Racquet Network

Brent Johner is a certified tennis, squash, badminton and pickleball coach

It’s hard to generalize and give a one-size-fits-all answer to this question because every player I have ever met has different habits.

However, I have seen enough squash over the years to narrow it down to three tips that I consider to be absolutely essential.

Tip 1 – Hold the Racquet Correctly

One sure way to separate strong players from weak players is to look at how they hold their racquet. Believe it or not, there is a correct way to hold a squash racquet.

The correct way is often called “the modern grip”. Some people refer to is as “the pro grip”. Whatever you call it, holding the racquet correctly will allow you to hit (or learn to hit) forehands, backhands, drops, volley drops, lobs and serves correctly.

Players who don’t learn to hold the racquet correctly will eventually plateau because their incorrect grip will limit them to hitting only one shot correctly — the low, hard forehand.

While having a strong, low forehand drive is certainly a great asset in squash, have ONLY that shot will turn you into a one dimensional player who is easy to defeat and boring to play against.

Tip 2 – Stay Away from the Ball

Far and away the most common bad habit I see in squash players is their tendency to get too close to the ball.

Squash is about lunging (or squatting) and rotating. Most of your power comes from turning your shoulders, rotating your torso and lifting with your legs. When you get too close to the ball, you take your most powerful muscle groups out of play.

Learning to stay away from the ball in order to maximize your power is an important key to your future development as a squash player.

Tip 3 – Be Still and Stable Through the Shot

Take any shot you like in squash — forehand, backhand, volley, drop, serve return, you name it. The only thing you have to do to make that shot more difficult to control and more likely to fail is to add movement to it.

If you want to miss even the easiest shots, just make sure that your feet are moving when you hit the ball. If, however, you want more success and less failure, just take movement out of the equation. Get to the ball early, set up, plant your feet and strike the ball from a stable position.

The first thing you will notice when you do this is that your overall percentage of successful shots will increase signficantly. The second thing you will notice is how much longer your rallies last.

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Geoff Hunt

More than a generation after they first appeared, racquets, balls and rules have all changed. But the Ten Commandments of Squash remain essentially intact. Live by these rules on the squash court and your game will improve at all levels.

Squash 10 Commandments

1. From behind your opponent, use a full swing to hit the ball to good length. Aim high, well above the service line. This keeps your opponent behind you.

2. From behind your opponent, use a full swing to aim into the back corners. This makes your opponent run more and reduces their swing area. Also gives you more time to recover to a central position.

3. From in front of your opponent, hit low and softly into the nick. This makes your opponent stretch, and takes away the time they have to hit the ball. It can become a winning shot. Hit down the back of the ball with an open racquet face. Caress it. Follow through so the ball reaches the front wall. Look for loose response shots from your opponent that you can put away.

4. When you and your opponent are in the frontcourt at the same time, hit hard, one to two feet above the tin. This usually results in a winning shot. Avoid the tin!

5. Keep your shots close to the sidewalls. This makes your opponent run farther. It takes your opponent off the Tee, and makes it more difficult to hit the ball well. The closer, the better.

6. After hitting your shot, recover immediately to the Tee, or best central position. The sooner you recover, the more relaxed you will be, and the less energy will you spend overall.

7. Always watch the ball. All the information is there. You can better read your opponent’s swing and anticipate where the ball will go. During rallies, keep your eyes on the ball, no matter where it is. Your reaction time will improve.

8. Make your opponent run. Hit the ball as far from your opponent as possible. If you cannot do that, then hit the best possible shot. Avoid daring shots unless forced to hit them.

9. Volley whenever possible. It will make your opponent rush.

10. Vary the pace and height of your shots. Changing the rhythm of the game can be unsettling to your opponent. When out of position in the frontcourt, lob to buy time to recover. Careful with the out lines!

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Brent Johner is a certified tennis, squash, badminton and pickleball coach

This is why aces are common in E and D-level matches. By the time players get to B-level and up, though, players have mastered the serve return and aces virtually disappear from the game.

Here are five essential tips for returning the serve. None of them should be considered optional. If your goal is to improve as a squash player, you should incorporate all five.

Ready Position

Preparing to receive the serve in the correct place is an essential first step. You should be on your toes on the imaginary red line in the diagram above.

Starting from this position immediately puts you at the strategic centre of your box. From here you can take one step up the court to volley or one step back to take the serve after it hits the side wall. If you stand anywhere else in the box and you will have to take at least two steps to execute one of these strokes.

Watch the Ball

Watch the server and the ball until the point of contact; do not stare at the front wall and wait for the ball to get there.

Every player has tells — little clues in their movements — that give you important information about the serve that is about to come your way.

By watching your opponent until his racquet strikes the ball, you will learn to read important information about the height, speed, spin and trajectory of the serve.

Volley Every Time

Although it is not possible to volley every serve return, you should be prepared to do exactly that. Position yourself correctly and observe your opponent’s serve motion. When the opportunity to volley the serve before it hits the side wall presents itself, take it.

The most important match statistic in squash is the percentage of volley opportunities taken. Players should strive to be as close to 100 per cent as possible, especially on the serve return.

Give Yourself Space

One of the things that separates beginner and intermediate squash from advanced squash is the space that players give themselves to strike the ball. Beginner and intermediate players often run under the serve and try to return it with their racquet overhead. Even when they don’t actually run under it, they often end up setting up so close to the ball that they don’t have room to execute a good stroke.

Learn to stay back from the ball and separate your feet. Staying back and using your full reach will help you avoid bad returns that strike the side wall before striking the front wall. Separating your feet will allow you to achieve maximum shoulder rotation, which is needed both for good length (when returning straight) and good width (when returning cross court).

Place the Serve Return

Tight trumps might: never is this dictum truer than when it refers to the serve return. Intermediate players too often try to pound serve returns when they should be trying to place them.

A high, tight length that lands at the back of the court and bounces twice within 24 inches of the back wall and a few inches of the side wall is an ideal serve return. It forces your opponent to move off of the tee and into the back corner. At the same time, it allows you more than enough time to take up a position in front of your opponent on the tee.

Since the tee is the stategic centre of a squash court, a serve return like this immediately puts you in an offensive position. It also forces your opponent either to hit a good next shot himself or to continue the rally on the defensive.

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