Hi all, I'm playing a club tournament (just for fun) and joined last minute, so I pulled whoever I could to be my partner. We practiced a few times the last couple weeks, and she's definitely weaker then the females in some pairs that I know that will be joining. One team in particular, is pretty well balanced, and I'm wondering if there's any specific tactics I should be playing. I've thought about how the game will play out, and I realize they'll probably try to pull me up front and push the girl back (quite common). Assuming I can keep the play at the back, they will probably be doing drives left and right. Originally I tried to train my partner to practice intercepting drives at the net. But whenever a fast drive comes through, she's not very confident and lets it go through, alternatively, shots that are mid-court that are high enough that I can smash, she ends up going for. Which leaves me with a drive game until I (usually) lose. I was thinking of doing drops to the girl if she's up front and playing her drop down as my partner can do decent with dropping, but her recovery and speed are lacking (if you drop her one corner, then go to the other corner, she won't make it). So likely I'll have to grab the next shot after the first drop happens, and get an offensive clear (which I don't mind). This is currently our best plan so far, which isn't really much. Any tips on what I can do to possibly control the game?
Once I first started playing. I joined a club tournament as well. I was so weak, so my teammate decided to stick me to the front court ( In this case I wanted to do my best, I wanna see how far I could go). He told me just to focus on the quality of the shot, and try not to lift. Any shot that goes above my head, and I couldnt reach easily, I must let it goes to him. Also, I had to make sure that my low service is great enough and also I must be able to do a flick service. When the game started, he kept going on attacking with all kind of smash and drive, and I just needed to wait for poor return shots and kill it. Make sure you attack them with all you have and let your partner be the one who kill the shot. In term of inception I think the front court player need to have low stance and stand slightly on the other side a little bit behind the "T" service line I think that's the best position to make an interception. PS. one thing he told me is that to just focus on the shot I make. Make sure I did it good then the rest let it be on him.
Yeah, we're pretty much doing all of that already. She has a really good flick serve which we are utilizing. I control the game pretty well, but we're going to be up against players that are good, so I don't think it'll cut it. I don't think I, alone, am better then them. I can perhaps outplay the male, but with them having a stronger female player as well, it's hard to control the game when my side has a target I know they'll hit to. Also, I think you might've gotten the positions confused as I'm not the one at the net (I'm the male). It's very difficult to finish a point when they're not going to give me any clears (an assumption that they wouldn't want to play sides, as I'd probably smash my way through the female opponent). Which means I'll be getting cross court drives, and being played left and right. Since my partner up front isn't confident enough to intercept a drive, this makes things difficult, as my previous female partner, I would keep the game going and kill when I can, but keep the focus on me so the opponents are trying to tie me down, then my partner would go in for the kill. I don't really think we will get the luxury of waiting for a poor return before the drives get me down. Reason being, their caliber of player, they have tight return shots and that usually leaves the female partner with nothing much to do at the net (or get played). If they know the girl is weaker, it's quite likely that they'll just keep hitting to the girl. One of my opponents (female) is a consistent Tournament player. The other one (male) just won Men's Doubles last week. I play with the male a lot as we are part of the same group and I think I am more powerful and quicker then he is, but he has a few smart plays that catch me off sometimes. Currently we're only watching out for them as a threat, as we don't know any other teams that have joined. So I was brainstorming tactics to think of to cover a weaker female player up front and still control the game at the back.
Tell her that when she hears you hit the shuttle, this is the time to immediately raise her racquet. Treat it as a learning experience rather than a serious competition. Learn the plays that work or don't work.
I am. I've played tonnes of tournaments by now where I've done it as a fun experience, especially the Open Yonex tournaments where there were opponents way above my caliber. But that wasn't the point. The point is, I want to do my best, and part of that is also thinking of tactics to play against a superior opponent. Not only for myself to control, but also utilize my partners strengths. My partner has her own thoughts and we've determined that net play is probably better for her. I'm practicing net kills with her to improve her intercepts. But I'm curious if there are any strategies that may "seal off" or help us gain an advantage to even the playing field.
How far away is she standing from the net? If she's standing too near, she might not be confident to drive it back or defend it due to improper techniques. If she's slightly behind the T (look at where Chen Qingchen usually positions herself or men's doubles), they are capable of intercepting and blocking or returning it as an attacking lift. Get her to move further back if possible. Her racket has to be up to intercept. Don't grip it too tight, otherwise she won't be able to change grip in time. Does she smash/tap/push it down? If no, both of you might want to discuss and have her to let you kill it. Drop to the girl if the girl stands fairly far back to cope with the strong smashes. Overall, it will be tough to win this game, but to get decent results, I suggest that you observe the XD couple and find out their weakness (I'm assuming that there are a one to two rounds of play before both of you play against each other). Whenever opportunity arises, play to their weaknesses and kill it off. If your first match is against them, you might want to start finding out the weakest link first. Smash/drive/push towards their forehand hip/shoulder. If that doesn't work, go for attacks in between the partners to create confusion. Lastly, go for steep angled shots towards the lines. If all else fails, you will have to mix up your shots to put them under pressure. Failing which, both of you might have to go on the defense. Might be good to train up the lady on her defense. Don't have to be anything fanciful. Aim for the defense to be a push, drive or even a simple block return. Then you or her will move forward to seize the opportunity to kill any loose shots. For me and my partner, we regularly use this tactic as her front court is stronger than me. All she has to do is to push/drive/block back and attack and charge forward to kill or intercept. If the opponent knows this, they will attempt to send the shuttle back for you to attack or attempt a drive/push game, which she or you may be able to better control due to weaker returns. Since drive/push game is your weakness, I would suggest not to play into their hands. At most, limit the number of pushes/drives to 3, then block/lift back and get back on the defense and let the cycle repeat. But this particular tactic will require you to have decent amount of stamina from my own experience. Otherwise, you have to let them end the point with pushes and drives and you guys decide on another tactic. Good luck for your game.
Thanks alien for your advice. I'll keep that in mind. Yes, she stands right behind the T. Originally I wanted to build up her confidence and told her to have her racquet up ready and move up a little so that she could get used to intercepting high speed drives. But that didn't really work out, so we reverted to her old position. She doesn't really smash, unless she gets flick served, and at the net, pretty much never. She has a tendency to add power to her shots at the net, of which I've tried to instruct her not to add too much as a light push gets past the girl, and can be short enough to make the guy need to come forward (and in a bad position to drive or kill). I'm not so sure on how tight she holds her racquet. Perhaps I'll ask her next time. And yes, I'm considering going for the kill myself next time. I briefed her lightly, saying that any shot that's a bit high that she can't reach in front of her should be left to me, as that is probably a good opportunity for me to drive or smash, whereas if she took the shot, she'd get out of position and likely give the opponent the chance to smash.
That's true. I tried giving as detailed description as possible, but I guess that's still hard to really give any real advice. Nevertheless, thanks!
As you recognize you're running up against strong opponents, and some being well balanced, this would be tough for your pair, considering the difference in skill level, and that you seldom play together till now. How's your peripheral vision? You may need to use it more often than usual, and hit your shots to where they're not. Use the front and mid court more. For your net/overhead drop, play faster but deeper in (no floaters). Don't play fast drive games, as your partner won't be able to help you. Eventually, you'd probably lose, so be realistic with your goal setting. One of my coaches was an ex-World #2 in MD. In one tournament, he paired with a lady that wasn't that weak, but presumably weaker compared to opposition. I heard he asked his partner to stay in one corner and only one corner. Watch shots coming to that corner, and he covered the rest of the court. You may consider something like this. By confining the space of responsibility, your partner may be able to concentrate better, and react faster. For you, you may have your partner getting closer to the net, and cover the whole net. While typically this is not a good position (standing too close to the net), if she can't react to the fast shots, it's better to get her out of the game anyway. Just focus on picking up weak shots. If you still have some time, have her practice her low serve (priority #1), and flick serve (bonus), as someone already pointed out. Equally important, work on service return, possibly esp. flick serves. Work on transitioning from back to the front again, as she'd be easily targeted by simple tactic like this.
One more point, don't forget mental preparation. In the event your opposition is only slightly better in level, a good/strong mental could help you and your partner stay on top. Be aware of self-talk (stay positive in language), and stay focus on court (ignore all distraction outside of court). Learn how to relax with deep breathing. Hopefully, you could still win some of the matches.
A common preparation that's often neglected is analyzing the opponents' strength and weaknesses. Pro players in all sports would spend hours analyzing videos of their opponents and then practice on how they will beat them. I'm assuming you won't wanna go that far since it's only a 'for fun' tournament but try to watch for opponent tendencies/weakness and how your strength can take advantage of that. It makes your opponents predictable and narrows the skill gap if they're superior to you.
Thanks for the advice guys! Seems like the female player couldn't make it to the tournament (she's still in Malaysia I think) so the team has dropped out. I'm quite disappointed as I really wanted to play against them. But either way, you never know who else will show up. I will do as you guys advised.
Thanks guys! We had a really fun run! Lost to the eventual winners early on 19-21, but had a really fun match. Only thing was I was really just not warm enough for the game. (Went an hour early to do drills and get warmed up, but then had to wait a lot between matches)
