Technique serves strategy. Specific technique should not be adopted for aesthetic reasons, or because your favorite player happens to do it that way, or because they guys or gals at the club say you should do it. And you shouldn’t do it simply because your coach says that’s the way to do it. You should adapt specific technique because it supports a strategic approach that makes sense to you and makes it more likely that you will win.
Having said that, let’s talk about the backswing. How you do your backswing is very important, because it can be the difference between being able to play the ball quickly and accurately or having to take extra time to play the ball and being more likely to play a sloppy shot. A squash match is most often won by the person who can maintain dominance of the central area of the court and is able to attack to the front of the court from a position in front of their opponent. It is therefore essential to have a backswing that allows you to play the ball quickly and accurately in order to maintain and attack from this strategically superior positioning in the court and not have to fall back to inferior positioning to play the ball.
The biggest mistakes that players make with their backswing are:
1) Waiting until the ball arrives close before getting the racquet back.
2) Leading the backswing with the elbow.
3) Just bringing the arm back and not turning the chest back.
4) Not adjusting the feet to the ball once the racquet is back.
So what should you do?
1) Once you know if the ball is going to be a forehand or a backhand get the racquet back – ideally before your opponent’s shot hits the front wall. By doing this you will avoid being late hitting the ball.
2) Get the racquet back initially by rotating the forearm back and pointing the racquet to the back wall. By doing this the racquet is instantly ready to hit the ball, even one that comes at you with tremendous pace.
3) Turn the chest back as you bring your elbow back. By doing this you will be able to create power quickly.
4) Once the racquet is back, quickly adjust your feet for the ball. By doing this you will be able to hit the ball accurately as accuracy comes from good alignment, and sloppiness comes from a stroke that constantly changes based on where the ball is.