I formation

JAPANESE

 

The I formation is a formation that starts with both the server and the front player in the center position.

 

Doubles games aren’t often broadcast on TV.

 

But, you may have seen a front player crouching in the middle of the net in a professional match.

 

 

Since the front player and the back player are lined up vertically, the space on the left and right is too wide, isn’t it?
You might think that.

 

But don’t worry, if the back player hits the serve, the front player will move to one side and the back player will move to the other side.

 

But why do they forms such a formation?

 

Here, I have summarized the attack methods, advantages, and disadvantages of the I formation.

 

First of all, what kind of formation is the I formation?
I will explain how to attack.

The I formation is a formation formed during a service game.

 

The server hits a serve from the center, and the front player is also in the center at first.

 

This position is in the shape of the letter ”I” in the alphabet, so it is named the I Formation.

 

But, in the initial position, there is a lot of space on both sides.

 

So, as soon as the server hits the serve, both the server and the front player move to either side.

 

There are two formations

 

The I formation　has two formations.

 

• The same formation as a normal parallel　formation
• A formation in which the front and back of the parallel formation are interchanged,

 

The front player moves to the back player side of the opponent.
Then, when the back player net-dashes to the opponent’s front player side, it becomes a normal parallel formation.

 

 

This formation is a bit defensive.

 

However, since it is a normal parallel team, it is aggressive by itself.

 

If you do only this formation, the movement will be read by the opponent because it is a normal parallel formation.

 

Then, it will be easier for your opponent to play.

 

There is no point in forming the I formation.

 

So you need to mix another formation from time to time.

 

That is the formation in which the front and back of the parallel team are switched.

 

 

This formation is a super-aggressive formation.

 

This is because the front player is waiting at the cross-return location of the opponent’s back player.

 

 

This formation is the same formation as the Australian formation.

 

As shown in the figure, the front player volleys when the return comes to the cross.

 

The front player can volley without moving too much, which makes it easier to score points.

 

And if you hit the serve to the center, the opponent’s back player has moved to the center.

 

Therefore, there is space on the straight court when viewed from the back player.

 

 

So back players will find it easier to score points if they volley to a straight court.

 

In other words, this formation is easy to score point whether the opponent hits to a straight or a cross.

 

The caveat of this anti-parallel team is that, as you can see in the figure, the front player must be near the center.

 

If the front player moves to a straight side, there will be space in the center.

 

 

Since the front player is in the front, there is not much range that the opponent’s back player can hit.

 

You should be able to volley if you face the opponent’s back player near the center.

 

Send a sign to the back player for each ball

 

 

The I formation requires the front player and back player to work together.

 

If two persons of pair move to the same side, a large space will be created.

 

Therefore, it is necessary to decide the sign in pairs in advance.

 

Once the opponent knows the formation, he can raise the lob toward the front player, so you need to send a sign so that the opponent does not know.

 

Also, if you make a mistake in the sign, the pairs will line up, so you need to make the sign easy to understand.

 

It’s a good idea to make it an easy-to-understand sign, such as rock or paper.

 

If the front player sends sign behind his back, he won’t be known to his opponent.

 

When forming an eye formation,after hitting a serve there are two possible formations for the opponent.

 

So, the opponent doesn’t know where to hit.

 

In addition, since both players volley,they can make a super-aggressive attack.

 

The aim is to score points early on without doing too much rally.

 

It is an effective formation to surely win the service game and seize control of the game.

 

The opponent doesn’t know where to hit

 

 

The advantage of the I formation is that the opponent does not understand the course to hit.

 

Since the formation is formed after hitting the serve, the opponent is confused.

 

For example, if the opponent returns to the cross but is formed in reverse parallel team, the front player will volley.

 

Even if the opponent thinks you are an anti-parallel team and hits a lob on the cross, you can smash if you form a normal parallel team.

 

The opponent doesn’t know which formation, so he wonder where to hit.

 

That is the biggest advantage of the I formation.

 

Therefore, it is important to randomly mix formations so that you are not read by the opponent.

 

It’s a super-aggressive formation, so you can easily get points.

 

 

The I formation is a formation formed when they absolutely wants to score points.

 

It is a prerequisite to attack with parallel team.

 

And it is essential to hit the serve to the center.

 

The reason is that the front player is trying to volley the ball near the center.

 

By hitting the serve to the center, the range of returns is narrowed down to the vicinity of the center, and points are scored by volley.

 

 

If you hit a serve to the wide court, your opponent will be able to hit both straight and short cross.

 

So, if you hit a serve to the wide court, you will be passed the straight.

 

 

For those who aren’t good at serve and volley, this formation is difficult.

 

The method of attacking the I formation is to hit the center with a serve, narrow down the course that the opponent hits, and volley.

 

Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the serve course is easy to read.

 

In addition, since the two players moves forward, there is a disadvantage that the formation will be destroyed if the opponent hits a lob.

 

Therefore, if the opponent can easily control the ball,you will lose points.

 

Therefore, it will be difficult for people who are not confident in serve and volley to form this formation.

 

The other party can read the serve course

 

 

The disadvantage of the I formation is that the serve course is easy to read.

 

When you hit the serve to the wide court, the opponent will aim for a straight, so the opponent will narrow down the course to the center serve and return.

 

Therefore, there is a high possibility that the opponent will hit a hard hit.

 

In particular, it is important for the back player to control the volley.

 

Even if the opponent does not know which formation, he may hit a hard hit and tempt a volley miss.

 

Therefore, the I formation is difficult for players who are not good at volleying fast balls.

 

However, if the opponent’s return is not so fast, I think you can form this formation.

 

You should consider your volley skills and the speed of your opponent’s return to decide whether or not to form this formation.

 

Weak to a lob

 

 

The disadvantage of the I formation is that the formation is broken by being hit a lob.

 

Especially when forming anti-parallel teams, there is a large space behind the front player.

 

 

If the opponent hits a lob to the cross, the back player will run a long distance and may not be able to catch up.

 

In addition, the long cross direction makes it easier for lobs to enter.

 

However, the formation is not known to the opponent from the beginning.

 

Which formation to take is like gambling for the opponent.

 

If the lob goes up towards the back player, you can hit a smash it if it’s not a good lob.

 

If the opponent doesn’t know where the front player goes, the opponent won’t know which one to hit the lob until the end.

 

Therefore, it is necessary to change the formation randomly so that it is not read which formation.

 

People who are not good at net play cannot do it

 

 

The I formation is based on the assumption that the back player will make a net dash.

 

Therefore, people who are not good at low volley or smash will not be able to do it.

 

Since the opponent knows to hit the serve to the center, it is expected that a ball with a difficult return will come.

 

Volley technique that can be controlled even if a sharp return is returned

 

Net play technique that can be scored point by smash even if a deep lob goes up

 

These skills are required.

 

It depends on the skill of the opponent, but it is also important to judge whether it can be handled.

 

The I formation is a formation that makes it easy to score points for players who are good at serve & volley and smash.

 

After hitting the serve, the front player and back player move left and right,and they can form two formations.

 

Therefore, the opponent pair does not know where to hit the return.

 

Not only that, it’s easy to get points because it’s premised on net dash.

 

In particular, in the formation opposite to the normal parallel formation, the front player can directly volley the opponent’s cross return, so it can be said to be a super-aggressive formation.

 

However, this formation has the disadvantage that it is weak when the opponent hits a lob.

 

So, if you can’t control the opponent’s return with volley, you can’t get points.

 

It is necessary to control such as hitting deep on the court or hitting the course where the opponent runs long distance so that you can not hit the lob easily.

 

I think it will be easier to put it into practice if you take on the challenge of the I formation after considering the merits and demerits.

 

If you are good at volley and smash, why not try it?