Opponent scouting checklist
What to watch during warm-up and the first points: grips, footwork, shot habits — every cue paired with the shot that punishes it.
Work down these reads while you warm up and through the first few points. Tick off what you've spotted — each cue points to the shot that punishes it.
Their build tells you their limits before they hit a ball.
Young / athletic → Quick feet and fast hands — they run down resets and counter speed-ups. Beat them with placement and patterns, not raw pace.
Older / slower → Slower first step and recovery. Make them move — lob, pull them wide, and switch directions to cover ground.
Big / strong → Power on drives and putaways but slower to low and wide balls. Keep it at their feet, below the net, and move them side to side.
Small → Less reach — struggles with high and wide balls and is easy to lob over. Pull them wide and lift it over their head.
Long reach → Covers the kitchen wider, cuts off angles, and pokes into the NVZ for balls. Avoid predictable crosscourt into their span — go behind them, jam the body, or change direction.
Where they carry the paddle broadcasts what shot they want.
Sitting on the backhand → They want backhands and are covering that wing. Go to the forehand or jam the body where they have to choose.
Paddle up / high → Primed for a speed-up and ready to counter. Don't feed the hands — keep dinks tight and unattackable.
Paddle low / down → Looking for flicks off the bounce. Keep balls low and moving so they can't load up under them.
Paddle out front / reaching → Looking to poach the middle. Go behind them or down their line to punish the cheat.
How low they set up says whether they attack or catch.
Low and coiled → Wants to take balls out of the air and attack at the line. Keep it below net height at their feet so there's nothing to lift.
Standing tall / upright → Expecting to dink or drive and slow to bend for low balls. Hit at their feet and make them get down to it.
One hand or two on the backhand changes the counter threat.
One-handed backhand → Less speed-up threat off that wing. You can dink into the backhand more freely and lean on it.
Two-handed backhand → Can speed up and counter off the backhand. Don't give them a comfortable shoulder-height ball — keep it low or go to the forehand.
Visible grip switch → A grip change telegraphs the shot. Read it early and be set for what's coming.
Their consistency in one spot reveals the leak to attack.
Repeated pop-ups from one area → That's a leak. Keep feeding that exact ball and be ready to attack the floater.
Switches target early / abandons the rally → They don't trust that shot. Keep them in it — make them hit the ball they're avoiding.
Running around to hit forehands → They're protecting a weak backhand. Go straight at the backhand, or hit behind them into the space they vacate as they cheat over.
Whether they hold the line tells you if you can speed up.
Toes on the line, holding tight → Aggressive and comfortable at the net. Earn the speed-up — don't force it into a set defender.
Backing off the line → They're already giving ground. Speed up at them — they're retreating and out of position to counter.
Swing length and reaction time decide who wins a firefight.
Short, compact punches → Quick hands. Don't start a firefight you'll lose — reset and re-dink instead.
Long / loopy / all over the place → Slow hands. Initiate the speed-up and jam the body before they can load.
Getting caught leaning back → Target the chest and shoulder to freeze them — they can't back up any further.
Guessing / pre-leaning to a side → They commit early. Hit behind them or into the space they just vacated.
Who takes the middle shows the confident one — and the weak link.
One player always calls the middle → That's the confident, dominant player. The one who lets it go is the weaker link — target them.
Flashy / feast-or-famine → Apply pressure and force the low-percentage shot — it'll break down.
Boring and consistent → They won't beat themselves. Out-patience them and wait for the ball to attack.
One partner is the aggressor → Go down their line to punish the poach; feed the passive partner when you want a safe rally.
How they move through no-man's-land is where you catch them.
Splits and plants to reset → Solid resetter — they'll neutralize your drives. Move the ball around instead of hitting the same spot.
Running straight through → Weak in the mid-court. Catch them moving — hit at their feet while they're off-balance.
Sprints to the line → May arrive unbalanced — catch them mid-step with a ball at their feet.
Slow and methodical → Hard to rush, but slow to recover. Move them once they're committed forward.
Poor resets / pops them up → Push them back off the line and keep them stuck in the transition zone.
Test early, then ride whatever breaks down.
It breaks down → Keep going back to it until they prove they've fixed it.
They stay comfortable → It's not a leak — move on and probe somewhere else.
Body then wide, or two crosscourt then behind → Sequences move them out of position. Watch where the floater comes from — that's the shot to set up.
Related topics
Put it into practice
Find a tournament or round robin near you and test this for real.