Recovery Position
Return to a balanced ready position after every shot, prepared to move any direction.
Recovery position is about what happens immediately after you strike the ball. Many intermediate players focus only on the shot itself, not realizing that position and readiness immediately after the shot often determines whether they can react to the opponent's response.
The moment your shot is struck, you should begin recovering. Recovery involves three elements: returning to a balanced stance, repositioning your depth and lateral location based on the rally's stage, and establishing a ready position with racket up and knees bent.
The goal of recovery positioning is to be prepared for any direction the opponent might hit the ball. If your recovery is poor (standing flat-footed with racket down), you'll be sluggish responding to an unexpected direction change. If your recovery is athletic (balanced, weight forward, racket ready), you'll be explosive and responsive.
Recovery position also adapts based on court situation. After hitting a defensive ball from the baseline, you recover to a baseline ready position. After hitting an attacking volley from net, you might recover to a slightly deeper position, anticipating the opponent's pass. The position and readiness adjust to context.
In top-level play, recovery is nearly instantaneous. Professional players strike the ball and immediately reset to ready position, often before the ball even reaches the opponent. This creates the impression that they're always ready, always bouncing, always prepared.
Poor recovery is a common reason intermediate players lose points. They hit a good shot, but then stand admiring it or fail to recover quickly, and the opponent hits an unexpected direction change that catches them off-guard.
Key points
- • Recover to ready position immediately after every shot
- • Balanced stance with weight forward, knees bent, racket up
- • Recovery position adapts to court situation and shot type
- • Anticipate opponent's likely response and adjust position
- • Goal is to be prepared for any direction
- • Poor recovery leads to slow reactions and easy wins for opponent
- • Professional players recover almost instantaneously
When to use
After every shot, from the very beginning until the end of the point.
Common mistakes
- × Standing flat-footed after striking ball
- × Racket hanging down, slow ready-position transition
- × Not adjusting recovery position based on court situation
- × Watching the ball instead of preparing for next movement
- × Overcommitting recovery position toward one side
- × Taking too long to establish ready position
Drills to improve
FAQs
What does recovery position look like exactly?
Feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, weight on the balls of your feet, racket in ready position at chest height, eyes on the ball.
How quickly should I recover?
Instantaneously after striking. The goal is to be in ready position before the opponent even makes contact with the ball.
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