Staying in Center Court

This is a very good habit to fall into. Being centered allows you to be within a stride or two from your opponents shots. This can mean the difference between winning and losing a rally. This will not go unnoticed by your opponent, and this puts pressure on them to exercise a variety of shots putting forth their best effort to get you into back court. You will notice when watching matches that many rallies are won on position and not just the quality of a shot.

Shot Selection

When choosing your shots it is important to be conscious of some basic guidelines, and be aware of your own limitations. When mastered, these principles will become second nature and will no longer be a conscious effort in game.

– Keeping track of your opponent. Always be aware of where your opponent is when selecting your shots. Passing shots are optimal when your opponent is directly along side of you. when your opponent is in front of you, a ceiling or passing shot is a good option. If the ball is at knee level or lower, and your opponent is behind you, a pinch shot to the closest corner is optimal.

– Playing Off Of The Back Wall. If the ball is coming at you waist high or higher, you should let it pass and hit it off of the back wall. You do not need to defend the back wall, but instead use the back wall. After bouncing off of the back wall the ball has slowed down considerably. The shot will be much easier to hit accurately at knee level.

– Hitting at waist level. If the shot is above waist level, go to the ceiling. Passes and kill shots should always be hit below the waist.

Learn from the Pros

Like any other sport, it is very important to study the habits and training methods of the professionals. There are nuances to everyone’s game, but some things are right, and some things are incorrect. Fundamentals like footwork or swing form are universal. These basic aspects of the game can be easy to learn, but they are difficult to master when under pressure and duress.

Using Serve Disguises

Disguising your serves once and a while throughout a match not only throws your opponent off for that particular serve, but it will keep them honest throughout the rest of the match. It is best to set up the disguise with some predictability early in the match with your serves. Try hitting to your opponents weak side and or use a limited number of serves. Once your opponent is comfortable, begin disguising your serves. The problem with leading off with disguised serves is the potency of the disguise is gone or was never there to begin with. If my opponent disguises every other serve from the beginning of the match, I am now comfortable and predicting the disguise almost as if it is just another serve.

Attacking as a Server

As a beginner it may seem daunting to hit a more technical shot out of back court on your return after serving. Once you gain more confidence in your pinch, z shots or 3 wall shots etc. it can be well worth the risk to hit one out of back court. Practice on your own hitting bounces off the back wall until your are hitting a good percentage of your shots accurately.

Exposing your opponents weaknesses

This will begin naturally in the match while your mixing up your serves and returns, but it is important to be conscious of how your opponent is approaching each shot. Take notice of their form and how it fairs against certain shots. Read their expressions and body language. Even if this doesn’t make a noticeable difference early in the match, it could make all of the difference later on when your opponent is fatigued.

Stop Hitting Toward the Ground

Many beginner racquetball players face the issue of hitting the ball into the ground. There are many reasons why this could be happening. One of the main factors that normally cause this is incorrect grip of your racquet . It is important to keep your racquet facing forward throughout your swing. Another thing that you may encounter is that you are swinging improperly. What I see very often is beginners swinging with a windmill like motion. Be conscious of this flaw next time you practice and make sure you are keeping your racquet level.