Mar 062013
In racquetball your main goal is play in a manner which enables you to win the majority of the rallies. The following five strategies are all used simultaneously to help control and win your match.
- Maintain Center Court Position. It’s the position near or just behind the 5 ft line (dotted line). All mishits by your opponent will pass within a step or two from center court. Also, from this position you should be able to retrieve all passing shots.
- Hit to Your Opponent’s Weakness. Often this means hitting exclusively to your opponent’s backhand, or perhaps finding their weakness in returning ceiling balls. When serving, find the serve that your opponent has trouble returning!
- Hit Away From Your Opponent. Hit pinch shots and kill shots when your opponent is deep in the backcourt and you can hit the ball at knee level or lower. Hit passing shots and ceiling ball shots when your opponent is in front of you in center court. Hit to the right side if your opponent is to your left, and vice versa. Constantly keep your opponent on the run and make his shots more difficult to execute.
- Keep Your Opponent on the Back Wall. Hit down the line shots and ceiling balls deep into the back corners. This is the farthest back you can pin your opponent. Returns from 38 ft must travel a greater distance and are difficult to make without error.
- Keep the Ball from Rebounding off the Back Wall. If all of your drive serves, passing shots, and ceiling balls rebound off the back wall, then you are giving your opponent easy setup shots. If this is the case, then resolve to hit your shots with LESS speed and/or at a LOWER height. The lower you can hit your passing shots, the more likely they will bounce twice before reaching the back wall. So, whenever you can’t hit the ball at knee level, hit a ceiling ball instead.
Thanks to Larry Peterson for the basis for this tip.
Hey, I am not one to call hinders much, especially with a pick up match, and maybe this shot is not a hinder, but I need a strategy. So with a couple players, I am losing some points as they hit it down the wall on side they are on, giving me no direct way to get to my shot before bounce two. Whats the best strategy/court position here, is it a good offensive shot to avoid altogether, or maybe call a hinder early on? One of these guys is big, stays put after his shot, and there’s no direct line to the ball, unless you circled around back of him.
Thanks.
If you move directly to the ball and are sure you could reach it, then it would be a hinder (play over) if you have any contact with your opponent.
I grew up playing outdoor racquetball in and around East Anaheim, CA. My friend and I recently fired up the racquetball rackets after several years of not playing. Even though we’re both adjusting to an unfamiliar outdoor court in Lake Forest, CA . The side walls are shorter than the ones where we grew up playing at Esperanza High School in Anaheim/ Yorba Linda, I’ve been making so many unforced errors and I’m not sure why. I’m getting to most of his power serves and I’m hitting the return into the ground. I’ve never had this many mishits. I’ve got a great new racket, new shoes, new glove, etc. I realize I’m still adjusting to the big differences in this court, but these errors have to be cut down significantly if I’m gonna have any chance to win games… Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated.
Thanks, Steve
Hi Steve –
If you are consistantly hitting shots into the ground, then you might need to redo your grip so your racquet is facing the front wall at impact. Another issue may be in your swing. You need to have a swing which is more of a circular motion around your body with the racquet path staying more level with the ground. Skipping the ball can be caused if you are swinging to much from high to low, which is referred to as a windmill style swing.