How to decide which defensive forehand?

[eah123]

Deep running forehand. How do you decide which defensive shot to hit? The main options I see:
1. Topspin lob - advantages - plenty of time to recover. May result in a winner if the opponent is too close to the net. Disadvantages - difficult to execute well. Short return will be put away easily.
2. Backspin lob - advantages - plenty of time to recover. Easy to execute. Disadvantages - plenty of time for opponent to move back and take it as an overhead, swinging forehand, or regular forehand because it "sits up"
3. Slice forehand squash shot low to net - advantages - limits opponents options. Opponent might pop up the low ball, giving you the chance to counterattack. Disadvantage - risky. If too high - will get put away as a volley, if too low will hit the net.

 

[Curious]

4. Loopy deep topspin cross court. Not a lob.
5. Go for broke down the line.

 

[Dragy]

It depends a lot whether the opponent is approaching the net or staying back. What do we discuss here?

 

[ProStaffFanatic]

The "running forehand" is kind of my specialty signature shot lol. Nothing I love more then slapping a running forehand cross court. I make a lot of winners that way because opponents never see it coming (at least not the first couple times).

Takes good timing though...

So in general, what the best defensive choice is, I would say it completely depends on the situation at hand... pace of the ball, in how much trouble you are actually in, what the opponent's position on the court is, is he approaching, is he already at the net,... and if yes, where at the net? There is no one answer here imo.

If he is at the net, I would say by far the most impressive world class shot that will make spectators gasp, the opponent say "ugh..." and make you scream "VAMOS!!!!" would be the spin banana-shot down the line, lol. At least, the one time in 10 that it actually goes in

On a more serious note:
- if he is close to the net, I'ld say either spin lob cross court (more court length = more margin) or, if in a too difficult position for that, the slice lob down the line. Why down the line you ask? Well, because then you're over his backhand. He'll either have to move all the way near the doubles alley to do a normal overhead, or he's going to have to go for the high backhand overhead / volley, or run it down. It's all about making it as hard as possible for the opponent.
A passing shot might work also, but mostly this is only the right choice if he is really leaving a gap open either DTL or cross court.

- if he is in the process of approaching, short spin or slice ball such that he has to take a low volley. Aim for his feet.

- if he is not approaching, either high and deep or well angled cross court. If possible, a short spin cross will work very nicely also... It will turn your defensive position into an offensive one, because now he's the one who's going to be pulled way off court, leaving his backhand wide open. The short spin cross will also work very well if he is in the process of approaching.


These I would say would be my standard choices - but mostly (unless it's really too difficult a ball off course), I'll be going for my signature slap cross court, especially if the opponent stays back.


Having said all that, there's one other aspect here which is also important enough to mention imo.....
It's also ALWAYS better to have the opponent play a volley, then to miss your shot. If all your options to win the point are, say, low percentage shots, then it's best to make sure you make the shot in whatever way you can and force the opponent to "win" the point instead you losing it by missing. There's always a chance he'll miss his put-away volley or overhead. And at the "lower" levels, this happens far more frequently then you'ld think...........

 

[LuckyR]

If you can hit a top/side spin shot (typically DTL, often as a passing shot) you're not late to the ball, you should go for it. OTOH, if you're late to the ball, ie you need a truly defensive shot, topspin is commonly not an option. So slice defensive lob or slice squash shot are your best choices, depending on your skillset.

 

[Slicerman]

Any of those options can be good, but it's just very situational.

I would only resort to using the backspin lob if I'm either off-balance and/or not having enough time to take a full swing.

Topspin lob or loopy forehand if you want to continue grinding out the point. It may buy you time and give you chances to bring the rally back to neutral.

Higher risk squash shot or "go for broke" winner if you want to end the point asap. The opponent's offensive position is growing and you have little chance to come back so you choose to gamble on a high risk shot and hope to steal the point.

 

[Friedman Whip]

Deep running forehand. How do you decide which defensive shot to hit? The main options I see:
1. Topspin lob - advantages - plenty of time to recover. May result in a winner if the opponent is too close to the net. Disadvantages - difficult to execute well. Short return will be put away easily.
2. Backspin lob - advantages - plenty of time to recover. Easy to execute. Disadvantages - plenty of time for opponent to move back and take it as an overhead, swinging forehand, or regular forehand because it "sits up"
3. Slice forehand squash shot low to net - advantages - limits opponents options. Opponent might pop up the low ball, giving you the chance to counterattack. Disadvantage - risky. If too high - will get put away as a volley, if too low will hit the net.

In my mind the choice here is easy - a good squash shot deep to opponent's backhand if you know how to hit it.

 

[10sbeast888]

there is no right or wrong answer - which ever you can execute well, and neutralize the opp.

also the other thing is - if you have to hit a lot of these, your already behind the 8 ball... change tactics so he doesnt put you in this position.

 

[Rally]

Depends on the situation. If my opponent is on the ad side behind the baseline I'm going to try to rip a high net clearance heavy topspin drive to the deuce corner to either force an error or give me a weak response. If my opponent is closing in on the ad side of the net, I'm going for a squash shot cross court. If my opponent is rushing the net from the deuce side, I'm going to try to rip one down the line for a winner. At my level if I'm 6 feet behind the baseline on any of these and full stretched, anything I try is a prayer and I expect my opponent to win the point more often than not because he forced me in a bad position.

 

[ChaelAZ]

Deep running forehand. How do you decide which defensive shot to hit? The main options I see:
1. Topspin lob - advantages - plenty of time to recover. May result in a winner if the opponent is too close to the net. Disadvantages - difficult to execute well. Short return will be put away easily.
2. Backspin lob - advantages - plenty of time to recover. Easy to execute. Disadvantages - plenty of time for opponent to move back and take it as an overhead, swinging forehand, or regular forehand because it "sits up"
3. Slice forehand squash shot low to net - advantages - limits opponents options. Opponent might pop up the low ball, giving you the chance to counterattack. Disadvantage - risky. If too high - will get put away as a volley, if too low will hit the net.

As others talked about, just depends on your needs in the point. Are you extended and need to go for it? Are you needing more time to recover? is the opponent out of position and you have defensive position?

 

[nyta2]

Deep running forehand. How do you decide which defensive shot to hit? The main options I see:
1. Topspin lob - advantages - plenty of time to recover. May result in a winner if the opponent is too close to the net. Disadvantages - difficult to execute well. Short return will be put away easily.
2. Backspin lob - advantages - plenty of time to recover. Easy to execute. Disadvantages - plenty of time for opponent to move back and take it as an overhead, swinging forehand, or regular forehand because it "sits up"
3. Slice forehand squash shot low to net - advantages - limits opponents options. Opponent might pop up the low ball, giving you the chance to counterattack. Disadvantage - risky. If too high - will get put away as a volley, if too low will hit the net.

4. Loopy deep topspin cross court. Not a lob.
5. Go for broke down the line.

presuming i can exec every shot listed... my mental model for when to hit them...
presuming i've already determined i'm in a defense situation:
* deep cc, is my default... ideally using whatever shot that have high confidence to get deep... topspin if i have enough time to get under (also typically my fh) and get weight forward... underspin (typically my bh, as it's easier to get this deep even when weight moving backward)... generally i need to be behind the ball (not stretched too wide), and opp is generally in an aggressive position (eg. at/near the baseline)... idea is neutralize their position by forcing them to hit a half volley or difficult on the rise shot.
* lob is my default whenever i'm even slightly off balance, and the opp is coming to net or should be coming to net... (eg i'm pulled off court)... often opponent has moved well inside the baseline (no man's land), looking to attack a short ball... i just want to push them back as far as i can, and make them make contact as far back in the court as possible (giving me time to recover)... topspin vs. underspin depends more on personal skill/preference, positioning (eg. while on the run, stuck in a grip, etc...)... whether the lob is offense of defensive, has more to do with the height of the lob that the spin of the lob (eg. if net person closing tight, an offensive lob will tend to be lower to prevent them from running down the lob), whereas a defensive lob is gonna be higher - often allowing folks to run down (or hit as a overhead/swinging volley/etc... outright)
* outright winner - is my last choice typically when i'm so out of the point (way off the court), that any reply will likely result in me losing the point anyway,... that i can only hope for a winner or unforced error.... dtl psssing shot or squash shot are in that category for me...

my .02

 

[dlam]

Squash shot if it’s really wide and and extended and it’s a really tough to return
But if I have time to get to the ball then it’s either topspin lob or passing shot low to the net
That would be situational.
Was playing above the baseline he hit a ball was deep I knew I could get to the ball though rushed and I saw my playing opponent sneaky creeping to the net thinking I’m going to have to extend and play a weak ball so he has a easy volley
my back was toward him and he thought I didn’t see him go to the net I but saw him stepping toward the net before I turned my back and that was ideal for topspin lob that I was successful
If I’m caught deep past the baseline but facing the net and can see he already got there early with good intentional approach shot and split stepping to the net then I prefer not to overhead
I’m going to go drive crosscourt if the ball is high near my shoulder If the ball is low near waist I’ll try the down the line banana shot.

 

[johnmccabe]

Estimate the contact point. If I can get there and make contact slightly in front, topspin and aim high. If the contact will most likely be behind me or very far from me, I always go for squash shot but never aim low. In that extreme defensive situation calling for a squash shot, just make one more ball. Don't worry about what your opponent might do in the next shot