How do players win matches?
Is it to hit the ball harder trying to win the point in one shot?
Or is it achieved by consistently hitting the ball within your limit and placing the ball well?
In the pro game it’s the second, obviously the speed that you hit the ball is dictated by your technique, footwork and fitness.
But using us mere mortals as an example if you can find your rally speed then you can achieve so much more.

So what is this rally speed?
Well it’s the speed that you can keep the ball in play without losing your technique, assuming you have technique in the first place. The speed will vary as I said before on your technique/footwork and fitness.

Once you have found your rally speed, you should be hitting the ball at almost the same rhythm, once you have found your rhythm you can control the points. When you control the points you control the game. Control the game you control the match.

To find your rally speed try hitting with a friend, either up and down the middle of the court, or in one half. Try rallying the ball between you but maintain your technique, as soon as one of you hit the ball too hard it is up to the other player to slow the rally down, but keeping the all important technique, remember no pushing at the ball, keep that smooth rhythm, that hopefully you will find after a while.

Remember you may have a slightly faster rally speed on one side or the other, no problem, maybe a bit quicker on the better forehand side, a little slower on the backhand, but feel the difference between the two.

Now you might feel you want to hit it a little harder than you are doing, so do it, but only 10% faster, if the errors start to appear, go back that 10%. And so it goes on with this plus and minus 10% around the rally speed that you find for you.