Where to place the ball

Hi Alois and Jeff

If I am playing a person I have never played before and have never seen play, is it better to place the ball into the backhand or forehand first to find out the weakness? I understand that different people have different strengths, but averagely, do people have a more consistent backhand or forehand?

Hi Oliver,

I think in general more players are stronger on their forehands so I would start with going to the backhand and then try the forehand.

Don't forget though that you need to try different strokes to those sides.  Some players are better blocking on one side and attacking on the other.