It seems like even when a player is way out of position to defend something down the line, opponents will still hit it cross-court.
In: 6
Cross court, geometrically, is a big target. So if the return shot direction is off by a bit on either side, it will likely still be inbound. Down the line shots are, on the other hand, higher risk shots as being off slightly to the outward side, means the return shot will be out of bounds.
In terms of regular play, it is also somewhat easier to hit back towards the direction a (fast) ball is coming from. So if the ball comes in left to right, it feels easier to hit it back from right to left and vice versa as the player hits with a closed face. (much of the time this is a natural counter spin). Down the line shots require a more open face strike and that has a high percentage of going awry.
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