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Techniques: SINGLES TENNIS STRATEGY
Before developing a game dependent on strategy first a player must have the strokes that will get the ball over the net. Hitting with depth is the second necessity. Limiting the number of options is the third. Overall strategy and point-to-point tactics are over rated for most players. There are basic five things that a player can do to his opponent from the baseline; 1.(hit
to your opponent's left) 1. ATTACK THE NET AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY No matter
how good you get hitting DOWN the MIDDLE and DEEP should remain a fundamental
aspect of your strategy. A basic law in the jungle is that the advanced
player will attack the net at every opportunity and the intermediate
will wait for the first short ball before going in. Anticipation is
a key element in the development of an advanced player. An intermediate
will often hit and back up or hesitate too long when getting his opponent
in trouble or sensing when a ball will be short. The average player
is average because he seldom hits the ball deep. In fact against most
players the odds are that the next ball or every other ball will be
short so you should anticipate this probability and be inside the baseline
expecting a short ball.
The advanced
player strives for consistency and to reduce errors understanding that
more points are lost than won in a match. When points are combined of
both players errors always out number winners. Understanding this percentage
the one who produces more errors always loses. To reduce errors you
must simplify your strategy. Keep the ball deep and safe and stay ready
and in anticipation for short balls. 3. UNDER PRESSURE PLAY THE RIGHT SHOT Pressure has a way of making any player play a SAFE ball. What generally happens is it throws off his entire bio-mechanics of stroke production and control. This causes the ball to SIT UP and boom the point is over because your opponent is generally playing from behind and thus more aggressively. This is called "CHOKING" knowing what to do but not doing because of the courage to hit the right shot. Instead of thinking about winning the match and knowing the pressure of the point or the game the advanced player must remember what will get him to victory, and that is consistency and aggressiveness. 4. WHEN FORCED GET THE BALL UP On a baseline rally one player will get pulled wide which forces him to either try to blast the ball back hoping for a winner or produce an error. The best way to buy time and to get back into the point is to elevate this shot 10 to 12 feet above the net to get you back in to the point and change the momentum. Even if the player has is attacking the net which he should do making sure that at least you force him to hit a good volley. By elevating your shot you naturally increase the top spin and unless your opponent is at the net he may have to hit up and over the net which is the most difficult volley. If you see him coming to the net it is not a difficult adjustment to lift the ball even higher for a topspin lob which is your next best option. If he stays on the baseline he will have to wait for the ball and see his opportunity diminish get frustrated and most likely try for too much and miss the ball long or into the net. By getting the ball back without the pace it also forces his mechanics to be better along with his concentration. By him not advancing on this opportunity he will feel aggravated by your ability to return his best shot. 5. BREAKDOWN YOUR OPPONENT'S RHYTHM If you are playing someone who likes pace hit them soft high balls that they have to prepare for differently. It is not necessary to play a pretty game to win. For example most two handers like the ball in the strike zone where they can use the natural fluid body movement and hit solid ground strokes. If you can avoid this area by hitting short and low and then hit topspin deep and high it forces them to adjust to the variances and thus gets them out of their natural rhythm. The basic idea is hit shots that your opponent does not want to hit. Determining what your opponent does not like is quite easy, what produces errors and what makes him angry and frustrated. Understand what shots produce power and which ones do not. Balls hit deep and high to either side with topspin are difficult to return because they re out of the power zone of the body. The player must hit them with almost all arm or take them on the rise both of which shots are physically tough to execute and return deep and strong. 6. OVERPLAY TO YOUR OPPONENT'S STRONG SHOT. When your opponent has a great forehand and a weak backhand do not let him win with his strength. Anticipate the shot and force him to hit it better than he is capable of by overplaying to the appropriate side. In this case if he hits flat forehands overplay to cross court side forcing him to hit closer to the line or down the line over a higher net. A flat forehand is hit with a horizontal swing which is more difficult to execute down the line for many reasons. Understanding this you can also frustrate this shot by sending him backhand slice to his forehand that stays low and pulls away. This will cause him more difficulty and produce more errors on his better side and thus frustrate him and open up his weaker side for any order of shot. 7. HIT CROSS COURT GROUND STROKES On the
forehand the tendency is to hit down the line to the backhand corner
for the right handers from the baseline. It is much safer to go cross
court for these reasons; the net is lower in the middle than on the
sides, the court is longer, you give yourself more time, and you tempt
your opponent to hit the tougher return. The net is 5 1/2 inches lower
than on the singles sideline and the court is 78 lf down the line where
as it is 82 1/2 lf on the diagonal cross court shot. This depending
upon the speed, spin and angle of the shot cause the probability of
error to go up proportionately. In addition based upon the law of incident
and reflective angles it requires less control to return a ball back
upon the path of its origin. This is because when a ball is arriving
at the racquet on a diagonal it tends to deflect off the racquet at
an angle in direct relation to the angle of its approach. If your opponent hits the ball to the backhand corner the easiest shot in the game is to hit a straight ball cross-court. It is a natural tendency to pull across the body and hit the ball on the diagonal. It takes a more talented player to hit a straight ball straight. Unless this tougher shot is executed perfectly you are now forcing yourself to move a larger number of steps in a shorter amount of time to cover a return. This is first caused because your momentum holds you on the sideline or out of the court when you hit down the line. Secondly you must be aware that any return will keep you dangerously far behind the baseline and out of position if you are unable to advance to the net in the form of an approach shot. Percentage play dictates that you work to get the short ball and come into the net and close out the point not hit tough winners from the baseline through a more difficult window. 8. HIT WITH PURPOSE Advanced players understand that more shots are lost than won. Understanding this enables them to avoid the high risk shots while hitting strong and consistent with a purpose. On a high level it is very difficult to have an open court to hit into. What seems open is only there for an instance. The more important strategy is being able to hit the right shot at the right time and it does not matter if the opponent is out of position or not. The shot itself will either produce an error or lead to a short ball and thus an opportunity to close out the point. 9. PLAY WITH A GAME PLAN A match
is a long arduous struggle that has a momentum and changes. Seldom does
a match result in the complete destruction of an opponent if they are
of equal ability. Generally play is determined by subtle strengths and
weaknesses in mental toughness or physical fitness. Being evenly matched
in ability at the beginning of a match does not always mean by the end
of the match it will be the same. Some especially junior players will
hit out until they are worn out physically. Other players will run their
opponents into the ground until they are unable to lift their arms.
This is the essence of strategy. With a
defensive player it sometimes is amazing the length they will go to
to stay in a point. They run down everything and everything comes back.
It can be very frustrating to have opportunity after opportunity lost
by a player that digs out a ball and sends it by you or over you. Going
for winners, aces and hitting harder is what this player is hoping you
will do. Generally a defensive player is well conditioned and willing
to stay out and hit all day. They thrive on your pace and power and
like a target to hit at. If you have the shots from the baseline to
relax and hit deep high bouncing lobs or ground strokes it can totally
unnerve many of these defensive wizards as they lose the concept of
what they are meant to do. By changing from a hard hitter to a moon
baller you can get more short balls and find that the topspin that was
so effective as passing shots are now sitters awaiting your approach
and put away volleys. 10. BASICS OF SOUND STRATEGY A. Every
shot is very important because it could be your last. The percentages below are realistic levels of stroke production of an Advanced player. CONSISTENCY,
DEPTH, PLACEMENT AND POWER. |
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