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Attacking
Attacking
Attacking is likely to be most players' favourite aspect of this sport. While it is certainly exciting being able to put pressure on your opponent, doing so from a poor position on court will see the tide turn quickly back onto yourself, especially at higher levels where retrieval of even the best attacking shots is expected.
You will often find yourself in situations where you are playing the ball from a location on the court close to the 'T', and you know that you will need only a short time to get back to the 'T' after playing your shot. It is in these situations that you can essentially play a shot to any part of the court (except to the 'T' itself), and you will still attain the 'T'. While our ultimate goal is achieved, there are certainly better and worse shot options for attack that maintain the low pressure for yourself, but increases the pressure on your opponent.
Can you attack when not close to the 'T'? In the Defending section I mentioned that if you are far away from the 'T' you should look to defend, giving yourself time to recover. However, if your opponent has not recovered after their previous shot and you know they are not back in position, you can still attack and retain the 'T' after your shot, even from a normally defensive position yourself. This is because from a poor position, it takes your opponent longer to retrieve the ball, giving you more time to recover.
What if you are close to the 'T', but stretched? Playing an attacking shot with good quality requires you to be balanced and comfortable. If the opponents shot is high quality and you are unbalanced or not comfortable while playing a shot from a normally attacking position, defence is the best approach.
Playing the ball from close to the 'T' gives you the freedom to play attacking shots that would otherwise take time away from yourself. The dotted lines represent the short distance you have to travel to get back to the 'T' after playing a shot from these areas.
When your opponent (red x) is out of position, for example after playing a stretched drop, an attacking hard flat cross court can be appropriate.
After playing a cross court drop, your opponent (red x) may be unable to recover, making a hard flat straight drive appropriate. There is danger, however, that while you turn your back your opponent may recover significantly. It pays to get to and play the ball early to give your opponent less time to recover.
When your opponent (red x) is anticipating a straight drive and standing too far back and potentially to one side, an attacking shot to the front of the court may be appropriate. This could be a straight drop or a boast.
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