How to Beat a Better Racquetball Player? Tips and Tricks

Racquetball is quite an easy game to learn, but the fun is much sweeter when you put continuous effort into it. It also takes a certain level of seriousness in the game for you to be able to change the direction of the ball tactfully without your opponents noticing it. But what are the exact tips and tricks to beat an experienced racquetball player?

In order to defeat a better racquetball player, you should have complete knowledge of the rules, equipment, and the court. You can then attack your opponents’ weak points while maintaining your position on the center court, using ceiling shots, and avoiding predictable moves.

Getting top rankings or beating an expert in racquetball requires practice (even alone) and using more tactics. Read ahead for great insight into some of the best proven and working tactics to win a match against an experienced person.

How To Get Better At the Sport of Racquetball?

To get better in racquetball or to beat an experienced player, you must be at least on an equal level with them or higher than them. 

However, your way to reaching your opponent’s level could be your way out of the game if you are not careful enough.

In addition to the fun facts about racquetball, the game’s main objective is to win points. But, just by following the rules, you won’t perfect your game. Imagine you met one of the pros in the game today. Do you think you’ll beat them?

So let’s look at these very common factors, but they do matter a lot:

Equipment

The equipment category includes any safety equipment you might need while on the court. But first things first, your most essential equipment is the ball and the racquetball racquet. 

What you should know with the ball is that your opponent has mastered playing using different types of balls. For instance, the red racquetball ball has the heaviest weight; however, it takes the most energy to drive the purple racquetball ball, which advanced players use. 

You will also need the right racquetball racquet, one that features the best harness for fastening and maintaining its grip on your hand.

Safety Gear

Your safety gear is crucial because if you get hurt in the game, you may not have the strength to beat anyone. So in your preparation plan, make sure you have all the following sets and worn in the right way.

• Safety Glasses: – they are very crucial for your eye protection since any ball that may hit your eye could cause more than you would expect. It can cause a detached retina. 

You can get the best eyeglasses for racquetball from Squash & Racquetball Goggles.

• Racquetball Shoes: – you need a wide-bottomed shoe for the game. You can manage your quick moves in such a shoe while accommodating the sudden starts and stops of the ball. The best racquetball shoes should also ensure your safety from sprained ankles that could result from such movements. 
• Racquetball Gloves: -these are essential for giving you a firm grip on the racquetball racquet. Due to the intensity of the games, sweat will be inevitable. So getting the best racquetball gloves can help prevent your racquet from sliding off your hand while you’re making that crucial shot to break a tie with your opponent.

Physical Fitness

A racquetball game can involve a lot of intense activities, especially when your opponent is trying to catch you off-guard with alternate plays. It is, therefore, necessary to have a flexible, coordinated, and physically fit body. These factors allow you to sustain every jog or run you do on the court and maintain your general upper body strength. 

As such, you must do extensive training on the court, but you have to prepare in advance since it won’t be an easy process. You can at least be sure that you’ll be able to play the game with strength and endurance from the training.

What Is The Layout of a Racquetball Court Like?

The racquetball court has a serving box for double players, a service area, a short line, and the receiving line. Several rules govern these points, so you may need to acquaint yourself with them for a sure winning strategy.

After going for the right fitness training and having the right equipment and safety gear with you, you are just but ready physically for a winning challenge. However, you need more than physical preparation; you need a mental evolution of the court layout.

• Service Area: · You can never get a faulty service if all your servings are from within your service area. Any two consecutive faults will result in the ball being served by your opponent. In case you don’t recall, the service area is between two parallel lines across the middle of the court.
• Service Line: –this is always the closest line to the front wall that you should not go beyond when serving your ball.
• The Short Line: – this is the line closest to the back wall at the back of the service area.
• The Receiving Line: –this is your receiving point for all return balls. It is the line in dashes between the back wall and the short line. Only a legal serve hitting the ground permits you not to receive a ball from here.

What Are the Best Winning Strategies In Racquetball?

To defeat someone with extensive experience playing racquetball, you need to control the ball well and exploit their weak points. Otherwise, your game may end up as always, without a single win. 

Here are some of the best strategies you should make use of in the game.

• Maintain Your Position at the Center Court: – this position is just behind the receiving line (dashed line). You can execute a step forward or backward to receive all weak balls from your opponent from that point on. It is also your receiving position, but you must be strategically at the center of the court.
• Aim your Opponent’s Weak Points: – these points are usually at the backhand of the player. If you are returning any of your balls from the center court, then such shots are what you should aim for. When you are serving, make sure your opponent won’t have an easy time returning the ball. Even if the player returns it, it will probably be a mishit or a weak ball; such a ball should be to your advantage.
• Hit the Ball Away from Them: – This may not have to be out of court but it should be a distance they can not reach. If you aim a kick shot for the court’s base or the player’s knee level, they will have a hard time returning it! It may also be useful for you to master the position where your opponent favors standing.

As a result, if he maintains his position right in front of you, try to hit straight pass shots or ceiling ball shorts. This will surprise your opponent, and he will tend to dodge the force the ball will arrive with.

• Don’t Be Predictable: – You should remember that you are playing against an experienced person. Therefore, don’t let them master your shots; make sure you keep them on the run. Do this by hitting balls to the left, right and any other side you fit deem. That way, he might get tired faster, or he will respond with weaker shots that might barely reach your back wall.
• Fix Your Opponent on the Back Wall: –  It’s rather easy to do this if you aim for the lower surfaces with your back shots or if you pin all of your ceiling balls in the farthest corners. You see the return balls from the ground level close to a wall might not be that easy to execute. Make sure you take zero chances. 

However, you won’t also be making these moves from a stagnant position; you must stretch, jump and twist your arm, all at a quick pace without your opponent noting your next move.

• Do Not Let the Ball Bounce off the Back Wall: – Imagine you had a clear vision of aiming the back wall at your opponent, but instead of aiming much lower, you aimed at the midpoint. Your opponent can take up such a chance and hit the ball with such a force that might unsteady you off your balance.

Such shots are a perfect setup for your opponent, and you can avoid them by aiming appropriately on the lower back surface and hitting with little force that does not allow the ball to bounce off at the opponent’s perfect position. If anything, make such balls bounce on the knees of the opponent.

On many occasions, it is difficult to hit a knee ball. In such cases, aiming for the ceiling is the best option. When the person on the other end misses such a ceiling ball, you can expect them to bounce it more than once to your advantage.

What Are the Best Winning Tricks for Racquetball?

Make use of ceiling tactics, side-in and side-out tactics, and opponent positioning besides other winning tricks. However, you will need acute practice to keep you going, maintain you in the court.

You already have the strategies, the equipment, the necessary training, and a complete understanding of the racquetball court. However, those are only half of what you need. Therefore, if you don’t stick to your tricks and trust that they will work, you might not be able to make it all. You should be more assertive and incorporate them into your moves, regardless of how tough your opponent seems to be.

Here are the winning tricks that you have to use to win the game. These are:

Ceiling Tactics

Here, you’ve got to be clever to read and estimate the landing of the ball. Therefore, if your ball is already coming within five feet of the back wall, you should return it with a ceiling ball. In addition, some players might aim for your waist or knees; in such instances, you should take the ball by hitting it from the ceiling.

The players find it difficult to attack such balls, so you have more time to prepare for the next ball in the middle of the court.

Playing With Height

This trick involves rounding off the ball to the nearest difficulty height according to how it gets to you. If the racquetball comes to your knees or waist, you can either return it as a lower knee hit or play with either the left or right side. If you make any of your shots, be sure to consider the back wall and the possibility of it bouncing the ball.

Side Tactics

This trick can either be a side-in or a side-out. So if you are making a serve from a side-in, you can decide to attack from the frontcourt and hit kill or pinch shots that won’t leave you without a point whatsoever.

But when on the side out, make sure you do not attack the opponent too aggressively. But one good thing with this move is even when you make it a ceiling ball, as soon as the ball returns, you should let it find you at the side-in, waiting to attack. Avoid any miss-hit shots here.

Opponent Positioning

In this move, you not only make a hit but as fast as your eyes can evaluate your opponent’s immediate position and his reach points. Only then can you decide whether to attack with a passing short if the player is in front of you. However, it is also important to make a pinch or kill shot to catch your opponent off guard and defeat him.

This tactic can generate some valuable points on your scorecard if you are considerate enough to note the balls that are returned to you inconsiderately or as mishits.

Game Score Difference Tactic

Here is what you should know whenever you are ahead by between 3 and 5 points. Always make sure you maintain your opponent at the back wall as much as possible. By doing so, you can give attacking and killer shots on your second serve. However, if the game is just about to wind up, try by all means to make sure the opponent remains there by giving hit passing shots.

Your opponent, though, could have outsmarted you throughout the game, so essentially you’re the loser with 3-5 points. In case of such times, make sure you remain focused; anything could earn you a point. But the most important thing is you should slow the gameplay by returning the balls with ceiling shots to the back of the court. This should earn you some more time and make you vulnerable to misfit shots from your opponent from the far back.

Shooters Tip

This is more than a tactic; it is one of the top attacking levels most professional players often employ. At the beginning of the match, you must have noticed that your opponent launched a hard drive and a jam serve.

Furthermore, you’ll see that most of their shots are attacking shots, and even the return serves will look like hard passes.

They hardly use short balls; instead, they are always making good use of kill shots and splash shots as often as possible.

This last tip shouldn’t miss any of your practices; otherwise, your opponent might read into your shots as weak and from a beginner. That alone is enough to make any advanced player take advantage of you and make you run up and down on the court without attaining anything helpful.

However, the more you get to practice and play the game, the more you can be sure of coming up with newer tips and tactics.