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They keep smashing you out through the side opening
You do not defend the por tres. You stop feeding it: deeper lobs, to the other player.
Their smasher has won three points with balls that bounce and fly out through the side opening. What is the adjustment?
You do not defend the por tres. You stop feeding it: deeper lobs, to the other player.
Why
A smash that exits through the side opening cannot be retrieved by better positioning, so the adjustment has to happen a shot earlier. Two things kill it: depth and target. A lob landing in the last two metres forces the smasher to hit from behind their service line, where the angle into the side glass no longer produces the exit. And changing which opponent has to play the overhead usually removes the shot entirely, because the exit smash is a specialist stroke and rarely do both of them have it.
What this means at your level
Beginner
If someone is smashing you out of the court repeatedly, the honest answer is that your lobs are landing too short. Aim two metres deeper.
Intermediate
Watch where their smash bounces. If it lands in front of their own service line, your lob was short, that is the feedback loop to fix.
Advanced
Add the flat lob over the non-smasher’s shoulder. It gives no time to set up underneath the ball, which is what the exit smash needs far more than power.
Common questions
Their smasher has won three points with balls that bounce and fly out through the side opening. What is the adjustment?
Lob to the other player, and lob deeper. You do not defend the por tres. You stop feeding it: deeper lobs, to the other player. A smash that exits through the side opening cannot be retrieved by better positioning, so the adjustment has to happen a shot earlier. Two things kill it: depth and target. A lob landing in the last two metres forces the smasher to hit from behind their service line, where the angle into the side glass no longer produces the exit. And changing which opponent has to play the overhead usually removes the shot entirely, because the exit smash is a specialist stroke and rarely do both of them have it.
Why not drive everything low instead of lobbing?
Driving from the back into two players at the net loses the point a different way. You need better lobs, not fewer lobs.
What should a beginner do here?
If someone is smashing you out of the court repeatedly, the honest answer is that your lobs are landing too short. Aim two metres deeper.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Add the flat lob over the non-smasher’s shoulder. It gives no time to set up underneath the ball, which is what the exit smash needs far more than power.
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