Intermediatesingles
Singles: the whole court is yours (unfortunately)
Singles is a different sport wearing the same clothes: no partner, twice the court, and fitness suddenly matters as much as touch. This lesson lays out the singles-specific playbook: serve big, return deep, and make your opponent run further than you do.
21 minKey takeaways
- Depth wins singles. A deep serve and a deep return each buy you the time to take the net first.
- Serve with more pace and purpose than in doubles; in singles the serve is a genuine weapon, not just a rally starter.
- Follow your return to the net; the player who controls the kitchen line controls the point, same as doubles but with more court to punish from.
- Hit behind a running opponent: passing shots that wrong-foot beat passing shots that outpace.
- Play the percentages on your third shot: a drive at the feet is usually better singles math than a delicate drop you have to cover alone.
Drill to try
Play 'skinny singles' (half the court, cross-court only) to get singles patterns and conditioning without the full-court sprint. First to 7, switch halves.