Tennis problem-solving – four tactics from the pros you can use on court now
From dealing with moonballs to players who keep you on the defensive, sometimes you need to put away your A-game and adapt and problem-solve on the court. Jack shares four tips he’s picked up from pro tennis players do exactly that…
I recently attended a W25 event in Glasgow.
If you’ve never seen professional tennis live, get out there and tick it off your bucket list!
The game is enthralling enough on the screen but there are a few dimensions you gain court-side that get lost from that misrepresentative angle on TV high above the court.
There were four tactics I learned from watching the pros live in Glasgow that wouldn’t have been so obvious watching tennis on the telly.
With some practice, you should be able to use some of these tactics to improve your own tennis IQ in a match!
1. Vary height to buy yourself time
Think every single shot from a pro player skims the net by a whisker?
Think again!
The pros in Glasgow mixed up the height of their groundstrokes in response to how close they were to the baseline. The logic is simple really - the further back you are in the court…
The more risky it becomes to marginally clear the net as your target is further away.
The less rewarding it becomes to only just clear the net as you won’t be able to take time away from your opponent and your ball is more likely to fall short.
It’s fascinating to watch players recognise when they are in a defensive situation. Their objective in their strike switches from taking time away from the opponent to buying themselves time (contrastingly, when the pros earned themselves a short ball, they would often take the ball lower over the net).
Not every ball has to be absolutely rifled back to the other side of the court. A loopy neutralising ball from behind the baseline is likely to be far more effective than a risky attempt at an all-out winner.
2. Deal with loopy moonballs by taking them early
I’m sure you’ve faced this type of shot before - but to the nth degree at club level. The pusher; the moon-baller; the junk-baller; whatever you’ve dubbed this type of player, their high, loopy balls can lead to unforced errors galore from your side of the net.
When the pros had to deal with these loopier defensive balls, they did a fantastic job of staying on the front-foot in the rally.
How?
By taking the ball extremely early.
Stepping in to take the ball on the rise is an oft-overlooked way of maintaining aggression at club level. Sure, it’s tougher than sitting behind the baseline to take on a moonball whilst it’s dropping but club players don’t give themselves a chance at getting the timing right.
Not necessarily because they’re bad players but because they never practice taking loopy balls on the rise.
You don’t have to boom winners like the athletes at the W25 in Glasgow. The advantage of taking the ball this early is it gives your opponent less time to recover and it allows you to hit the ball closer to the net. Even hitting with a moderate amount of pace into the space you’ve created will allow you to maintain your advantage in the point.
Practice makes perfect. Grab a partner and practice hitting loopy balls on the rise into the open court.
3. Dealing With Slow Balls
How do you respond to an opponent giving you slow balls?
Whilst the professionals didn’t overplay slow balls like our aforementioned pusher-type player, there was the odd defensive shot that would come crawling back to the baseline. I expected to see an injection of pace in response but the reality was far more intelligent.
The pros didn’t try to add a ton of pace to balls without pace. This involve taking on a lot of risk for little reward, particularly if the slow ball landed deep in the court.
Instead they’d draw their opponent off the court with a sharp angle. The intention wasn’t to try to finish the point in one shot from this position - they were opening up the space on the first ball, being aggressive with placement before adding pace to the second ball when the court was opened up.
In short, if your opponent is feeding you slow balls with depth, don’t overheat yourself trying to add 30mph to the ball. Respond to the opponent’s lack of pace in kind by using an angled groundstroke to open up the court before using the space you’ve earned yourself to finish the point.
4. Close down the net as much as possible
In both singles and doubles, when professional players take on a volley, they make sure it’s as easy as they can possibly make it.
How?
By closing down the space between them and the net as much as possible before making contact with the volley.
This makes the things easier in so many ways.
Body weight is travelling forward meaning the volley will have more pace and will be easier to control.
Less room between them and the net means less likelihood of hitting the net.
Angles on the court become wider as the player gets closer to the net.
It’s important to note the pros will generally hang a little further back before the opponent has made contact with the ball. Not only does this allow them to cover the lob, it also gives them the space to move forward rather being forced to come to a grinding halt by the time the ball touches their racket.
Playing a volley? Take a leaf out of the pro’s book and make contact with that volley moving forward and as close to the net as possible.
Summary
Here are those teaching points summarised…
Vary the height of your shot depending on how far behind the baseline you are.
Practice taking loopy balls on the rise.
Respond to slow balls by opening up the court with angles.
Close down the space between you and the net when volleying.
You can’t go wrong taking tennis tips from some of the best players in the world. It was a fascinating tournament in Glasgow - I implore you to watch some live tennis as soon as possible to see some of these tactics in action.
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:
Tennis tactics: 5 simple, effective doubles strategies for club players
Doubles Play: How to stop worrying about your volleys and start loving the net
Tips for playing smart tennis in bad weather and tricky conditions
How to deal with the lob in doubles - 5 simple tactics for club players
