – perhaps by using the height of the front wall – against a fast and furious opponent.

Ask yourself between rallies and games if you were playing how you wanted to play or if you were playing how your opponent wants you to play. If it’s the latter, see if you can make positive changes and counteract their style.



Bending your knees properly for lob shots



Getting underneath the ball to reach high levels of quality consistently.

Playing lobs in squash is is important but it can be tricky to keep lob shots from going out or coming off the back wall, especially when the ball and or court is warm. Lob shots, particularly straight lobs, can have quite a small margin for error, although this is mostly because people don’t prepare to play lobs correctly!

Getting underneath the ball

It’s important when you play a lob shot, and indeed many shots (especially the drop), that you get low. When playing a lob, you want to be able to hit the bottom of the ball, as this makes it easier to lift the ball and hit the top area of the front wall. In order to do this, you need to really bend your knees and drop your hips. How low you need to get depends largely on the bounce of the ball but you need to get into a position where you can easily get your racket underneath the ball and hit the bottom of it. If the ball or court is warm, you might not tend to drop your hips or bend your knees all that much to get under the ball but if the ball hasn’t got much energy left on it and is about to bounce twice, you might need to be squatting like people do in the gym.

A lot of players will attempt to simply dangle their racket down while remaining fairly upright, which isn’t a recipe for consistency in high quality lobs. Of course dangling your racket will get a few reasonable shots and you may even strike the ball well by doing it, but to achieve the top range of accuracy and the perfect pace – hitting the lob slow and very high on the front wall and very tight to the side wall – you need to get into a low, balanced position.

It’s a really easy thing to practise too as you can do it during the knock-up or warm-up before the match, which is good not only to get some practice in but also for getting you to use your knock-up purposefully by practising hitting shots of different paces and heights, which is particularly good for getting you focused.

If you have problems keeping lob shots in or getting them to the required quality to be useful in your matches, check how low you are getting and start by practising this during the warm-ups before your matches!



Alignment between feet and racket




Your shot must follow your feet.

Footwork is often the root cause of unwanted shots. If you don’t get your feet in the right place, any racket skills will count for little and you can find your straight drives bouncing off the side wall first and various other shots behaving badly. Perhaps more importantly, if you end up with your feet in a less than perfect place – which will happen frequently – work with this and don’t try and do something silly like smashing the ball.

Trying to get the feet in position

People will often try to go for shots that their feet simply haven’t put them in a position to play and this usually leads to mis-hits or unintentional shots. It is perhaps most common in the back corners of the court, where players are unable to get around the ball, and therefore get their weight behind the ball, which often means the shot is lacking both power and control. The ball often ends up in the middle via the side wall through being under-hit.

Whenever you go for the shot, first make sure you sort your feet out. You are always aiming to get as much of your body weight as you can into your shot, which might mean moving quickly to get your body behind the ball, preferably with your feet pointing straight towards the side wall so that you can get all of your bodyweight behind the ball.

When it isn’t possible to get around the ball or have your feet pointing straight towards the side wall with the body in a side-on position, you may need to try leading with your back leg or use a small jump or hop to generate momentum.

When you try your best but you don’t succeed…

Sometimes you just can’t get your feet into the position you desire no matter what you do and in these situations it is important to make sure you accept the position you are in and be realistic about your options. Don’t try to go for a normal shot if you are in a difficult position, instead try to play a shot that will help you get out of this position. The most common shots to play in such a position are the boast or lob, with the lob being the preferred option. The lob gives you a better chance of re-taking the T-Position, as well as giving you a great deal of time to sort yourself out. It also gives you the opportunity to trade places with your opponent and get them behind you, whereas the boast will always leave an opponent in front of you, which might be undesirable against some players.

Always listen to your feet. If you’re in a difficult position, play a defensive shot that reflects that and try to use this to get into a better position from which you can start to build attacks. Don’t try and hammer the ball!