Preventing a third ball attack

Daniel Lim Asked 9 years ago

Hi Coach,

I recently played a player who had a very strong and accurate third ball attack and lost badly. Are there any general tips you could give to discourage or even prevent a third ball attack from an opponent?

Sincerely,

Dan

Alois Rosario Answered 9 years ago

Hi Dan,

I think one of the things is to be able to read the spin on the serve so that you don’t hit the ball too high or place it to the place where you want it to go.

Keeping the ball low and short is the ideal way to stop them attacking. The other thing to focus on the direction of you return. If you can work out which side they like to attack from then keep the ball away from that side.

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Daniel Lim Posted 9 years ago

Thank you! I'll keep your advice in mind the next time!

Sincerely,

Dan

Marcus Hardung Posted 9 years ago

This is exactly what happened to my son todays .The opponents team had very very well honed topspin technique and were really setting up their game to be able to play exactly that .

Unfortunatelly the clouds of frustration got the better of my boy and instead of playing short and low he tried harder -hitting the ball too hard and opening the door for even more topspin returns.A very bitter lesson.

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago

Yes Marcus, as frustrating as it can be, this is a common thing especially for young players. Hopefully he will get better at this area. It makes a big difference to the rally when you learn to keep the ball low and short.