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Tip of the day
Kyle Koszuta teaches strategy in sequences, because a serve only makes sense alongside the shot that follows it. Your serve and your third shot are one unit, and your return and your fourth shot are another.
Serve deep to the backhand side, which keeps the returner away from the kitchen line longer. Then serve and stay, because stepping in and having to back up puts you on your back foot for the third.
On that third shot, aim at whichever opponent is still running in. The player already set at the kitchen is balanced and ready, while the one moving forward is reaching and off balance.
Hit it at about 80 percent, right at the moving player's body, rather than swinging as hard as you can. A drop into the kitchen also works, but it is the harder shot to own first.
On returns, stand a foot or two behind the baseline so a deep ball does not jam you. Return deep and to the middle, favor the backhand if you want a target, then run in behind it.
Running in matters because of what Koszuta calls the advantage scale. Two players at the kitchen against two players back is a plus two advantage, and staying back after your return hands that advantage away.
The last piece is the power threshold, the pace past which your accuracy falls apart. Above the face, hit it with pace; below the chin, hit it with spin.
Most players lose points by swinging through that threshold on shin high balls they never earned. Keep the ball in, let the other team try the low percentage shot, and you win points without hitting a single winner.
Key points
Serve deep to the backhand side to keep the returner away from the kitchen line longer.
Aim your third shot at whichever opponent is still running in.
Return deep and to the middle, then run in behind it.
Two players at the kitchen against two players back is a plus two advantage.
Above the face, hit it with pace; below the chin, hit it with spin.
Deal of the day
Meme of the day
THIS is what friends are for 🤣
That’s it for today! As always, thank you for reading. 🙏
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Happy pickling,
Paul
