Padel World Press .- In the world of paddle tennis, it is known as fridge the use of a strategy in which the actions are loaded towards one of the players of the opposing pair, leaving the other member almost without coming into contact with the ball, which causes it to cool down and end up causing an 'imbalance' in the game of the rival couple
In general, the game is loaded towards the lower level opponent or the one who makes the most mistakes. The result of the refrigerator is that it causes an increase in anxiety in the player who receives it, as well as a decrease in their sensations.
The factors mentioned above influence both the state mood such as physical of the opposing player, which leads him to leave his comfort zone, to risk more blows or to create a tension between comrades, thus avoiding taking the initiative of the game and diminishing the confidence of the couple.
La fridge it can be done completely, in which all the balls would be oriented towards a specific player, or partial, in which for certain hits we would change the orientation. An example of a partial fridge: if we are faced with a rival who makes many unforced errors in the back of the court but in the net defines all the shots, we would try to turn the game towards him during the time he is in the background but never when you have won the network.
It should also be noted that the refrigerator can be made throughout the game (so it would be considered a tactical aspect) or during a period or several of the meeting (something more strategic).
Many players complain about this practice but ... And why not use it? In any other sport, defensive tactics and strategies are proposed, such as marking the man in football or defending the basketball area; tracings and placement in the group in athletics or cycling events; and the game on the weakest blow of the opponent in other racquet sports.
My advice, in this case, is that you only use this strategy in competitive matches. Since paddle tennis is considered a men's sport, at the amateur level or in training matches, values such as sportsmanship, a relaxed atmosphere to release the tensions of the day to day and sports practice for improvement should prevail over the result. Of the health. That is why, if during a non-significant match, a player spends several periods of it without touching the ball, it can be considered disrespectful (like a drop-off or throwing balls to the body).
Guide to the 4 basic steps to know how to handle a fridge during a game
If during a match you are the player who goes through several phases without touching the ball, you should
- Never lose activation or attention in the game. It is very important that you are as solid as possible when you have the opportunity to come into play. You should not win every ball you touch but you do have to show confidence and try to take the initiative of the point, winning the net against the opponents with balloons or changes in ball speed, for example, playing small.
- Do not forget the pressure to which you are putting your partner. It is essential that you convey that you trust him. You have to support and encourage him at all times. Both verbal and non-verbal communication is the key: talk about how to play the next point, shake his hand after each point… In short, show him that you are a team.
- You should try, without rushing and only when possible, to help your partner to prevent them from consuming it on a physical level. The objective should not be to make a winning shot ... What you have to look for is to change the dynamics and let your partner regain position and breath.
- As a complement to the previous one, you have to make the most of the time in the field changes (90 seconds is the limit allowed by the regulations) ... And you have to do it both to give your partner a small respite and to cool down the dynamics of the meeting.
After these indications, it is time to know how you can counteract the fridge to prevent rivals from continuing to do so or, in your case, find it more difficult to do it.
I usually recommend 3 to my students, which can be put into practice both separately and simultaneously:
a) The most common: The player who receives the game load will always try to play parallel. In this way, as we know that the natural direction of the game is crossed, at some point we will be able to force them to play crossed, with which our partner can enter the game.
b) The most risky: That whoever receives the refrigerator stays further behind on the track when you go to the network. It should not be used for long periods because rivals will end up finding gaps and earning us many points ... However, it is a good strategy to destabilize at specific times. If a player is very close to the net and another one more behind, almost halfway down the lane or even in the background, the most normal thing is that the ball is sent to whoever is further behind. Another 'trick' so that whoever received the fridge comes into play.
c) The most effective: Make the refrigerator to the opposite partner. As soon as you can take initiative in the point, dump the actions towards the weakest player of the opposite pair. As soon as they realize the situation, they will see that their strategy has turned against them and they will forget what they had proposed. While they return to take the dynamics, may have passed 3-4 games, enough to achieve a break, recover if we had one against and take the initiative on the set.
A Final Council
It should not be overlooked that making the fridge in the paddle It is not as beautiful or easy as it seems ... It has its drawbacks and we will have to be very careful to stop doing it if we see that it is not having the effect we wanted.
Some notes about its drawbacks:
1.- There are times when making the fridge can take us to forget about playing easy. We have to do it only with the easy balls ... When we are under pressure we must play cross or throw balloons to improve our position on the court. It should not be overlooked that the refrigerator forces us to play with less field to direct the ball and that can cause failures if we do not do it at the right times and with the right shots.
2.- It is possible that the opponent that a priori was committing more failures than normal He 'plug' in the game by throwing more balls. Therefore, it is important that we locate the moment in which that refrigerator is damaging us, from that moment, stop doing it.
I hope the post is useful both to face a refrigerator and to apply it ...
So you know ... Put it into practice and tell us how it went!
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