How to play against… · 3 min read
Against the retriever who gets to everything
Don’t make them run: they love it. Play deep to the middle, at their body, and open the angle only when you have a clear ball.
The plan
- Don’t let the runner run: fast players hit very well on the move because they practice it constantly.
- Deep to the middle and at the body: you force them to move away from the ball instead of toward it.
- Wrong-foot them: after two balls to the same side, a third to the same spot often catches them leaving.
- Don’t go for impossible winners: many of your errors will come from aiming out of their reach.
To review after the match
In the app, when you mark that your opponent was “Very fast”, we ask whether you tried:
- I didn’t make them run: I played deep to the middle
- I played into their body
- I changed direction behind them
- I didn’t go for impossible winners
To practice on court
Deep to the middle
Rally where only balls landing in the deep middle third count.
Goal: Depth precision.
Ideas inspired by Brad Gilbert, “Winning Ugly” (ch. 8, “Destroying your opponent’s game plan”).