What is a strategy? A strategy is a general plan of action that is composed of tactics that are designed to achieve a specific plan. This plan can also be composed of multiple sub-plans that address different circumstances (Plan A, B, etc.) For example, you will be playing from the baseline working the points with high and deep balls to keep the highly aggressive opponent from attacking and charging the net.
STRATEGY
Herein you’ll find some of the components I have identified that will help you develop specific strategies. Please keep in mind that depending on many variables, the plans need to be adjusted. For example, the weather can alter your strategy as it may enhance or hamper your abilities to properly execute your strategy. Here is a list of variables to consider when devising a strategic plan:
- Surface
- Weather
- Opponent
- Altitude
- Balls
- Crowd
- Injuries
Here are the different components that are part of developing a strategy:
- Playing the Score
- Point Components
- Point Types
- Passive Offensive
- Offensive
- Point Components
- Pattern Identification
- Player Types
- Baseliners (pushers)
- Big Hitting Players
- Serve & Volley Players
- All Court Players
“Ok… Let’s get started with how to play the score.”
PLAYING DE SCORE
Playing the score is fundamental as it will dictate how and when to implement tactical maneuvers in individual points. Hence, it is the building foundation of your strategic plan.
Point Components
In tennis, points are the founding blocks of the scoring system. While each point may require a different tactic depending on the score, the basic point structure remains the same:
- Beginning
- Working the Point
- Ending the Point
Beginning
In tennis, a point is ALWAYS started by either:
- Serving
- Returning
When you are in either of these modes, it is critical that you understand that if you do not get the ball in play, the point ends. Hence, you must get the ball in play. A lot of players make the mistake of wanting to close off the point right from the get go. You must remember that most points are won off errors, not winners. If you get the first ball in, you are dramatically increasing your chances of winning the point. On the next section, you will learn on which points you should focus more on consistency and when you can be more aggressive.
WORKING THE POINT
Once you have gotten the ball in, you need to work the point so that you can give yourself the chance to win the point by:
– Hitting a Winner
– Drawing an Error
Many players in this area are either too aggressive wanting to close out the point real quickly or are too scared to close off the point and just push the ball in. You have to WORK the point so that you give yourself a chance to end the point by hitting a winner or drawing a mistake. Later in the program we’ll provide you with some patterns you can use.
ENDING THE POINT
Once you have worked the point properly, you will either win the point by drawing a mistake or hitting a winner. If you get an easy ball, put it away! On a regular basis, players get the easy shots only to be scared to put them away and they just pop the ball back
In the following sections, we will provide you with tactics that will help you get rid of the nerves and put the balls away!
In the following sections, we will provide you with tactics that will help you get rid of the nerves and put the balls away!
POINT TYPES
As a general guide, I recommend that the score be divided into two categories:
- Passive Offensive Points
- Offensive Points
Passive Offensive
Passive Offensive means that you are PROACTIVELY working on:
- Neutralizing your opponent
- Creating opportunities to be Offensive
I could have easily said defensive rather that Passive Offensive. The reason that you want to be Passive Offensive is that it implies you are taking proactive action vs. reacting to your opponents attack.
Hence, you increase the chances of you being able to take control by neutralizing an opponent’s attack vs. just getting the ball in play and hoping your opponent misses a ball or makes a tactical error that gives you the upper hand.
Let’s get to the heart of the issue. The Passive Offensive points are points in which you are:
- Even in the score
- Down in the score
Neutral points, when you are even, and down by one point, will either give the lead to you or your opponent or put you down in further disadvantage in the score. Hence, you want to minimize your unforced errors by using tactics that have a higher success rate.
On Serve
When you are serving, the Passive Offensive points are as follows:
- 0 – 0
- 0 – 15
- 15 – 15
- 15 – 30
- 30 – 30
- 30 – 40
- Ad Out
Returning
When you are returning, the Passive Offensive points are as follows:
- 0 – 0
- 15 – 0
- 15 – 15
- 30 – 15
- 30 – 30
- 40 – 30
- Ad In
HOW SHOULD I PLAY
PASSIVE OFFENSIVE POINTS?
Depending on whether you are serving or returning, the strategy will vary. Here are a few suggestions on which tactics to use.
Passive Offensive Tactics when Serving
When you are serving in Passive Offensive Points, you should do the following:
High First Serve %
You should work on getting a high first serve % (60 – 70%)
How do I get more first serves in?
Reduce the Speed
1 Reduce the speed at which you hit the first serves. If you are hitting the ball at 100 miles per hour and only get it in 30% of the time, it is not going to do any good most of the time (if you get lucky, you’ll get some good first serves in on big points enabling you to win them but I would not count on that happening as this is seldom the case.) Now, this does not mean that you hit the ball at 30 miles an hour if your normal speed is at 100 miles. It means that you hit it at a speed in which your 1st serve % increases to 60 to 70%. Hence, you need to figure out what that speed is and establish it as a baseline. From that point, you should work on being more consistent with your serve at higher speeds by increasing the speed in a GRADUAL basis and not exponentially. The reason for this is that you’ll need to master the mechanics slowly as very few people are able to master large increases in speed in short periods of time.
Go for Your Best Serve
2 Simply put, you know which serves you hit the most in so you should go for those serves.
Pick a Safe Spot on the Service Box
3 By picking a safe spot, I mean a place that you know you can serve the ball to on a consistent basis and hopefully, it matches your opponent’s weaker side. However, you must vary the spot some or hit it more to the weaker side of the opponent as they may be able to neutralize or attack your serve fairly comfortably if the speed, spin and placement are not forceful enough.
Hit a Kick Serve
4 If you look at most players, when under pressure, they hit up on the ball at really low speed. The more amateur players will resort to using a “frying pan” grip so that the face of the racquet is facing upwards allowing them to hit up on the ball. Hence, if you don’t know how to hit a kick serve, learn how to hit it.
Visualize the Serve Go In
5 By visualizing the serve going into the desired spot, not only will you increase the chances of it going in, but it will also help you out in playing out a possible (or many possible) returns that might head your way and thereby anticipate the next shot and be ready for it. If you look at most amateur players, they have a tendency to get in a hurry to the baseline to serve without ever having given any thought to what is there score, where the ball should be placed or what has been the other player’s tendency during similar points or circumstances. Hence, the probabilities of having a positive outcome are clearly diminished.
Serve to Weakness
Regardless of getting a first or second serve in play, the majority of the time you need to serve to the weaker side of the opponent. Generally speaking, the weaker side of most players in the backhand side. The reason you want to serve the majority of the time vs. all the time to your opponent’s weakness is that it will keep him guessing and will NOT help him settle into a predictable and comfortable groove where he’ll get more confident with his weakness. Furthermore, you want to go most of the time to the opponent’s weakness in pressure situations as the weaker side is more likely to break down under tough circumstances.
PASSIVE OFFENSIVE TACTICS WHEN RETURNING
When you are returning in Passive Offensive points, you should do the following:
Return Deep Down the Center – Return deep down the center in order to:
- Cut Down on Unforced Error Returns: If you hit deep down the center (about 3 feet from the baseline), you’ll be hitting to an the largest area of the court over the lowest part of the net. Hence, there is less of a chance for you to miss.
- Cut Off Angles: If you hit deep down the center, you cut off/minimize the angles that your opponent has which means he will not be able to move you as much. Hence, you will increase the chances of being in better position the next point and be able to take control of the center of the court.
The benefits I just mentions of returning deep down the center will work slightly different on first and second serve return scenarios. Here is a more detailed breakdown on how to approach first and second serve returns:
- First Serve Returns: On the first serve, unless it is just a crummy first serve that you can manipulate at will, most likely you will only have the ability to block the ball and direct it towards the desired spot, down the center, to ensure you get the ball in and cut off your opponents angles.
- Second Serve Returns: On the second serve, your ability to manipulate the ball maybe greatly increased due to the lower speed of the serve. Hence, you still want to go deep down the center but you will want to:
- Hit to the weaker side
- Rush your opponent by hitting with more pace
- Choose a spin type that maybe more difficult for your opponent to handle
OFFENSIVE
Offensive means that you are PROACTIVELY working on:
- Neutralizing your opponent
- Attacking your opponent
In offensive mode, you are all about creating action and making things happen. Hence, off the bat you are putting your opponent in a position to defend and increasing your chances of hitting a winner or getting your opponent to miss.
Let’s get to the heart of the issue. The Offensive points are points in which you are:
- Up in the score
- In some cases, on the ropes
On Serve
When you are serving, the Offensive points are as follows:
- 15 – 0
- 30 – 0
- 30 – 15
- 40 – 15
- 40 – 30
- Ad In
Returning
When you are returning, the Offensive points are as follows:
- 0 – 15
- 0 – 30
- 15 – 30
- 15 – 40
- 30 – 40
- Ad Out
HOW SHOULD I PLAY
OFFENSIVE POINTS?
Depending on whether you are serving or returning, the strategy will vary. Here are a few suggestions on what tactics to use.
Offensive Tactics when Serving
When you are serving on Offensive Points, you should do the following:
Go for Your First Serve
1 Hit serves that are within your style of play and are more risky but offer you a higher probability of hitting an ace or causing your opponent to miss the return.
Take Tactical Chances
2 Serve and Volley: If you normally don’t serve and volley, your opponent will be under more pressure to hit a better return which will increase the chances of him missing. Furthermore, you will be keeping him off guard which will make him uncomfortable when returning.
One Two Punch: The one two punch pertains to going for a big serve, not necessarily and ace, perhaps right to the body, and be looking for a short return to close off the point or come to the net.
Mix it Up: By mixing it up with serves that you are not normally throwing at your opponent, the opponent will have to be continuously guessing as to what he needs to do to return your serve. Hence, the opponent will be uncomfortable and there will be more chances of a failed return.
Put More Pressure on Your Second Serve
3 If you miss your first serve, go for a higher pressure second serve than you normally would. For example, increase the speed of it or go for sharper angles. Furthermore, often times we tend to be more defensive in terms of our court positioning after a second serve because our opponent might hit a good return. Since you are going for a bigger second serve, you also need to anticipate a shorter return and aim at taking immediate control of the point.
Visualize the Serve Go In
4 The Confidence Element – If you are continuously applying pressure with your serve in different ways, sooner or later, you will cause your opponent to:
– Lose Confidence on Average Returns: You will cause your opponent to start missing returns that he can normally execute which will make him lose his confidence.
– Second Guessing: Your opponent will start second guessing what returns he should be doing which will either cause him to miss or make tactical mistakes.
– Go for More: Often times, it will cause the returner to go for returns that he can’t get in on a consistent basis which will generate more mistakes.
OFFENSIVE TACTICS WHEN RETURNING
First Serve Returns
Anticipation
Take more chances anticipating where your opponent will be serving and be more aggressive with the return by hitting/blocking harder. You can anticipate where your opponent will be hitting the serve by learning how to read the ball toss.
- Ball Toss Behind de Head: When you see a ball toss behind the servers head, most likely you will get a kick serve (a serve that bounces high) and that is generally directed to the back hand side.
- Ball Toss In front: When you see a ball toss in front, most likely you will get a flat or slice serve.
Placement
Be more aggressive with your placement by creating more openings with the return – go for wider returns.
Change Your Position
Slightly modify your habitual returning position so that you force your opponent to go for a serve that is harder for him to execute. For example, lean more towards your backhand side so that the opponent is forced to go for a sharper angle to hit to your backhand or go for a harder serve to your forehand.
Second Serve Returns
Hit a Forehand Return
Assuming that you are an average player, your forehand will be your weapon of choice. Hence, be assertive and if you are able to run around your backhand, go for that forehand return. When running around your back hand to hit a forehand, keep in mind that if your return is weak, you will need to hustle back quickly to the center of the court as you will leave more open court by running around your backhand.
Move Closer to the Service Box
Take one to three steps closer than where you normally stand to return your first serve. This will put more pressure on your opponent by allowing less recovery time after he serves and will start forcing him to come up with bigger second serves.
Come to the Net
Close in after your return to put pressure on your opponent to hit a passing shot.
The Confidence Element
If you are continuously applying pressure with your return in different ways, sooner or later, you will cause your opponent to:
- Double Fault More: You will cause your opponent to start missing serves that he can normally execute which will make him lose his confidence.
- Second Guessing: Your opponent will start second guessing what serves he should be doing which will either cause him to miss or make tactical mistakes.
- Go for More: Often times, it will cause the returner to go for bigger serves that he can’t get in on a consistent basis which will cause him to miss more.