Racquetball is a sport that provides a cardiovascular workout for its participants. If you can play two or three hours of racquetball a week, there's a good chance that your overall conditioning will be strong and that you are taking steps to get in excellent condition. However, the nature of playing this game in the tight quarters of an enclosed court makes it very competitive. Speed, quickness and athletic ability will give you a leg up on your opponent, but using the correct strategy will give you the best chance of winning the game.
Serving the Ball
Mixing up your serve is the key to becoming effective when it comes to putting the ball in play. Typically, most players will use a power shot on their first serve and may try a lob serve on the second ball. This is quite predictable. You have to scout yourself and change what you normally do in order to get your opponent off balance. Look at your opponent's feet. If he is starting to lean to the right in anticipation of a power shot to his forehand, cross him up and go to the backhand. Try to use a lob serve on the first serve every so often. Use your power serve on your second serve. This will give you a chance to take advantage of your opponent by out-thinking him.
Wrist Snap
Many players will try to hit hard shots by getting their arm fully extended and swinging at the ball as if they had a tennis racquet in their hand. That's the wrong thing to do in racquetball--it's about the quick movement of the hand and the snap of the wrist on impact with the ball. You want to hit the ball slightly in front of your body and you have to snap your wrist as soon as it makes contact with the strings on your racquet if you want to hit that effective passing shot that forces your opponent to leave his feet and dive to return the ball.
Shot Positioning
Hit the ball where you find it. Don't try to hit a high shot when you receive it at knee level. Conversely, don't try to hit a low shot when you receive it at head height. If you get a ball between chest and head height, hit a lob shot. If you receive a shot between thigh and chest height, hit a passing shot and if you get a shot lower than the mid-thigh level, try for the kill shot.
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