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Your smash cannot go out over the back. Where does it go instead?
No out over the back? Smash to bounce into the side glass. It exits through the opening or dies in the corner.
You have a good smash but from a position where the ball cannot be hit out over the back glass. Which target wins the point?
No out over the back? Smash to bounce into the side glass. It exits through the opening or dies in the corner.
Why
The smash out over the back glass needs height and a short lob. When those are missing, the alternative is the smash to the side: hit to bounce close to the side wall so that the ball hits the glass low and either flies out through the side opening or dies in the corner. It is a placement smash rather than a power one, the angle does the work, and it is the shot that wins points from lobs that are a little too deep for the flat smash. On courts with narrow or no side openings, the same smash dies rather than exits, which is nearly as good.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Learn the deep bandeja first. This smash needs a specific angle and comes later.
Intermediate
Aim to bounce the ball a metre in from the side glass, at about the service line. The ball then hits the glass low and runs away.
Advanced
Angle the smash away from the opponent on that side, so the ball leaves through the opening on the far side of them. A smash toward them is one they can chase out of the court.
Common questions
You have a good smash but from a position where the ball cannot be hit out over the back glass. Which target wins the point?
Bounce it into the side glass to exit or die. No out over the back? Smash to bounce into the side glass. It exits through the opening or dies in the corner. The smash out over the back glass needs height and a short lob. When those are missing, the alternative is the smash to the side: hit to bounce close to the side wall so that the ball hits the glass low and either flies out through the side opening or dies in the corner. It is a placement smash rather than a power one, the angle does the work, and it is the shot that wins points from lobs that are a little too deep for the flat smash. On courts with narrow or no side openings, the same smash dies rather than exits, which is nearly as good.
Why not as hard as possible into the back glass?
Hard into the back glass comes back. Without the height to go out, pace is a gift.
What should a beginner do here?
Learn the deep bandeja first. This smash needs a specific angle and comes later.
How does this change for an advanced player?
Angle the smash away from the opponent on that side, so the ball leaves through the opening on the far side of them. A smash toward them is one they can chase out of the court.
Puzzles like this one
They lobbed you deep. Smash it or play the bandeja?
Deep ball, high hands: bandeja. The shot exists to keep you at the net, not to win the point.
beginnerBoth of them are at the net. What is the highest-percentage ball?
Only the lob moves a net pair backwards. Everything else invites them forward.
intermediateWhat do you do with the return of serve?
The return lob is how the receiving pair steals the net. Aim over the player who is still moving.