Most racquetball players get fixated on hitting the ball with more power. But in most cases, hitting the ball harder does not help win more matches.
In fact, forget completely about trying to hit every shot as hard as possible. Instead, diligently follow these three basic rules:
- The purpose of every shot is to maintain or gain the center court position.
- Never hit a shot any harder than is necessary to keep center court position.
- Hit every shot to keep your opponent as far away from center court as possible.
What are the ramifications of using these rules in a match? For one, you become focused entirely on controlling your center court position and not on winning points nor hitting the ball hard.
Second, you will concentrate on hitting the ball at a pace which keeps your opponent pinned against the back wall of the court (also see No Back Wall-Ever!). This also means hitting many more ceiling ball shots than kill shots!
Most importantly, you will learn to focus more of your attention during a rally on your opponent’s position than the ball.
Using these rules, you will be winning more rallies, which in turn will win you more games.
Easier said than done, especially when the game is close. I am always trying to hit the ball to win the point right away, but without thinking about my opponent’s position.
What is nice about this style of playing is that you don’t need to think about the score. You always play the same center court tactics whether you are ahead or behind. Try doing this with a practice partner before using it for a match.
At first it seems difficult because you will want to rush to end the point. Keep practicing until it becomes natural. I guarantee that with practice, you will gain confidence in this style of play, and win more games.
I’m still struggling with this myself sometimes and play way too aggressively for what is necessary. But I completely agree with this article and it does become easier with practice. As long as you continue to remind yourself of this, it gets easier and easier to break bad habits and override your natural (but incorrect) inclination.