Mixed Doubles – The Male Third Shot In Mixed

The male player will play the third shot when the service has been returned to the midcourt or into the rear court after they or their partner has served. The frontcourt is covered by the female player. Of course, in order to play the third shot, you or your partner must be serving.

It’s important to remember that the majority of returns of serve are played straight and rarely cross court. It’s also important to remember that shots to the midcourt are usually softer guided shots/pushes. Shots to the rear court will usually be a flat drive off the serve or a lift.

Of course, any lifts should be attacked by the male in the rear court. This is the default third shot for this scenario so we will not discuss it in much more detail than that for this article.

The Midcourt Returns Of Serve

The third shot played by the male will depend to some degree on whether the man or woman from the opposition returned the serve.

Opposing Female Returns The Serve To Midcourt

Bear in mind that when the opposing female returns the serve, the opponents are in their strongest formation. Therefore lifting the shuttle is not the best choice!

If she returns the serve into the midcourt, there are four main returns that the male can play as the third shot.

1. Straight Drive

One option is to drive the shuttle straight back down the line. However, in order to play this shot, the male player must get to the shuttle early, preferably before the shuttle can fall below net height. This shot might be too fast for the opposing female to intercept and force the opposing male to lift the shuttle or play a weak reply to the net.

At high levels, this shot is rarely played as a third shot. Very strong players will be able to use your shot pace against you. They are able to whip the shuttle cross court, which might leave both you and your partner stranded.

Also, unless you are very good technically, (and even then!), it’s difficult to play a backhand drive with the speed and accuracy required here. It might be better to opt for another shot choice.

2. Cross Court Drive

A cross-court drive is not recommended as your third shot. Even if the female player cannot intercept it, the opposing male player will be able to retrieve the shuttle. This is because the cross court takes more time to travel, giving him the opportunity to move across and drive that shuttle back down the line. This puts significant pressure on you once they return that shot. Particularly if it’s on your backhand side.

3. Drop Shot

Playing the shuttle back to the net as a drop is also an option. This will have to be assessed carefully as the opposing female player will be hunting the shuttle, waiting to kill any potential loose shuttle to the net. If the opposing female player has backed off the net a tight drop is possible.

Again this requires you to reach the shuttle early. Firstly to take the shuttle as high as possible. But secondly to create an element of natural deception. This may make the opposing female retreat from the net expecting a harder shot, therefore creating space to play the drop.

4. Midcourt Push

The last option is playing back to the midcourt. You have to play this shot with caution. Because it’s a slower shot, you have to assess the position of the opposing female player as they can intercept this if played too slow. These shots are the most common at the professional level in order to set up the rally.

Opposing Male Returns Serve To Midcourt

At higher levels of play, the male’s return of serve is more limited and this makes them more predictable. They do not usually return to the net to avoid putting their partnership in their weaker formation.

Pushing into the rear court is risky because it commits him to moving forward. If the shuttle is returned, it’s going to be at pace and into the rear court. Both players will be stranded in the forecourt.

So really their only option is to play into the midcourt. And we also know that it’s more often than not going to be a straight return. Knowing that we can anticipate his return makes it slightly easier to deal with. What is limiting, however, is the strength of the opponents on the other side of the court and our own personal ability.

The three options when the female returns into the midcourt are still relevant. However, there are some additional options when the opposing male returns the serve

1. Cross Court Lift To The Rear Court

In order to return the serve as early as possible, the opposing male player will step forward to take the shuttle. A common third shot, in this case, is to lift the shuttle cross court which works for two reasons.

1. The female is forced to move into the rear court to cover this shot.
2. If the male tries to cover this shot instead, he has to move the furthest distance across the court and will be likely to lift the shuttle in order to allow time to recover and relieve some of the movement pressure.

This shot is particularly effective when played to the opponents backhand side. This limits their attacking abilities.

2. Straight/Cross Court Drive

Again the male can play a straight drive down the line back to the opposing male. Alternatively, there is the possibility of the cross court drive. This depends on how quickly the male can recover from returning the serve and how willing his female partner is to move away from the net to cover this shot.

Remember the male has moved forward to take the serve. So a gap cross court could open up, assuming how quickly you can attack the third shot. If played straight, the opposing male may still be recovering and so you can possibly catch him out with speed here.

3. Lift the Shuttle

If the opposing male player attacks the serve. Lifting the shuttle back will usually catch out both opponents as the momentum of the attack will bring the man forward. The female will also be stranded in the forecourt, leaving the rear court open to exploit.

The only other time the male third shot should be a lift is if they have no other option to continue the rally.

Male Third Shot Conclusion

We have discussed so far a maximum of three shots in mixed doubles. But look how complicated it is already! Unlike level doubles where the differences in the player’s abilities may not be as drastic, we can see how complicated it is to simply play a shot. There’s many variables to consider. All this will follow through to the next article which will be on attaxking play in mixed doubles.

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