The Basic Shots in Squash

Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to improve your game, mastering the basic squash shots is essential. In this article, we’ll break down the most common terms and help you understand the purpose and execution of each shot.

Serve and serve return

Let’s start with the serve. This is the first shot in a rally and is hit by the server. The serve return is the shot played by the receiver. If the server won the last point, they get to serve again. If not, the roles switch. At the beginning of a match, the server is chosen randomly, usually by spinning a racket or flipping a coin.

Drive

Next up is the drive. This shot is played after the ball has bounced and is aimed at the back of the court. The goal of the drive is to push your opponent into the back corners. Ideally, you want to either score a point or force them to hit a weak shot, which you can then capitalise on with a winning shot.  The drive can be further played as a cross-court drive or a straight drive.

Boasts

Now let’s talk about boasts. A boast is when you hit the ball against the side wall first on purpose. It’s important to note that sometimes you might accidentally hit a boast when you were aiming for a straight drive, but that’s just part of the game! There are a few different types of boasts (the 3-wall boast, the 2-wall boast and the trickle boast), but for now, just become familiar with the boast.

Volley

Moving on to the volley. This shot is hit before the ball bounces. Serves and service returns are also considered volleys. You can hit volleys hard or soft, to the front or back, and even against the side wall. They can catch your opponent off guard, but be careful—if you’re not precise, you might end up with a weak shot.

There are more advanced shots of the volley, such as the volley boast and the volley drop.

Drop

Next is the drop shot. This is a gentle shot played to the front of the court. As the name suggests, the ball should drop onto the front wall. You’ll usually want to play drop shots from the front of the court. For beginners, short swings and a simple pushing motion work best. As you improve, you can add some finesse to make your drop shots more effective.

Lob

Finally, we have the lob. This shot is played very high and is used to defend and give you time to recover and get back into position. You can hit lobs from anywhere on the court, and you’ll often see professional players using them effectively, especially from the front.

In closing

So there you have it! A quick overview of the basic squash shots.  There are more complex shots in squash, such as the volley-boast.

Understanding these terms will help you improve your game and communicate better on the court.