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The ball is heading for the glass behind your partner. What do you say?
You see the pace better than your partner does. Call "let it go" for the ball that will come off the wall, "take it" for the one that will die.
You can see a ball is going to reach the back glass behind your partner, who is not sure. What is your job?
You see the pace better than your partner does. Call "let it go" for the ball that will come off the wall, "take it" for the one that will die.
Why
The player under the ball has the worst view of whether it will reach the glass; the partner watching from the side sees the pace and the arc clearly. So the partner calls it: "let it go" or "wall" for a ball that will rebound, "take it" or "short" for one that will die. Two words, early, save more points than any amount of technique. Pairs that talk on the wall balls defend better than pairs that are individually better but silent, because the read is made by the person with the better view.
What this means at your level
Beginner
When the ball is going to your partner's back wall, tell them what to do: "let it go" or "take it". They cannot see it as well as you.
Intermediate
Call early, as the ball crosses the net, not as it bounces. A late call is worse than none.
Advanced
Agree the vocabulary before the match so nobody hesitates. Two words for the wall, two for the middle, one for "yours".
Common questions
You can see a ball is going to reach the back glass behind your partner, who is not sure. What is your job?
Call it: "let it go". You see the pace better than your partner does. Call "let it go" for the ball that will come off the wall, "take it" for the one that will die. The player under the ball has the worst view of whether it will reach the glass; the partner watching from the side sees the pace and the arc clearly. So the partner calls it: "let it go" or "wall" for a ball that will rebound, "take it" or "short" for one that will die. Two words, early, save more points than any amount of technique. Pairs that talk on the wall balls defend better than pairs that are individually better but silent, because the read is made by the person with the better view.
Why not say nothing. It is their ball and their read?
It is their ball and your information. The player watching from the side sees the pace better than the one under it.
What should a beginner do here?
When the ball is going to your partner's back wall, tell them what to do: "let it go" or "take it". They cannot see it as well as you.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Agree the vocabulary before the match so nobody hesitates. Two words for the wall, two for the middle, one for "yours".
Puzzles like this one
The 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.
beginnerA ball comes down the middle. Who takes it?
The middle ball belongs to the forehand: decided before the match, not during the point.