Regardless on many game scenarios and only based on ur scenario i see that u dont wish to give up on attacking but ur partner already has. Therefore he move back to one side. Lets put into this, the forecourt player (in attacking) has the right to control the rotation from attack to defense. Simply because u can see him but he cant see u. So after u do a drop and u see him moving back, it becomes ur responsibility to cover ur own side since u are now in defense.
I agree with everything said here, except #6. If the rear player is deep and on the side, I don't see how he should be responsible for covering 3 corners. Conceivably, it maybe the front player that could help covering the other 3.
somwhat simple, if attacking player is dropping or smashing, stay front/back position, if the attacking player clears, then it's side/side position...of course with many variations depending on the opponents return shots.
Not necessarily... If it's an attacking clear, you may want to take a look at how your opponents are reacting to it first. If you catch them, you can continue to stay in attack formation.
[MENTION=54]raymond[/MENTION]. Reading #6 back, I can see the confusion. You are right to state that if the rear-court player is struggling, the fore-court player can help to cover. There's a good you-tube video called something like 'helping the rear-court player' which has a good demo. A word of warning though: the fore-court player can only help a bit. If the rear-court player is in real trouble, then they need to clear high & deep. My original comment was referring to when the player in the rear corner isn't under pressure & has played a 'good' shot (see #5). Because the shuttle is low enough such that the opposition cannot drive, both of you can come forward. It's a straight drop, so the fore-court player needs to be forward and significantly over to the side to cover the straight-net response. This requires their partner to cover the x-court corner. If the drop is 'between' the opposition, then it's a more even '2 & 2' split. This is another reason why aiming between the opponents is the stock option. Hope you agree with the clarification and sorry for not being clear.
In addition to clear (giving out the attack), you can half-smash or fast-drop too. But if your partner doesn't sense that you are under pressure (help out scenario), or you are in position to execute a good drop (maintaining attack scenario)... your partner don't know enough about playing men double. Just clear and have fun; don't argue or fight with him. What can you gain from it?
Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. Please feel free to continue to discuss. I wont be checking the post any further however as you all have help bring many things to light. My level of play has been high intermediate and up until this point a weak attack has almost always been infinitely better than a strong clear. Because I am now crossing over (or trying at least) into much more advanced games, I am learning very very quickly that the clear is an absolutely necessary tool. My next challenge is aclimatizing myself to the new pace and style of the game and learning when to clear instead of attempting a weak attack. This is really only through play though because I am aware of what I am supposed to be doing but habit takes over during a game and just never clear free rear court; even if I am on my heels, facing the wrong way, lost my racquet, and my partner has had a stroke I can't help but to try to smash or drop lol. I know it's wrong while I am doing it but it worked for so long my muscle memory takes over. Thanks again, I am off to practice practice practice
Hmm I don't see why clearing is going to help, except to maintain a defensive position. At higher levels when you are clearing all you are doing is giving away the attack and potentially to someone with a lethal attack!! Yes of course it can be handy in trouble situations, to change things up and to move the opponents around but if they have good footwork and a good attack you are in trouble... You and your partner should be backing each other up. If you do a good smash/drop from the rear court he should be covering for you. It reminds me of the question upon playing with a new person, "are we playing sides or front and back..." If they don't understand where they should be it is going to be hard to come to an agreement on positioning.
At higher level, incl. the pros, they also play clears at times to get out of troubles. This is what the clears are for. If you're to play a bad drop because you're late, it may be better to just play a good clear (if you can still generate power). This may not be such a high level, and your opponents may not have lethal attack...
I am SO SICK of the ambiguous answers on these forums! Its so annoying lol. Here's how it goes, the basics: Attack. = 1 front 1 back, If return is longer than aprox 1/3rd of the court. rear court player covers. (probably because of a bad smash/drop/goodreturn) ^ONLY EXCEPTION: If your rear player plays a drop, and rushes to the front.. he is implying he is tired and is asking for a switch. Defence. = Square.. pretty basic. side by side
well, the truth is that the correct answer is ambigious. and correctly so! because the "correct" play heavily depends on your level of play! for beginners/intermediates you're absolutely correct: backcourt smashes, front player covers the net and waits for a weak reply to netkill. but when the niveau rises, things get much more complicated and there's much more movement and rotation involved, as soon as the attacking player can smash from somewhere in the mid-rear-court... that's the reason why answers are ambiguous...
He obviously hasn't watched pro WD matches. They clear half the time. But the clears must reach the tramlines, as anything 3/4 length will get killed. Lol... if the answer is so unambiguous, we won't have any need for coaches.
I'd still go with what @visor stated right at the start... talk it out with your partner. Once you realise that the partner hasn't moved according to the way you expected him to, discuss it with him and decide what you want to do the next time. I feel there is no 'absolute right' method to play. I have found myself in exactly the same situation as the OP several times and it almost always depends upon my partner's playing style, as to how I react to the next shot. If my partner is a very aggressive front player (my usual doubles partner is like that) then he'll always come to the front no matter what I may play from the back (smash, drop or clear) and seeing him charging to the front, I also am confident in playing a smash or a centre drop. I though, am not as aggressive as him. If I'm in front, I wont go as close to the T as he does and will wait for a weak smash return, that's all. So, if he drops to his side of the court, away from me, he'll come forward and Ill return to my centre half. This is our understanding and it works quite well for us in our matches!
