Get to the NVZ

Let’s say that you and your partner are playing against two opponents with skill levels similar to yours.

If you and your partner can get SAFELY to your NVL and keep both of your opponents at their baseline, you should win the rally about 75% of the time.

If you and your partner can get SAFELY to your NVL and keep one of your opponents at their baseline, you should win the rally about 65% of the time.

If all four players reach their NVLs SAFELY, you have a 50% chance of winning the rally.

Of course those percentages work against you if you allow your opponents to reach their NVL while one or both of you are pinned at your baseline.

There is absolutely nothing else you can do on the court that will give you those odds of winning (or losing) a rally.  You can learn fancy footwork and great shots.   You can attend clinics and take lessons.   You can drill to your heart’s content.   But, against opponents of similar skills, you’ll still lose if you give away the NVZ!  Nothing is more important than owning the NVZ!

If you want to win, you’d better learn to hit shots that allow you to get safely and quickly to your NVL while keeping your opponents from reaching theirs.  The secret is mostly in your shot selection.

Until you reach your NVL, that should be your primary/only goal.   Don’t try to win the rally.   Just try to gain the enormous tactical advantage of getting to the NVL while preventing your opponents from doing so.  After you get to your NVL, winning the rally should be easy.