Squash is a fast game requiring quick movements at rapid speeds. Implementing these correctly from the outset can help avoid injuries and tight muscles that might arise later.
A great way to improve is through frequent rallies with an opponent with similar skill and practicing shots individually on an occasional basis – particularly working on retrieving difficult balls near the back wall and corners.
Basic Techniques
Squash is a racquet-based game where players take turns hitting a ball against a front wall using racquets, with any successful shot falling above the tin and below its outline at the top in order to qualify as legal shot. Players may also hit side and back walls of the court but must return it before it bounces twice on the floor before returning it to its initial landing point on the front wall.
Squashing is an athletic, fast-paced game and players must be able to move around the court with speed and good footwork. Lunges and side steps can help players develop this ability more rapidly when practicing with partners.
Hitting tight against the side walls is another effective strategy, making it harder for your opponent to return it. Doing this requires hitting with sufficient power off of your racket – this requires practice!
Rail shots are an invaluable skill that all players should learn. When your opponent has driven you into a corner, this shot makes it extremely difficult for them to return the ball back into play from outside it.
Drop shots are another common move used to keep a rally going and are best performed using backspin to ensure they cling tightly against a sidewall before bouncing twice and leaving their mark. By playing this shot with backspin, they prevent your opponent from easily reaching it while providing another opportunity to keep a lead during an intense rally.
Volleying can add speed and momentum to any match by quickly taking time away from your opponent. Volleying should be used whenever necessary throughout a match; but especially useful during service returns. Combine volleying with other shots, targeting corners of the court for optimal success when playing volleys.
Forehand Techniques
As a beginner, it is advisable to begin learning the forehand since this stroke can be easily learned early and provides more control when playing against an opponent. However, you shouldn’t overlook your backhand, especially if you play right handed – an effective backhand will keep you in the middle of the court and force your opponent to work hard at keeping up with you.
Learning a forehand requires understanding its proper grip and technique. Coach Javi offers this video as a basic beginner forehand grip lesson as well as instruction on hitting properly with each swing type depending on each situation.
Deception is another key component of an effective forehand game, enabling you to take control of the match and force your opponent into making mistakes when returning shots – this allows you to gain control and put them on the defensive. One tactic would be using cross-court forehand hits across opponents or dropping shots off your own feed to move them out of their court and gain an upper hand in their court.
Practice your forehand in different situations is also key to improving it, such as hitting it from short feed and hitting a long, slow forehand into the corner. A great drill to practice volley skills involves feeding the ball back towards yourself and hitting it close to a wall either with forehand or backhand shots.
Squash players must learn how to cope with the pressure that comes from playing in tournament environments, especially those involving tournaments. Nerves can raise heart rates and decrease accuracy in your shots; to stay focused on the game without letting nervousness interfere, make sure to eat and drink before your matches as this can not only provide additional energy boosts but also enhance concentration and focus.
Backhand Techniques
The backhand is an integral component of tennis, serving both as a way to rally a ball and defensive weapon against topspin ground strokes from your opponents. To hit an effective backhand shot requires good footwork and stance as well as developing your technique so you can make consistent contact with the ball. Beginners may find this difficult but once they understand its fundamentals they should start working on developing more power into their shots for increased distance on drives and improved accuracy on ground strokes.
Your backhand should start off by considering its grip. Aim to use both continental (like holding a hammer) and eastern forehand grip ( like shaking hands) grips on each of your dominant hands; many players forget this and end up using split grips which limit power generation on their backhands.
Once you have achieved the proper grip for your racquet, it’s time to work on footwork and stance. Aim for an optimal diagonal stance with the ball in front of your body; ensure your back foot is slightly more forward than your front foot so as to allow more fluid turning of the body towards shots and to add power when making shots.
Beginners often struggle with placing too much weight on their front foot, leading them to lose balance when taking a stroke. Furthermore, you should ensure that your backfoot does not point too heavily toward the left as this could result in spin and power losses on your backhand side.
Finally, you need to develop the swing of your backhand. This can be challenging for beginners because they do not understand when and how to coil and uncoil during a shot, which is why watching and listening to experienced players as they take backhand shots can provide invaluable lessons on body movement during shots.
Serving Techniques
Learning how to serve can be one of the more complex shots for novice players, due to being an overhead shot with limited hitting space (in particular the service box). But learning the appropriate techniques early helps alleviate this difficulty.
Step one of serving is making sure you have a proper grip. A continental grip consists of your dominant hand holding the ball slightly higher than your non-dominant hand when holding onto the ball.
Once you have the proper grip, you must focus on developing body movements that will enable you to hit the ball effectively when serving. This requires working on various drills; most importantly, the figure 8 drill which helps develop smooth movements that enable more power when throwing forward with each swing.
An essential step when serving is selecting an effective toss. Your ball should reach a point on the air that corresponds with its target on the court (such as front wall or back wall).
Once you’ve mastered the basic serve, more advanced techniques such as topspin serves and slice serves can provide significant advantages over your opponents in game by taking away their time and space on court. Lob serves can also be effective; they allow for lobs that reach directly your opponent while giving more time than necessary to another player if hit wrongly. However, for best results use them after having gained considerable experience with more basic serves – otherwise risk hitting one which doesn’t reach and giving too much time away to other players!