How to beat someone who is better than you at tennis
Drawn against the club champ in the singles tournament? Or just fed up with getting thrashed by your arch-nemesis? Here are four key tips that will help you beat someone who is better than you at tennis (or at least, to make it competitive)…
Every tennis player has been there.
You’ve been drawn against one of the best players in your club championships. You would be happy to walk away from the match with your life let alone a game or two.
You have absolutely nothing to lose - so how do you approach the match?
There is a tired old adage in these scenarios. “You’ve got to redline your game, hit winner after winner - channel the inner Roger Federer you didn’t know existed in you!”
Steady up there! Let’s come up with a legitimate plan to try and defeat someone that is better than you at tennis… and not just hope for the best by swinging for the fences!
1) Do a smart, focused warm up and come out hot
If you’ve got any chance of beating this guy, you have got to come out hot.
And by hot, I don’t just mean battering the ball and hoping for the best…
Practice beforehand. Warming yourself up is a great chance to take advantage of a potentially cold opponent who will likely be looking to ease themselves into match.
Spend half an hour to an hour practicing these two key shots to beating this player.
The serve. There’s a reason they call the serve the most important shot in tennis. It’s the first shot of every single point, the one that should - at the very least - keep the server from being on the back foot. Make sure your serve is warmed up to a degree that A) you’re making a healthy 60-70% of your first serves and B) you can limit your nervousness on this shot going into the match.
Short balls. If your opponent gives you anything you can step into the court to hit, you have to be clinical. Practice your short balls as much as you can going into this match. If your opponent recognises you can’t mop up a short ball, often they will hit neutral shots (shots that aren’t an obvious cue for you to attack yet don’t put you under much pressure) for the entirety of the match. Sometimes you’ll come off thinking they’ve done very little… yet you’ve lost 6-0 6-0. Seize your opportunities to be offensive!
Show this player you mean business! Warm up your serve and your short balls before you come onto the court to give yourself any possibility of dictating points.
2) Find Your Neutral Shot
Continuing on this idea of the opponent seemingly doing very little, the best players at your club will do the basics incredibly well.
What are the basics? The player that makes the most mistakes so often loses the match. You have to limit those mistakes as much as you can by ensuring you have got your neutral shots (your standard rally balls) on lock.
You have to find a rally tempo where you can make 9 out of 10 of your shots with depth.
The ball has to stay deep in the court (past the service line is a good target on every ball). Your opponent is only human - if they hit a blistering winner from a metre behind the baseline, you say too good… and you ask them to do it again. There’s only so much anyone in the world can do if they’re constantly pushed behind the baseline (just ask Daniil Medvedev how he’s won five titles this year). Make sure there is good shape and height on your rally ball to keep them from stepping in.
The word tempo is key here. If you want to stay as consistent as you can, find the pace you’re comfortable hitting at and maintain it. Don’t slow the swing down, don’t speed it up - find a natural swing speed where you can make balls over and over again and ask your opponent to do something special from behind the baseline over and over again.
If you’re spraying unforced errors, your opponent will cotton on quickly and won’t take on any risks. Show you are as solid as a rock by finding a deep, consistent rally ball.
3) Play To Your Strengths
I’ll repeat: DO NOT swing wildly for the fences and hope dearly that you’ll make that 5% shot 100 times in a row.
If you are playing someone better than you (but not out-of-this-world better than you), then the only chance you’ve got is to play repeatably offensive tennis. You have your neutral rally balls, shots that give away absolutely nothing - now find a way to work the point using weapons you know you have.
If you don’t have a backhand down the line, do not keep going for that shot!
If you’ve never hit an Alcaraz-style forehand-fake-to-drop-shot winner in your life, DO NOT GO FOR THAT SHOT!
Use your favourite methods of point construction. This is the only sure-fire way for you to put any pressure on your opponent who will likely be comfortable trading neutral balls from the back of the court.
Yes, a tactical change may be necessary at some point in the match if your opponent cottons on to your strengths and weaknesses.
For as long as you can though, play your strongest brand of percentage tennis. Identify your strengths and use them to put pressure on your opponent!
4) Believe
Now here’s the kicker.
You can play the match of your life against a phenomenal opponent. You can play the great percentage tennis you were hoping to play. You’ll likely be exceptionally proud of yourself regardless of what happens because you were expecting nothing before the match started.
You can do all of that… but getting yourself over the line - actually getting the W - is a whole other story.
I’ve been there. I’ve found myself in positions to close out sets against first division opponents in Glasgow after playing some of the steadiest tennis I know how to play. When it actually got to the crunch moment though - when I actually had to close out the set - I blinked.
The first time I double faulted on set point trying to go for way too much.
The second time I was up 5-3 30-0 and I second serve and volleyed.
I completely abandoned my game plan. I was nervous and the usual lengthy rallies didn’t seem particularly appealing. In those moments, I let panic set in. I doubted myself and walked away from the percentage tennis that was working for me.
The next time I have the opportunity to play up, I’ll know better.
There will be moments of doubt.
Remember how you got yourself in a winning position and focus on maintaining that unwavering belief. You can win this match…
BELIEVE!
Summary
You can beat this player. Say it with me now…
1. Come out hot by warming up your serve and short balls.
2. Find a neutral rally ball you can keep deep in the court.
3. Don’t swing for the fences - play to your strengths.
4. YOU CAN BEAT THIS PLAYER - BELIEVE!
As always, any questions or thoughts, tweet me @ontheline_jack. Happy hitting!
Jack Edward is a tennis analyst and host of the On The Line podcast, which takes regular deep dives into ATP and WTA tour matches. He’s also a qualified LTA coach and on Talking Tennis he brings his unique analytical insights to help club and recreational players to be more effective on the court.
See also:
How to improve your tennis as an adult - and get the most from coaching
Tennis practice: How to get the most out of a hit
Cut down on unforced errors - a simple tip for practicing patience
How to deal with nerves during a tennis match – 4 practical tips
How to practice your second serve consistency
Image top via depositphotos.com
