Squash Tactics Board

The T is Everything

Every tactical concept in squash connects back to the T-position — the junction of the floor's T-line near the centre of the court. Whoever controls the T controls the rally. Every shot your players hit should either (a) be hit from the T, (b) move the opponent off the T, or (c) recover toward the T. Teaching this principle visually — with arrows showing the ideal recovery path after each type of shot — immediately clarifies decisions that took months to internalise verbally.

On CourtDraw, mark the T-position and draw the recovery path after a straight drive, a cross-court drive, and a boast. Players immediately see that recovering to the T after a cross-court is shorter than after a straight drive to the same corner — counterintuitive but geometrically true.

Length and Width

The two foundational tools for creating and closing openings in squash are length (deep, tight drives to the back corners) and width (cross-court drives that pull the opponent across the court):

• Tight drive — a straight drive that "dies" in the back corner, clinging to the side wall and leaving no angle to attack. The ideal contact point and wall distance are much easier to show than describe.
• Cross-court drive — played with enough angle to reach the opposite side wall before the back wall; if executed well, the opponent must cover 8–10 metres of lateral distance.
• Width-then-boast — a cross-court drive to pull the opponent wide, then a boast into the front corner when they overcommit.

Attacking Shots: Boast, Drop, and Nick

Three attacking shots create winning openings in squash:

• Boast — played off the side wall to the opposite front corner; dangerous if the opponent is caught deep.
• Drop shot — a soft shot aimed just above the tin, ideally tight to the side wall. Draw the intended landing zone and how the T-recovery path differs from a length shot.
• Nick — the junction of the side wall and the floor, usually in the front corners. A ball that rolls out of the nick is unplayable. Diagram the target angle for each type of nick.

Serve and Return

The serve in squash is a tactical opportunity, not just a starting shot. The high lob serve — aimed at the side wall near the service box boundary so it rebounds to the back corner — forces the returner into a defensive position immediately. Show the intended arc, wall contact point, and the server's recovery path to the T. Contrast this with the hard low serve hit at pace to the body, used to disrupt rhythm and force a rushed return.

Diagram the most common return zones and how the server positions themselves to cover each. Players who understand the return options available to their opponent will position after the serve far more intelligently.