How can you tell when you are playing a racquetball shark?
- Does your opponent like to play very fast?
- Do they hit every shot really hard and straight into the front wall?
- Do they hit hard drive serves on their first AND second serve?
- At the end of a point, do they race to the service box and quickly serve?
- Do you feel rushed and overpowered?
If you can answer yes to one or more of the above questions, then you are playing a shark. Racquetball sharks like to play as hard and fast as possible. They want to win their games as quickly as possible. Sharks know how to play at a very fast pace and will not give their opponents any chance to relax or to catch their breath.
Don’t Feed the Shark
So if you want to win against a shark, you cannot let them control the tempo of the match. Do not feed them by trying to hit the ball at their pace. This will only turn into a slug-fest, which the shark will win.
So, here is the game plan to use against a shark.
- Serve lob serves or jam serves
- Count to ten before serving the ball
- Return all back court shots with either ceiling ball shots or around the wall balls
- When the shark is in the service box to serve, hold your racquet up and count to ten
- If the shark wins 3 or 4 points in a row, take a time-out
- Never let a shark win a game without taking all of your time-outs
- Try to keep your shots from rebounding off the back wall
The above tactics should slow the game down to YOUR pace. You want your points with a shark to last as long as possible. A frustrated shark will attempt to end a rally by taking riskier shots.
Above all, to win when playing a shark takes great patience, a trait which is alien to sharks.