If you’ve ever stood across the net from someone smashing every ball as hard as they can and thought “I don’t think I want to do this,” you’re not alone — and you’re not wrong to feel that way. But a little technique and positioning go a long way toward taking the fear out of it.
First: it’s not actually about being fast
New players often assume the answer to power hitters is reacting faster. It isn’t. The real answer is standing in a position where you don’t need to react as hard in the first place.
- Stay at the kitchen line, not the baseline. A ball hit hard from close range actually has less time to build dangerous pace on your side of the net than one hit from further back. Staying back to “have more time” usually backfires.
- Keep your paddle up and in front of your chest. Most hard shots at the body are easier to block than to dodge. A simple, compact block back into the middle of the court neutralizes far more power than trying to swing back.
- Aim for soft resets, not clean winners. Your goal against a banger isn’t to out-hit them — it’s to take the pace off the ball and drop it short, forcing them to generate their own power again from a harder position.
Second: bangers usually aren’t trying to hurt you
It can feel personal when a shot comes in hot, but most power hitters are simply playing the only style they know — often carried over from badminton, squash, or tennis. If a shot genuinely feels unsafe (aimed directly at your body at close range, repeatedly), it’s completely fair to say something or ask for a change in pace. Most players will adjust once they realize a new player is on the other side.
Third: find the right group while you build confidence
You don’t need to prove yourself against advanced hitters on day one. Playing a few sessions with a beginner-friendly group first — see our guide to finding beginner-friendly clubs — builds the reflexes and positioning habits that make power hitters far less intimidating later on. Confidence against bangers is a skill, and like any skill, it’s built through reps at the right level before you take it up a notch.
The players who “aren’t scared of bangers” usually aren’t naturally braver — they’ve just built the positioning and blocking habits that make hard shots easy to handle. That’s learnable, and it doesn’t take long.