How to win at racquetball

Racquetball seems so easy -- all you have to do is hit the giant 20x20 foot wall in front of your face with the ball. Oh, and it's okay if it bounces of a few other walls in the process. But if you've ever been unable to score any points on a man whose only few hairs on his head were bright white, and who was unashamed to wear green-striped tube socks up to his knees, you know there's a little more to it.

Here's the secret that Old Ned knows all too well:

You know those shots that hit the front wall 2 inches off the floor in the corner? Those are called "kill shots", and if you can do that every time, you'll pretty much win every game.

Already knew that? Oh. Well then, most people can't hit shots that accurately (including me), so here are 6 shots that have a nice margin of error, and can be really tough to return -- each picture shows 2 different types of shots -- your opponent isn't pictured, but his location doesn't usually matter much for these shots. =)




Corners are always a good place to send the ball.

Any time you can bounce the ball off of both side walls in a single shot you're going to get some interesting effects from the spin (see the high-z and offensive splat shots above).

Also, unless you're playing with little kids, when you're in the middle of the court resist the temptation to hit the ball right in the middle of the front wall. Hit the side wall first, as low and hard as you feel comfortable so it'll still hit the front wall. These are generally much tougher to return.

You probably still won't beat Old Ned, but at least your other friends will get some exercise.