Return to my Tennis pages
Go to my home page
© Copyright 2001, Jim Loy
I've played some ugly tennis players in my time, and I'm not talking about their faces. I'm talking about the way they play. They haven't learned the classic strokes. They do everything wrong. They poke at the ball, swing at their volleys, and probably don't know what kind of grip they are using. And they (sometimes) beat the daylights out of me. Ever happen to you? Frustrating, isn't it?
How is this possible, when they are obviously no good? The answer is that they are good. If you were to keep stats, you would find that they hit the ball into the court far more often than you do. Really. You, with your smooth strokes, probably do not hit a good percentage of your ground strokes into the court. You may equate hitting the line with a hard stroke to be a winner. In fact, that shot is generally a mistake, and should be punished. And the ugly player is just the person to punish you. You need to shoot a higher percentage. And if that means easing up on your shots, and playing longer points, then so be it. Of course, you should move your opponent around. But quit going for the lines.
The only time that going for the lines seems to work is when your opponent is doing the same thing. Then the better (or luckier) player tends to win. But it is easier to win by hitting the ball into the court, and letting your opponent hit the lines.
Unless you are a pro, you are going to win way more points with opponent mistakes than with winning shots. So there is no good reason to go for the lines, unless you want to lose.