Learn to Put the Ball Away Early with a Short Angle

Summary

Preston’s Playbook tackles a familiar problem: you’re in control at the kitchen line with chance after chance to finish, but you keep hitting attack volleys straight at your opponent, who resets and gets back in the point.

His sequence is to hit a couple of attack volleys at your opponent, then create a short angle by leaning into the kitchen as far as you can, taking the ball early and angling the paddle toward where you want the ball to go. The key is finesse rather than power: loosen your grip, drop the paddle head slightly, and brush up the back of the ball slowly so it doesn’t carry too far.

Key takeaways

• Repeated attack volleys at a defender are easy to reset
• Set up with a couple of volleys, then go short angle
• Lean into the kitchen to take the ball early
• Soft hands: loose grip, paddle head slightly down, slow brush

Action items

• Play a volley game where the third attacking ball must be a short angle
• Practice the short-angle finish with a loose grip from both sides