I would like Members to share their experience with regard to net play. When I play at the net i basically use forehand grip but suddenly when the shuttle is slightly lifted at the net towards my back hand i find it difficult to play. The shot which I play is neither strong nor I am able to change the grip to back hand because of lack of time. I have seen professional players playing at the net and they give strong back hand return the moment the shuttle is slightly lifted. Request Members to share their experience
If the shot is coming towards my backhand side when I am the net player and I think I can intercept, I would hit it "round the head" with the same action as if it was coming towards my forehand side. Only if its a slow and loose shot coming from my opponent I would change grip to play a backhand kill.
Tks Vixter.. But i get very less time to change the grip but anyways would start practicing to improve my net game
The grip at the net is a bit different from the grip at the back of the court, and it depends on the type of shot you're aiming for. I started to write full explanations of this, but realized that badminton bible had things covered: https://www.badmintonbible.com/articles/grips-guide/which-grip/net-shot https://www.badmintonbible.com/articles/grips-guide/which-grip/net-kill
The above article is very informative. Let me try playing with those new grip techniques which I have learnt today.
Yes. Need to change grip. Other tips if you are not doing it is keeping the racquet head raised in the forecourt area before the shuttle comes back. For an additional advanced technique, watch the the racquet head of the opponent and predict the path of the shuttle coming back. Then you can anticipate it faster and 'feel' you have more time to change the grip.
Watching the racquet head of the opponent and predict the path of the shuttle?? I have not done before i.e. watching the racket head of the opponent. How does one predict the shuttle path. How do you do it? May be I can gain something out of it.
As your improve your own technique, you will understand that to play a specific shot properly, you need to have your racket / body in a certain position. Looking at the position of your opponent will then let you narrow down the shots they can play and better anticipate their moves. And the more you practice this, the more you will be able to see where the shuttle will go even before your opponent has hit it. That's partly why you have the impression that stronger players never have to move when they play against a weaker opponent
Exactly. Raise your awareness of the oppnent's position, the strokes they play, how they swing the racquet and gradually, you'll develop the anticipation to move faster to every shot at the net.
Changing your grip for backhand shots gives you a lot more option. With a forehand grip you can only really effective return to the net (straight or cross depending on how good your wrist action is). You would struggle to play a good kill or lift. I mean if you're desperate then obviously hitting the shuttle matters more than having the right grip, but it's definitely wise to train up your dexterity and speed at switching. Drives are a very good way to build this up.
I was advised in one of the above msgs to try and go for a bevel grip i.e. similar to back hand grip. Have a bevel grip while net play for both back hand & forehand play. This way it would be easier to hit a backhand shot rather than changing the grip when there is less time to react. For net play I do not think that we need to have a forehand grip. Please correct me if I am wrong on this topic
I find the bevel grip is more useful in the rear court. I use a full thumb grip for the forecourt because it allows you to generate more power from the hand. Bevel is more useful at the rear court because as your arm is moving backwards to play the backhand shot, a full thumb grip limits your movement as it makes the forearm too tense.
Sooner or later, though, you will read what your opponent wants you to read. Then you better hope your anticipation wasn't too committal! When we catch someone out at club night with such an event, the shot maker is free to call out 'TAXIII!'
Haha get the lift you want? I do the same thing with serves. I start with my racket leg forward most of the time, and then after a few serves I switch to racket leg back as if to say to them 'I think you're gonna flick me', then I just rush them at the net knowing they've looked at my foot placement. On this note though, Cheung you might be able to advise here, as a left hander my backhand is on the same side as my opponent's. If I push to the backhand net, I'm standing on the same side as the backhand, with my grip adjusted to the backhand waiting for the kill opportunity, or the straight lift. But there are times where I'm getting caught off guard by quite shallow pushes to the cross (forehand), where I can't adjust my grip back in time. Am I right in preparing the grip as early as I am, or should I be waiting longer before adjusting? Do I just need to be faster?
- is this from the left court or the right court or both? - how often do you play this return of serve? - are you really getting into the net fast enough? - is your return of serve going down enough? - who is doing these shallow pushes? the server or his partner? - are you standing on the service line or even closer to the net to receive this third shot? I know, it's a game of 20 questions...LOL I think people have their own preferences. I personally set myself with a panhandle for this situation of the third shot. If the shuttle is pushed fast back, I either round the head or my partner can take it. If the shuttle is slow at the net forecourt, I have time to change to a backhand grip. Going back to the original question, I also practiced a lot of switching my grip from backhand to panhandle in one movement and then and back again in one movement. It took a lot of finger dexterity. Can't say that I am perfect at it either but it is sufficient until I get really high quality games - then I am stuffed.
It's not just return of serve, if anything it'd be more likely where I've played a cross court drop, block from the high midcourt to the backhand, or blocked something on the low backhand and just blocked to the net. It's hard to answer those questions with that in mind
Sounds like you can't switch to the forehand grip in one fluid motion. I have a more China style preparation i.e. Switch to the forehand grip in one motion and also draw the racquet head back in preparation as a simultaneous action.
Not sure if this has been discussed, what grip do most of you use when playing overhead cross court clear from the baseline at the backhand side (using forehand overhead clear) ? Do you slightly panhandle it so the racket face open up to the cross court ? Or do you simply use pronation + wrist work ?
