Editing Squash (sport) (section)

===General strategy and tactics===
A key idea in squash is known as "dominating the T" (the intersection of the red lines near the centre of the court, shaped like the letter "T", where the player is in the best position to retrieve the opponent's next shot). Skilled players will return a shot, and then move back toward the "T" before playing the next shot. From this position, the player can quickly access any part of the court to retrieve the opponent's next shot with a minimum of movement and possibly maximizing the movement required by the opponent to answer the returned shot. Very skilled players will, oftentimes, shift slightly away from the "T," based on the position of the other player, if they believe that their shot selection is limited.  

A common tactic is to hit the ball straight up the side walls to the back corners; this is the basic squash shot, referred to as a "rail", straight drive, wall, or "length". After hitting this shot, the player will then move to the centre of the court near the "T" to be well placed to retrieve the opponent's return. Attacking with soft or "short" shots to the front corners (referred to as "drop shots") causes the opponent to cover more of the court and may result in a winner. Boasts or angle shots are deliberately struck off one of the side walls before the ball reaches the front. They are used for deception and again to cause the opponent to cover more of the court. Rear wall shots float to the front either straight or diagonally drawing the opponent to the front. One goal of a player is to try to move the opponent into each of the four corners so that they have to cover a lot of distance and will get tired. Advantageous tactical shots are available in response to a weak return by the opponent if stretched, the majority of the court being free to the striker. Nicks are when the ball comes into contact with the intersection of the floor and any sidewall.

Rallies between experienced players may involve 30 or more shots and therefore a very high premium is placed on fitness, both aerobic and anaerobic. As players become more skilled and, in particular, better able to retrieve shots, points often become a [[Attrition warfare|war of attrition]]. At higher levels of the game, the fitter player has a major advantage.

The ability to change the direction of the ball at the last instant is also a tactic used to unbalance the opponent often called "holding." Expert players can anticipate the opponent's shot a few tenths of a second before the average player, giving them a chance to react sooner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/visual-acuity-and-reaction-times |title=Agility Training: Improving Sporting Reaction Times |publisher=Pponline.co.uk |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505222112/http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/visual-acuity-and-reaction-times |archive-date=5 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:US Open Squash Championship 2011 Drexel University.jpg|thumb|The glass show court at the 2011 US Open Squash Championships hosted by Drexel University at the [[Daskalakis Athletic Center]]]]

Depending on the style of play, it is common to refer to squash players<ref>Strategies, Jonathon Power Exposed DVD 2.</ref><ref>Commentary by Jonathon Power and Martin Heath, TOC, 2005</ref> as

* '''Power players''': powerful shots to take time away from their opponent. For example, [[John White (squash player)|John White]], [[Omar Mosaad]], [[Mohamed El Shorbagy]], [[Nouran Gohar]]
* '''Shotmakers''': accurate shots to take time away from their opponent. For example, [[Jonathon Power]], [[Ramy Ashour]], [[Amr Shabana]], [[James Willstrop]].
* '''Retrievers''': excellent retrieval to counter power and accuracy and to return shots more quickly to take time away from their opponent. For example, [[Peter Nicol]], [[Grégory Gaultier]], [[Nicol David]], [[Ng Eain Yow]].
* '''Attritional players''': a consistently high-paced game both from shot speed and running speed to wear their opponent down over time. For example, [[David Palmer (squash player)|David Palmer]], [[Nick Matthew]], [[Jansher Khan]], [[Jahangir Khan]].