Tennis Singles Strategy: 8 Tactics to Help You Win!
Today you are going to learn the 8 fundamental singles strategies you need to improve your singles game. These strategies lay the foundation for any tactical game plan and are essential to succeed on the court.
- Why Singles Strategy Matters in Tennis
- #1: Out-Rally the Opponent
- #2: Play Aggressively
- #3: Play Your Strengths
- #4: Hit the Ball to the Opponentโs Weakness
- #5: Attack the Net
- #6: Bring the Opponent to the Net
- #7: Use Variety to Create Mistakes or Short balls
- #8: Open the Court
- Combine All 8 Strategies to Become an Elite Singles Player
WHY SINGLES STRATEGY MATTERS IN TENNIS
Taking off in a random direction is seldom the best way to get to your desired destination. You may get there if you are lucky but most likely you will need to call for help when you find yourself lost.
Although obvious, most tennis players seem to play that way, randomly!
They get on the court and start hitting balls, reacting to the opponentโs shots and hoping their shot combinations will be enough to win the point. In reality unless you have a clear goal for each point, also known as a strategy, you will not be able to play up to your potential. You may win some days but you will certainly not play at the level you are capable of.
A good strategic plan on the court is like having a GPS in your car. It keeps you on the right track. So, if you want to win more matches here is your singles match play GPS.
The good news is that there are only a limited number of viable strategic options during singles play. In other words, there are only a few different ways to win points.
- Out-Rally your opponent
- Play aggressively
- Play your strengths
- Hit the ball to your opponentโs weakness
- Attack the net
- Bring your opponent to the net
- Use variety to create mistakes or a short balls
- Open the court
Letโs take a closer look at these strategies and give you some ideas on how to practice them. Here is the list with some ideas on how to practice them.
STRATEGY #1: OUT-RALLY THE OPPONENT
The goal here is to win the point by keeping the ball in play until the opponent misses, so consistency and depth are essential.
Your task is to avoid any unforced errors by playing safely and retrieving all of your opponentโs shots, while at the same time hitting the ball deep enough to prevent the opponent from being aggressive.
For this strategy to work you need to:
- Hit the ball at a pace that you can control.
- Pick large targets on the court.
- Hit high over the net and away from the lines.
- Be ready to run down ball
In addition, you will hit mostly cross court since cross court shots allow you to hit over the low part of the net and into a longer hitting area. In other words you become a human ball machine, outlasting your opponent.
Here are a few drills to help you hone this skill.
DRILLS TO IMPROVE YOUR CONSISTENCY
1. Rally with a partner.
One of you hits crosscourt and the other down the line. Try to see how many balls you can hit without mistakes, then, change roles.
