Advanced badminton players employ many strategies to surprise their opponents, including body movement and timing techniques.
Deception in badminton involves playing shots that seem “natural” to your opponent. Achieve this requires excellent body control and good technique – both of which take practice to perfect.
1. Soft return of flat drive serve
When returning a flat drive serve, it’s often beneficial to opt for a soft shot in order to surprise and gain the upper hand in your next attack. A soft shot will surprise your opponent and force their team to hit an upward clearance or smash, exactly what you are hoping for!
Use this strategy when returning all types of serves, but it’s especially effective against fast, flat offensive serves such as flick serves. A flick serve is specifically designed to travel high into the air quickly, making it harder for opponents to respond with quick clearance shots.
Conversely, a flat drive serve is most likely to land near the center or back line of your opponent’s court, and likely be returned with either pushes or strong smashes that allow you to exploit any open spaces on their side by hitting soft returns that deny them chances to take control of rallies using clear or powerful shots.
To execute a soft return stroke, aim your shuttle in the direction of one of the tramlines either side of your opponent’s service line. This will force them into playing defensive clearances or smashes while giving you extra time to position for your deceptive return strokes.
An additional way to strengthen your soft badminton return is through practicing serving drills that emphasize accuracy and consistency. Try practicing solo serves into a bucket while simultaneously hitting them as consistently as possible.
Once you feel confident with this badminton serving drill, take it one step further by teaming up and switching roles. That will give you practice being both the server and receiver while learning different tactics advanced players use against slow return shots. When ready to advance your badminton game further, be sure to incorporate these advanced strategies into your own return badminton serve returns strategy.
2. Deceptive backhand return
This serve is a fantastic way to surprise and disorient your opponent, appearing like a powerful smash but actually being soft shot disguised as drop shot. To successfully execute this return, it requires understanding and applying all four components: stance, grip, racket positioning and movement.
This variation on the flat drive serve allows you to deceive your opponent by hitting a soft drop shot when serving. Its goal is to limit their return options and catch them by surprise, leading to easy points for yourself. To execute it successfully, hit your shuttlecock using underarm action followed by lower than usual follow through before dropping it so it lands nearer the front of their service box – this will force them into hitting an awkward lift shot in response.
One of the great aspects of badminton is its many tricks for surprising opponents, especially your backhand returns. Your opponent might expect you to serve a low backhand drive that leads to a straight shot down the line or short net shot if served to the T, but by serving an unexpected return that looks straight but really is more like an delicate lift, they will be caught unaware and lose control of their point.
Timing of body movements is key when it comes to creating deception in tennis. Your opponent will be looking out for subtle clues from you that reveal which kind of shot you intend on playing; for instance if your posture and racket position suggest going for a net shot then body movements should coincide accordingly for successful deception.
Deception in badminton can be an invaluable advantage in both singles and doubles matches. By being able to fool your opponent, deception gives you an edge even against fittest players – physical fitness being only part of what’s necessary! Skill and technique play equal parts in this sport.
3. Aggressive net shot return
Badminton players employ deception as an effective strategy to gain an advantage during rallies. Deception may come in the form of changing shot selection or grip variation or making subtle body movements; to master deception requires consistent practice and an in-depth knowledge of badminton fundamentals.
One of the best ways to fool your opponent in badminton is using a net shot. These fast shots can catch opponents off guard by changing direction quickly and deceiving them; by disrupting their shuttle returning ability and increasing chances of scoring a point.
To execute a net shot, start by positioning yourself appropriately on the court. Be sure that your dominant foot is behind the net, with shoulders back and arms outstretched for optimal reach – this way, your stance will remain balanced and give you enough power for execution of a net shot.
Once in position, signal to your opponent that you intend to play a net shot. Beware not to signal too early; otherwise they could move in quickly to intercept it. In such an instance, hitting a drop shot instead may help keep your opponent at bay and keep them behind you.
Avoid being caught out as a poacher by forcing your opponent to attack it from further away. But be wary – overdoing it may lead to being caught out by one!
Deceptively mix up your shots by employing lift shots. This will cause your opponent to rush forward in an attempt to intercept the shuttle, potentially resulting in either a miss or providing you with the opportunity for later smashes.
4. Deceptive forehand drop shot
If you want to catch your opponent off guard, one of the best badminton tricks you can employ is the cross court drop shot. This shot requires sending the shuttle over the net and landing in another court than where they’re standing; forcing them into scrambling forward, leaving themselves open to more attacks such as smashes from you!
Deceptive techniques are simple to execute with the right footwork and will give you a movement advantage over your opponent. Furthermore, it is key that drops differ so as to mislead opponents about what kind of shot will come next from you.
Deception for this shot relies on speeding up arm movement when hitting clear or smash strokes, but only beginning this action just prior to hitting the shuttle. This will fool your opponent into believing you are about to hit a drop shot only for it not land short of the net.
Once you’ve mastered basic deception, experiment with different strategies to further fool your opponents. For instance, when using a forehand grip, try including some slight slicing action in your arm swing to give the appearance that the shuttle hits more like a smash or clear.
Another advanced deception technique is using a reverse slice forehand drop shot, which will have the shuttle travel in the opposite direction to your body’s swing. This will completely throw your opponent off-guard as they anticipate hitting either a clear or smash but are then shocked when it sails over the net and lands on their backhand side court instead – setting yourself up perfectly for an effective smash that ends the rally!