Footwork For Serving In Racquetball

In order to keep you opponent from being able to accurately predict your serve there area  handful of different foot positions you should employ.

The first and most common amongst tod's elite racquetball players is the diagonal two-step.

Next is a variation above the above foot positioning except you take one step towards one of the walls with the back foot then drive forward with the lead foot (the one in front!).

The next stance would basically be your standard forehand stance, except you take two little steps before blasting the ball as if you were hitting the ball like a traditional forehand.  Just make sure you get the ball past the foul line!

These are the most common foot placements for serving.  While these are the most popular it is not uncommon for players to make hybrids between these stances when serving in order to make it difficult to predict how they will serve the ball.

Control The Middle Of The Court

One of the major things I contemplated when I first started playing racquetball aside from the rules of racquetball, was what was the ideal place to try to position yourself while playing.  At first I thought sitting back was a good idea, but then I had difficulty getting to those short bounce kill shots.  So I did some reading, and I learned that the ideal place to be positioned is smack dab in the middle of the court.

Being positioned in the center allows you to be able to get to any part of the court in the least possible amount of time.  If you happen to get stuck near the back of the court and your opponent is in the center court, you need to try your best to get him out of this position so you can take it over.  What I suggest doing is hitting the ball in a manner that will cause it to arc backwards towards the far wall.

When he or she backs up for the ball, this gives you the perfect opportunity to regain the center position and give you the advantage.

Learn How To Hit Backhand

One thing I've noticed in my few years of avid racquetball play is that a lot of people refuse to learn how to hit a racquetball with their back hand.  Every shot they tweak their bodies into new and innovative new positions to hit that ball with the front of their racquet.

I don't think there is many people who play hockey or tennis who don't learn to use their back hand, so what is stopping people from learning how to hit a backhand shot in racquetball.

You can definitely use this to your advantage if you notice your opponent has a weak backhand.  If they do, try to fire as many shots as possible into an area where they are forced to hit the ball backhand or endure some form of torturous twisting to get it with their front hand shot.

If you happen to suffer from a crappy backhand shot, it isn't too tough to remedy. Just head to the court with a buddy and take turns smacking the other person the ball to their back hand over and over again until they can consistently land backhand shots.

It is just like anything else in life, practice makes perfect!

What Are Kill Shots In Racquetball?

There are three different kind of kill shots in racquetball.

A Kill Shot

A Rollout

A Flat Rollout

I will give you a quick break down of each of these shots in racquetball.  One thing they all have in common is that they are intended to be an offensive shot that ends a rally.  They are all targeted at the 6-8" off the ground mark of the front wall and all all supposed to bounce twice rather quickly.

By definition a kill shot is an offensive shot that bounces twice before the short line (20 feet from the front).

A rollout is a shot that hits the front wall low and bounces twice prior to the fault line.

Finally, a flat rollout is a kill shot that hits the front wall VERY low then proceeds to roll away from the wall without bouncing at all. This is pretty much the ultimate shot.

What you should know when trying to perform a kill shot is that you want your racquet to be level, not pointing down when you hit the ball. Pointing down often leads to the ball hitting the ground before the front wall which would have you lose the point!

Make the kill shot part of your racquetball strategy starting today!

Racquetball in Greater Vancouver

I'm looking to compile a list of racquetball players from the greater Vancouver area, maybe organize a bit of a tournament sometime. If you are interested please put a comment in this thread with a way to get back to you.

Also let me know what skill level you are, or think you are, ie: Beginner, intermediate or pro!

Lets get some local tournaments going people!

Welcome!

Every week we manage to get in at least an hour of racquetball! So I figured why not whip up a little blog discussing our weekly racquetball ramblings!

This week is going to be my first week not using rental equipment in over 2 years. Chris bought me all the gear for my birthday last week, so I figure I should be ready to consistently destroy him!

I will also try to provide some other racquetball information including tips, movie clips and rules that you may or may not know!