The Backward Facing Tweener 🎬

Keep your base wide and let the ball drop!

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Frequently Asked Questions 🚨

1. Where do you aim when you are trying to set your partner up for a crash?

The general rule of thump is to drive it at the body of the person in front of you, or down the middle. Hitting in front of you allows your partner to be more aggressive in pinching towards the middle. If you go crosscourt, your partner’s line is exposed if you don’t execute the drive well - they will have to lean to cover the line rather than look for the middle ball (and finding that middle ball is your goal as the crasher). If your opponents don’t do a great job covering the middle, I would target that as a spot on the drives early on. Obviously there’s room for judgement here too - find the weaknesses in each of your opponents. Your main focus is keeping the drive low enough so they have to volley it upwards as your partner crashes.

2. How do you decide which spots to hit on your flicks?

At the pro level it’s mostly circumstantial, based on who I’m playing against (and even with), and the ball I’m speeding up on. I’m at the point in my game where I feel comfortable flicking from both sides, to different spots. I will not be revealing the flicks I’m most uncomfortable with on this public platform. The bottom line is you have to play to your strengths first, and find your opponents weakness second - remember we’ve talked about the value of speeding it up out of the air, so it doesn’t have to be as perfect as you might think.

For example, if I’m playing against someone who struggles to leave out balls, I’ll hit a lot of speedups at their chest or chicken wing with pace. You also need to be aware of the angle the ball is coming from. The more you are changing the angle of the ball, the harder it will be to time perfectly - it’s easier to hit your backhand flick off a cross court dink down the middle than it is to go up the line, because you’re not changing the angle as much. Trust your instincts on speedup targets, the first choice that pops into your head on a given ball is probably the right one - stay committed to it.

3. How do you combat nerves when you’re playing?

A lot of people don’t know this, but one of the reasons I move my feet so much is to handle nerves. Earlier in my career I noticed that my body naturally slowed down when I got a little tight, a feeling that I think happens to most people. I like bouncing in between and during points because the game feels simpler to me when I’m focused on my footwork - all I have to think about is getting in position for each shot. I also use basic tactics like deep breaths and mindfulness before matches, but my best advice is to stay light on your feet at all times.

The Triangle Speedup Strategy 🎥

Keep your base wide and let the ball drop! 💪

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Featured Pro Tip: Ryan Fu

Singles Strategy By Ryan ⬇️

The difference in strategy from doubles to singles changes drastically. People tend to care more about their doubles game, but there are certain things in singles that can actually help your doubles game.

1. Hit your serves hard and deep

James likes to say “miss 1 out of every 10 serves”. This is especially true for singles. You want to be putting as much pressure on your opponents return as you can. Deep serves will cause your opponent to have to stay back at the baseline after the return, giving you the advantage and opportunity to charge to the net first. We can make 100 serves in a row, but if they are high and short, it won’t be much help. When you are playing rec games, I’d really focus on hitting your serves hard, especially on big points.

 2. Return deep middle

The return is more or less the same concept as the serve. We want to hit this shot deep so that the server cannot hit a good 3rd shot as we are coming into the net. The middle is a great spot to aim for because it limits the amount of angles your opponent can play with. If you return to the corner, you are especially giving your opponent more court to hit the ball into. Therefore, if you feel like your opponent can pass from both the forehand and the backhand, I’d recommend returning middle.

3. Don’t aim for the lines

This can definitely be applied to doubles as well. When I am teaching clinics and someone misses wide I’ll ask them where they aimed on that shot, and usually the answer is, “I aimed for the line!” This is not what you should be doing. The pros are not aiming for the lines when they hit their shots. They are giving themselves margin to work with so that if they “miss” their target, the ball is still going in. When we’re playing singles, don’t aim for the lines on passing shots. If you hit a low drive with margin, you will give yourself a chance to hit a winner on the 5th. Also, your opponent may just miss your third shot, which is another advantage of just hitting the 3rd in.

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