How to Play Racquetball - Cutting off the Lob Z

[armatold]

i had a tough time returning this serve today in a tournament match, i kept trying to shoot it from the deep court and either skipped it or the other guy quickly soft handed me in the front court. Oh, Tim i forgot to mention im on Nationals again, i've won my first 2 matches in both singles and doubles. got 1 more match next Saturday for singles group phase, and im waiting for the doubles play offs.

[racquetballtim]

@armatold @armatold Great job on your first 2 matches! Let me know how it goes.

My 17 year old junior student (the one in most of my videos) just won the 18 and under division in Oregon over the weekend.

If you're waiting for this serve in the back court, you're shooting yourself in the foot. The best option is to ALWAYS cut it off, like in the above video.

[farwell25]

ah ok, thank u very much!

[farwell25]

(continued) hitting the ball as it is going up? that a good drill???

[racquetballtim]

Yep, hitting shots as they come up, or "short-hopping" is an awesome drill. I short hop shots with a basic drop and hit, with soft feeds to myself (simulated shots I'd see in a rally), and off lob serve feeds to myself (to simulate actual serves).

If I have someone on the court with me then drilling becomes much easier because we can hit each other the shots, rather than hit them to ourselves.

Mastering the short hop, and hitting the ball on the fly (out of the air) is a huge plus.

[farwell25]

ok on the regular lob serve do we want 2 cut it off 2, and also on the half lob serve? usually i wait for it 2 hit it as the ball is coming down, so more time 2 c were my opponent is at, maybe im not experienced enought, only a High B/ Low A ranked player, i still have a long way 2 go lol. but sometimes i do cut it off, nd the better players do this, and maybe i just need more practice, on cutting off serves! ne tips on how 2 practice cutting off serves, i do some drill by dropping ball then

[racquetballtim]

Yes, you want to try to cut off every lob serve (and hard z as well) as much as you can. Go on the attack when you're returning serve and watch your opponent's frustration mount.

By waiting for lob serves in the back corner, you're allowing your opponent to get themselves in good position, as well as taking a much lower percentage shot from 35-40 feet deep. Attack the serves at 25-30 feet, and keep your opponent from relocating.

Once you master this you'll go up a level. Trust me.

[racquetballtim]

You CAN hit a serve out of the air, of course, so long as it has already passed the dotted line.

Also, you CAN'T wait for the serve to bounce while standing on or past the dotted line. You must wait outside that line until it bounces or crosses it.

Just wanted to clear that up before anyone asked. :-)

[xmm2006mm2006x]

Once the ball crosses the line, you can hit the ball while swinging over the line...correct?

[racquetballtim]

Yes. Once the ball crosses the line OR bounces before the line you're free to swing away. You just can't swing PAST the dotted line until the ball bounces, or take a swing at the ball out of the air until it's past the dotted line.

This is a tough call for a ref to make, or for anyone to make in club play. For myself, if it's going to be close to the line I just let it bounce and short hop it so there's no arguement from my opponent, unless the ball is clearly past the line on the fly.

[racquetballtim]

A couple of notes on this video. See how I short hopped the ball? This is because the first bounce landed before the dotted line and I was required to wait for it (by the rules) to bounce or cross the line on the fly.

If I had hit this serve out of the air I would have been in violation of the rule, and would immediately lose the rally.

Secondly, look how I really didn't even take a hard swing. When you cut a serve off, your opponent is out of position giving you an easier shot.

[armatold]

i'm gonna start private messaging you, for longer questions and stuff. hope you check your inbox

[racquetballtim]

@armatold Sure, no problem at all. I always check my inbox.

But if it's just a short question, feel free to ask them on here so that others who might have the same question will see my answer.

Entirely up to you of course.

[armatold]

thnaks alot