Description:
Kyle Whatnall
Keeping opponents deep is a smart offensive strategy because it forces your opponent to hit drops and drives from a further distance. This gives you and your partner more time to react and puts you in the most advantageous position to win the point. It also puts pressure on your opponents to hit longer, more difficult returns. Watch this video to learn from instructor and tourning pro Kyle Whatnall on how you can win rallies using this approach.
Example 1
In this example, the players on the near side keep the far-side player on the left pinned in the back court. By forcing him to hit several shots in a row, he can’t work his way to the kitchen line, and he eventually hits the ball into the net.
Example 2
The far-side team in this example gets stuck in a split formation with one player at the kitchen line and the other a few feet back. The near-side team takes advantage of this, keeping up pressure by repeatedly sending shots deep to the player at midcourt until he hits into the net.
Example 3
In this next example, the far-side player on the left gets stuck halfway to the kitchen line. He keeps trying to land a drop shot so he can move forward, but the near-side team keeps him deep. The play finally ends when the far-side team hits the ball out to lose the rally.
Example 4
The near-side team tries to work their way up to the kitchen line in this example, but the far-side team keeps sending deep shots to their feet. Stuck in the back court, the near-side team can’t work their way forward and eventually loses the rally when the far-side team lands a well-played drop shot in their kitchen.