The
Merits of Poaching in Platform Tennis:
To Poach or not to Poach, that is the question.
I
always like to start with a comparison to our sister
sport tennis. It always brings up some visual differences
which can help take your game in paddle to the next
level, especially since many come over from playing
tennis. Its great in tennis to have a partner who is
comfortable poaching and relishes in cutting diagonally
toward the net with quick reflexes, interrupting the
return of the opponent to put the ball away. Notice
however in tennis, particularly on the return of serve
poach, the ball is put away 90% of the time, either
at the feet of the opponent at net, down the middle
between the opposing partners, or, if close enough to
the net, angled off to the side.
In platform tennis, however, because of the dimensions
of the court, and the presence of the screens, if a
ball is powered past the opponent, the ball rebounds
off the screen and is still in play. This necessitates
control of the point. For instance, if off the deuce
court service the player already at the net poaches
to cut off the return in the middle and puts it to the
opposing backhand player too quickly, it would put the
team out of position by creating too many openings,
unlike in tennis.
On the other hand, where a poach from this play would
work to your advantage in platform tennis is often poaching
to help your partner, who is having difficulty getting
in for his or her first volley effectively, offering
a change of target area. If your opponent knows you
like to poach, your movement can create an erratic return.
However, your target area for the poaching volley becomes
extremely difficult and the technique of the volley
differ, to not compromise the servers control of the
point. Here, you targets are the reset button, so the
ball hits low of the screen, or to the attack button,
again hitting the ball so hits the screen low, forcing
the opponent to hit a defensive screen shot. This allows
the service team time to get set in the shifted over
position. Currently in platform, there are many players
possessing offensive two-handed backhand drives, so
one needs to be careful not to feed the poached shot
to the opposing offensive returns with an opening in
your shifted over position at the net.
In conclusion, poaching has to be done carefully in
platform. When done effectively, you can interrupt the
opponent’s control of the tempo, instantly change
target openings, and force errors out of the opponent,
helping partner on difficult returns to ensure your
team stays in the point. However, always assuming the
ball is in play in platform, one needs to take care
to ensure that the shot be put to an defensive spot,
so your team does not lose control of the point. Controlling
the tempo and minimizing the offensive returns of the
opponent will win you more points in platform.
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