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Tip of the day
Coach Jess says she can tell your level within five minutes of watching you play, not from your shots but from where you stand. These seven positioning fixes require no technique changes at all.
First, serve and stay. Drifting a foot inside the baseline after your serve puts you in no man's land, so hold your ground behind the line or even take a step back until you see where the return goes.
Second, stagger on thirds. When your partner hits the third, creep about a third of the way through transition ahead of them instead of staying even, which shrinks the court from a big square into a triangle and makes you a threat at the net.
Third, return from behind the baseline. Camping on the line forces your first step backward against a good serve, and your only move on a return should be forward.
Fourth, don't run your lane like a robot. As the ball moves around the far side, shade your body toward it through transition, because a 4.0 player will find the hole you leave every time.
Fifth, actually get to the kitchen line. Dinking from two feet back hands your opponents extra room to hit at your feet, and balls you could attack out of the air become low balls at your knees.
Sixth, recover after you're pulled wide. Push off your outside leg to bring yourself back toward the middle, because your partner can't cover the whole court while you fall over your outside foot.
Seventh, the middle of the court is the space between you and your partner, not the center line. When your partner gets pulled wide, shift with them and shade toward the ball so nothing sails through the gap between you.
Key points
After you serve, stay behind the baseline until you see where the return goes.
When your partner hits the third, creep a third of the way ahead of them to shrink the court.
Keep your toes near the kitchen tape instead of dinking from two feet behind it.
Use your outside leg to push back toward the middle whenever you're pulled wide.
Treat the middle as the space between you and your partner, and shift it as the ball moves.
Deal of the day
Meme of the day
Can you serve like the best?? 🤣
That’s it for today! As always, thank you for reading. 🙏
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Happy pickling,
Paul
