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You are standing right against the back glass
You need room between you and the glass: about an arm and a half. Standing on the wall is standing nowhere.
A deep ball is on its way and you are already pressed up against your own back wall. What should you do?
You need room between you and the glass: about an arm and a half. Standing on the wall is standing nowhere.
Why
The back wall is not a place to hide, it is a tool that hands the ball back to you. To use it you need space: the ball has to bounce, hit the glass and come out past you before you hit it in front of your body. If you are already touching the wall when it arrives, none of that can happen and you end up scooping. Defend from about a metre and a half in front of the glass, and move back only when the ball forces you.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Find your spot: stand where you can take one big step back and still not touch the wall. That is your defending position.
Intermediate
Adjust for the ball. A hard flat one comes off the glass a long way, so start further forward; a soft sliced one dies near the wall, so start closer and be ready to take it early.
Advanced
Against heavy topspin the rebound comes off high and fast, and you want to be well inside the court, near the service line, ready to move back into the ball rather than reach for it.
Common questions
A deep ball is on its way and you are already pressed up against your own back wall. What should you do?
Step forward, off the glass. You need room between you and the glass: about an arm and a half. Standing on the wall is standing nowhere. The back wall is not a place to hide, it is a tool that hands the ball back to you. To use it you need space: the ball has to bounce, hit the glass and come out past you before you hit it in front of your body. If you are already touching the wall when it arrives, none of that can happen and you end up scooping. Defend from about a metre and a half in front of the glass, and move back only when the ball forces you.
Why not stay. You are covering the deepest ball?
You are covering nothing. Pressed against the glass you have no swing, and any rebound arrives at your hip instead of in front of you.
What should a beginner do here?
Find your spot: stand where you can take one big step back and still not touch the wall. That is your defending position.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Against heavy topspin the rebound comes off high and fast, and you want to be well inside the court, near the service line, ready to move back into the ball rather than reach for it.
Puzzles like this one
The ball is at your feet at the net. What now?
A ball below the net cannot be attacked. Block it deep and wait for one above the tape.
beginnerThe ball is coming off the back glass. When do you hit it?
Move back with the ball, let it pass you, hit it in front of your body.
intermediateYour partner got pulled wide. Where do you stand?
The pair moves like one body. When your partner is pulled wide, you take the middle.