Player type
Which side suits you, what each side demands and why left-handers often play on the right.
By Yves Richel ·
The right side builds the point, the left side finishes it. If you are consistent and return a lot of balls cleanly, play right. If you look for the finish and trust your smash and vibora, play left. As a beginner, try both sides before you commit.
More balls arrive on the right on average, serve and return above all. It asks for consistency, quick reactions and clean preparation. A player who makes many errors here loses the match quietly, without it ever looking spectacular. The right is therefore the natural home of the builder.
The high balls over the backhand side land on the left, and with them most chances to finish. It asks for smash, vibora and bandeja, and for the willingness to end the point rather than extend it. For a right-hander the forehand covers the middle from the left, which makes the central ball easier to take.
Many pairs put the left-hander on the right so that both forehands cover the middle. Others deliberately do the opposite and accept two backhands in the middle in order to close the lines better. Both work. What matters is agreeing on the middle beforehand, because that is where most needless points are lost.
In training yes, in a match rarely. Knowing both sides makes you understand your partner better and easier to field as a substitute. Inside a match, though, a switch mostly costs orientation unless you have practised it.
Start on the right. More balls come your way, you learn the partnership faster and you do not need a reliable finish yet. Once your smash and vibora hold up, try the left.
Because the finishing balls land there. Whoever converts them decides more points. That does not make the right the weaker side: without the build-up from the right there is nothing to finish on the left.
Yes. Both backhands are then in the middle, which is more vulnerable there, but you cover the lines better. It is an agreement, not a rule.
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