Third Shot Drop

Make Them Hit the More Difficult Shot

July 11 2024

When teams are close in skill level, who wins and who loses can come down to which team plays more high-percentage shots or puts itself in better situations more often.

When you’re playing a team that’s equal or better than you, you can win more often by forcing your opponents to repeatedly hit the more difficult shot throughout the match.

Here’s how:

Apply maximum pressure

No one is comfortable hitting a shot with someone charging toward them.

If your opponent has time to get behind the ball and make a strong shot (like after a weak return), you can apply pressure by hustling straight toward the kitchen line.

This shrinks the court, forcing them to hit a more accurate shot, which can lead to mistakes by your opponents.

This works especially well if you know they’re about to hit the ball to your partner.

Force them to attack down the sideline

Another way to force your opponent to take the harder shot is to leave the sideline a bit more open than you think you should.

This doesn’t have to be dramatic – just a few small steps will do.

Shading toward the middle forces your opponent to hit toward the sideline, where the net is two inches higher, and there’s an added chance their shot will go wide.

Make them prove that they can beat you down the sideline. If they do, stop shading the middle. However, you might be surprised at how many players are either too scared to try or not talented enough to make these shots successfully.

Wait for your moment to attack

On the flip side of forcing your opponents into harder shots is making yourself take easier ones. Don’t fall into the trap of speeding the wrong ball up or going for a putaway too early.

Instead, use those moments to hit an aggressive dink that forces your opponent out wide or to hit a ball with their backhand.

When you do that, you’ll get an even easier putaway shot on the next ball to win the rally.

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