Control center court: Being in the center-court box puts you in the best position possible to get a majority of the shots.
Keep your opponent out of center court: If you keep the other player out of your space, they are not in the best position to get to a majority of the shots. You can accomplish this by putting the balls in the corners and hitting lots of down-the-line shots.
Watch the ball at all times: By watching the ball, you gain valuable information and more time so you can better determine your opponent’s shot and react faster to the ball. If your opponent is the offensive player hitting the ball and you are watching it, and you see that he is going to hit the ball behind him, you can probably expect the ball to hit the side wall. If you are the offensive player hitting the ball, you can determine whether to go offensive or defensive and what specific shot to hit based on the ball position and of course your opponent’s position too.
Hit away from your opponent: Your goal is to hit where your opponent is not and make them run the farthest distance to get to the ball by going to the open court. The more you make them move and hit on the run, the more mistakes she will make, giving you more opportunities to take advantage of the situation.
Hit to and exploit your opponent’s weaknesses: By hitting to your opponents weaknesses, you are forcing him to do something he does not want to do. *Avoid hitting to your opponent’s strengths: This will only build his confidence level and make them feel like king or queen of the hill, able to take and make any shot they wants, thus winning the match.
Keep your opponent deep in the court: This strategy keeps him as far away from the front wall, the target, as possible. Remember that 30 percent of all balls can be killed from the dotted line, and the odds go down the farther back in the court he goes.
Always stay positive: When you are positive, you can think more clearly and good things happen. When you are negative, you cannot think clearly and bad things happen. Remember, negativity breeds negativity.
Do not use your first game as a warm-up: Often players don’t warm up properly, thinking they can warm up by playing. First off, your chances of getting injured increases if you are not warmed up properly. Second, if you use the first game as a warm-up, there is a greater chance of your losing the game, which puts you in a deficit. If you lose the first game, you have to win both of the remaining games in order to win the match.
Carry out your game plan: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. A game plan is just as important as your racquet, shoes, and eye guards—you would never enter the court without any one of these three things, and the same should be true for your game plan.
