Player Development Journal

Player Development Journal

Winning in Singles Basic Ideas: Never change a winning strategy. Always change a losing strategy. Sometimes you win by making the opponent lose. Approach the match as a process you will figure out how to succeed. Every error on your part or winner from the opponent is forgotten. Tell yourself the next thing you do is will be positive. Focus on what you can control. The Strategy K A SH 1. Keep it in. If you can hit it in more than the opponent you will win. If this works, you don t need to force shots. If this is not working, then hit with more purpose. See step 2. 2. Be Annoying. Find a high percentage shot that will cause your opponent to miss. Only use the annoying shot when you feel strong. Don t aim at the lines. Hit defensively High, Deep, In) when necessary. Examples: Hit to their backhand Hit deep shots maybe to the backhand) Hit high bouncing shots maybe to the backhand, this could be just high lobs) Hit short shots followed by lobs, Hit short shots followed by shots to the open court Hit short shots followed by or another short shot if they are moving away from the net Hit a wide variety of spins If you cannot create errors from the opponent to miss, you must take action/risks to end the point. 3. SHorten the point. If steps 1 and 2 are not successful, then you have to be able to win with your offense. Use high percentage annoying shots until a weak shot allows you to hit a winner. Know your strengths for the setup short, deep, or wide to backhand) and the finish how hard to hit and where to aim). Examples: Hit wide left, then wide right angles) Hit an approach shot and come to the net Bring them to the net and hit a passing shot Serve and Volley Attack balls you can come forward to hit from a strong balanced position.

KASH singles strategy Step 1 Keep it in. Step 2 High % shots that Annoy opponent > Hit to their backhand > Hit deep shots maybe to the backhand) > Hit high bouncing shots maybe to the backhand, this could be just high lobs) > Hit short shots followed by lobs, > Hit short shots followed by shots to the open court > Hit short shots followed by or another short shot if they are moving away from the net > Hit a wide variety of spins Step 3 SHorten the point. If steps 1 and 2 are not successful, then you have to be able to win with your offense. Use high percentage annoying shots until a weak shot allows you to hit a winner. Know your strengths for the setup short, deep, or wide to backhand) and the finish how hard to hit and where to aim). > Hit wide left, then wide right angles) > Hit an approach shot and come to the net > Bring them to the net and hit a passing shot > Serve and Volley > Attack balls you can come forward to hit from a strong balanced position.

SinglesStrategy Basics: 1. Knowyourstrengthnetplay,forehands,heavytopspin,etc.). 2. Frombehindthebaseline,hitsmarthighshots5feetovernettobehindtheserviceline,avoidheavy topspinmovingbackwards).don tbeafraidtolob adeeplobtothebackhandisasmartshot.do NOTtrytowinthepointfrombehindthebaseline.Afteryourshot,recovertothebaseline. 3. Fromthebaseline,trytohitshotsthatkeeptheopponentoffbalanceandhittingoutsideoftheir comfortzonerunningtotheside,backward,forward,nonlbouncingflatorsliceshot,dropshot,high bouncingtopspinorbaselineshot,deeplob,strongtothebackhand).yourgoalistomakeyour opponenthitaweakshot.don tforcethisstrategywhenoffbalance playdefensive. 4. Yourstrategyontheweakballisplayerspecificseebelow). 5. HaveaGoLToBaselineshot: a. Backhand b. AngleLeftthenRightthenLeftetc. c. CrossLcourt 6. Keepshotstotheopponent sbackhandasmuchaspossible. 7. Findtheareaofthecourtwhereyouropponentisweakandputthemthereeverypoint 8. RememberthatcrossLcourtisthehighpercentageshotlowestnetandlongestcourt). 9. NEVERhitinthenet.Wideisalsoabadmiss.Aim2L3feetinsidethelineonaggressiveshots. GeneralStrategies Hittothebackhand. Don tmissanyshotandoutrallyyouropponent. Findtheshotyouropponenthatestohitandmakehimhititrepeatedlylobs,dropshots). Makehimrunforward,backward,left,right,etc. Ifopponentcomestothenet,playtoyourstrengthlobversuspassingshot)andhitthesmartshotbasedon whereyouareonthecourtandifyouarebalancedandstrong.watchtheball,nottheopponent. Recommendation:makethemhitabackhandoverheadwhilebackingup. TheServe Position:Betweenthecentermarkandhalfwaytothesinglesline.Aftertheserve,movetothecenterline. Masterthe3typesofserves:wide,body,andT.Servestandinghalfwaybetweenthecentermarkandthefar alleyline.usetheservethatsetsupyourstrategy.

TheReturn Thefundamentals: Whentheballistossed,youcomeoffyourhealschopfeet,dosplitstep)andlockeyesontheball. Watchtheballfromthetossallthewayintoyourstrings. Assoonasyouknowifyouneedtohitaforehandofbackhandwhichoccursbeforetheballcrosses thenet),youmusttaketheracquetbackandturnyourfeetandbody. Thebackswingisshort,quick,anddirectnoloop). DoNOToverswingonafastserve. Ifyouseetheballout,callitquicklyanddecisively.Ifitisalet,callitquicklyanddecisively. Agoodservewillbeblockedtothehighpercentagearea. Firstservereturn: Standslightlybehindbaselinehalfwaybetweenthecentermarkandthefaralleyline. Iftheserverhasnotshownhecanhitwide,thencheattothecentertohitmoreforehands. Onafirstserve,takeaDefensiveMindset. BadReturns:inthenet,slowfloaters,othershotsthatallowtheservertocontrolthepace. OKReturns:blockedballhittotheT,lobstothecenterofthebackcourt. GoodReturns:ballsthatmaketheserverrunwideorforward,ballsthatbounceclosetothebaseline thattheserverhitsattheirfeetorareforcedtobackup,lobstothebackhandside. Secondservereturn: Standinfrontofthebaselinehalfwaybetweenthecentermarkandthefaralleyline. Iftheserverhasnotshownhecanhitwide,thencheattothecentertohitmoreforehands. AllservesareconsideredBad,OK,andGoodidenticaltoabove. Onasecondserve,takeanOffensiveMindset.Viewsecondservesasbreakpointopportunities. Masterreturningthe3typesofserves:wide,body,andT. Afterthereturn,movetothecenterofthebaselinetohaveachanceatalltypesofshots.

PlayerType1:TheStrongNetPlayerZach) Weakballsarehitasapproachshotsandfollowedtothenet. GoodShots: deeptobackhand shotthatbouncesaboveorbelowhiscomfortzone,likethelowchip shotsthatmustbehitoffbalance,likewideshot Yourgoalontheapproachistodoasplitstepinfrontoftheserviceline.Considerhispossibleshotangles andplaceyourselfinthemiddle.yournextshotisbasedonthestrengthofyouropponent sshot. Wheretohittheball Whenyouarestrongballishigh)youshouldaimforstrongangleshottotheserviceline. Whenyouareweakballisloworyouareoffbalance)youshouldaimatthebaselinetothe opponent sbackhand. Ifyouropponenthithisshotfromawidepartofthecourt,hitshorttotheoppositesideandbeready topounceonhisshot. Afteryourfirstvolley,movetothenetuntilyouareabouthalfwaybetweenthenetandserviceline. Moveaccordingtoyourpartner sshotandthepossibleanglestheopponentcanhit.iftheballissentwide, takeabigsteptowardthealley. Onoverheads,playtoyourstrengthandifyouareweak,letitdropandtakeitasagroundstroke. LearntoServeandVolley. Onagoodlob,rushthenet. Ifopponentcomestothenet,playtoyourstrengthlobversuspassingshot)andhitthesmartshotbasedon whereyouareonthecourtandifyouarebalancedandstrong.watchtheball,nottheopponent. Recommendation:makethemhitabackhandoverheadwhilebackingup. AserveLandLvolleyerhasagreatnetgame,isquickaroundthenet,andhasfinetouchforvolleys.ServeLandLvolleyers comeuptothenetateveryopportunitywhenserving.theyarealmostalwaysattackersandcanhitmanywinnerswithvarietiesof volleysanddropvolleys.whennotserving,theyoftenemploythe"chiplandlcharge",chippingbacktheservewithoutattemptingto hitawinnerandrushingthenet.theservelandlvolleyers'strategyistopressuretheopponenttotrytohitdifficultpassingshots. SomeofthegreatonesinhistoryareJackKramer,FrankSedgman,PanchoGonzales,RoyEmerson,LewHoad,JohnMcEnroe,Boris Becker,GoranIvanisevic,PeteSampras,StefanEdberg,PatrickRafter,RichardKrajicek,TimHenman,JanaNovotnáandMartina Navratilova,AmelieMauresmo.Someplayers,suchasTommyHaas,RogerFedererandAndyRoddickwillonlyemploythisstrategy ongrasscourtsorasasurprisetacticonanysurface.rogerfedererusesthiscommonlyagainstrafaelnadaltobreakuplongrallies andphysicallytaxinggames. AllLcourtplayershaveaspectsofeverytennisstyle,whetherthatbeoffensivebaseliner,defensivecounterLpuncheror servelandlvolleyer.alllcourtplayersusethebestbitsfromeachstyleandmixittogethertocreateatrulyformidabletennisstyleto playagainst.ingamesituations,theyhavetheabilitytoselectanactionusuallyexecutedbyonetennisstyle.theyusuallyhavean attackinggame,mixingsomegroundstrokesandvolleystokeeptheopponentguessing.mostalllcourtplayerswon'trushthenet immediatelyafteraservelikeatypicalserveandvolleyplayerwould.however,theirgameoftenrevolvesaround"constructing"a pointtowheretheywillbeabletoapproachthenetandputawayaneasyvolleyorpullingtheiropponentintothenetandhittinga passingshot.theyareveryversatile;whenanalllcourtplayer'sbaselinegameisnotworking,hemayswitchtoanetgame,andvice versa.alllcourtplayershavetheabilitytoadjusttodifferentopponentsthatplaydifferentstyleseasierthanpurebaselinersorserve andvolleyers.alllcourtplayersstereotypicallyhavethespeed,determinationandfitnessofadefensivecounterlpuncher,the confidence,skillandflairofoffensivebaselinersandhavethetouch,theagilityaroundthenetandtacticalthinkingoftheservelandl volleyer.butjustbecausethealllcourtplayerhasacombinationofskillsusedbyalltennisstylesdoesn'tnecessarilymeanthatthey couldbeatanoffensivebaselineroradefensivecounterlpuncherorevenaservelandlvolleyer.itjustmeansitwouldbemore

difficulttoreadthegameofanalllcourtplayer.amongthebestalllcourtplayersofalltimeare:billtilden,ellsworthvines,rod LaverandSteffiGraf,RogerFederer,NovakĐoković,AmélieMauresmo. PlayerType2:TheStrongGroundstrokePlayerPaul,Sean) Weakballsarehitasstingersaggressiveplacements).Hittheballtooneofthefourcornershotsshown below: Afteryourshot,dropbacktothebaseline. Onlyhitaggressivelyfromthebaselineifyouareextremelybalancedandconfident. Onshortshotsthatyouropponenthitstobringyoutothenet,hitadropshotandreturntobaseline. Ifopponentcomestothenet,playtoyourstrengthlobversuspassingshot)andhitthesmartshotbasedon whereyouareonthecourtandifyouarebalancedandstrong.watchtheball,nottheopponent. Recommendation:makethemhitabackhandoverheadwhilebackingup. Anoffensiveoraggressivebaselinertriestowinthepointbyhittingwinnersfromthebackofthecourt, attackingwithfastpenetratingballsthattheopponentcannotreachorreturneffectivelytogetthembackin thepoint.beinganoffensivebaselinerplayerrequiresadeadlyarrayofshotsandshotltypes.thetennis playermaynottrytowinthepointoutrightwithoneshot,butinsteadmayhittheballfromsidetosideuntil he/shespotsanopening.offensivebaselinersnormallyhaveatleastonegreatgroundstroke,forehandor backhand.thebestoffensivebaselinershaveahugeservetogowithagreatgroundstrokeorcanhithuge groundstrokesoffbothwings.usuallyoffensivebaselinersaswellasdefensiveplayers)havetheabilityto readthegameverywellandalsotheiropponents'stylesandtendenciessothattheycanspotaweaknessand useoneoftheiraggressiveshotstoactuponit. Anoffensivebaselinercanoverpowerandoverwhelmmostopposition.However,whengoingforwinners, he/shecanalsoproducemanyerrorssinceanoffensivebaselinerhastorepeatedlyandcorrectlyexecutethe mostdifficultstrokesandshotsintennis.errorscanbeduetophysicaland/ormentalreasonssuchasfatigue and/orhesitation.twogreatoldltimeplayers,r.norriswilliamsandellsworthvines,werefamousforbeing unbeatablewhentheirstrokeswere"on";theyplayedwithsuchlittlemarginforerrorinmakingtheirstrokes, however,thatwhentheywerenot100percent"on"theycouldbebeatenbyotherplayers.another advantageinbeinganoffensivebaselinerissincetheshotstheydoareusuallyveryambitiousor"highrisk" anddifficulttoachieve,theoffensivebaselinerexecutingthesesometimestrulyamazingshotscanshockand stuntheoppositionwhichincreasesconfidencetotheoffensivebaselinerandlowerstheopponent's confidence. Professionalswhoplaythisway:IvanLendl,JimCourier,AndreAgassi,SteffiGraf,MonicaSeles,Fernando Gonzalez,JuanMartíndelPotro,JamesBlake,NikolayDavydenko,SerenaWilliams,VenusWilliams,Jelena Janković,DinaraSafina,MariaSharapovaandAnaIvanović.

PlayerType3:TheCounterCpunchingPlayerZach) Findhisweaknessandexploitit.AnnoyHimMakehimhitisleastfavoriteshotsfromhisleastfavoritespot onthecourt. Neverhititinthenetorout.Keepingtheballinplayismoreimportantthanhittinghardshots. Thiscausesyouropponenttofallapartphysicallyandmentally. WeakballsarehitasminiLstingersslightlyaggressiveplacements).Hittheballtothecornerthatrepresents youropponent sweakness. Afteryourshot,dropbacktothebaseline. Onoccasion,itisOKtohitaggressivelyfromthebaselineifyouareextremelybalancedandconfident.Thisis forchangeofpace. Onshortshotsthatyouropponenthitstobringyoutothenet,hitadropshotandreturntobaseline. Ifopponentcomestothenet,playtoyourstrengthlobversuspassingshot)andhitthesmartshotbasedon whereyouareonthecourtandifyouarebalancedandstrong.watchtheball,nottheopponent. Recommendation:makethemhitabackhandoverheadwhilebackingup. Adefensivebaseliner,orcounterLpuncherorretriever,returnseveryballandreliesontheopponentmaking mistakes.he/shehasconsistentshots,makesfewerrorsofhisownwhilemakingitdifficultforopponentsto hitwinners.thegameofthedefensivecounterlpuncherhasmoretodowithphysicalenduranceand determinationtoretrieveunlretrievableballsaswellasmentalstamina.theytendtomakerelativelyfew errorsbecausetheydon'tattemptthecomplicatedandambitiousshotsoftheaggressivebaseliner.butthat doesn'tmeantheydon'teverattemptaggressiveshots.acounterlpunchermusthavespeedandagilityto coverthecourt.he/sheisafighter,andhastohavewillingnesstochasedowneveryballtofrustrate opponents.especiallyoffensivebaselinerswhonaturallyhaveafieryattitudeandflair,returningevery aggressiveshotwhichtheydowilljustencouragetheiraggressivenessandthusencouragingerrorsand mistakes.usually,thedefensivecounterlpuncherfrustratestheiropponentsomuchthattheiropponent mightactuallytrytochangetheirgamebyeithercomingtothenetinwhichcasetheycanjustexecute "PassingShots"downthelinesorcrossLcourtdependingonthesituation),orbyattemptingtoalsobea defensivecounterlpuncher.counterlpunchersareoftenparticularlystrongplayersatlowllevelplay,where opponentscannotmakewinnerswithregularity. Professionalswhousethisstrategy:MatsWilander,BjörnBorg,GuillermoVilas,MichaelChang,ChrisEvert, ArantxaSánchezVicario,MartinaHingis,RafaelNadal,AndyMurray,LleytonHewitt,GaëlMonfils,Jelena Janković,CarolineWozniacki,AgnieszkaRadwanskaandKimClijsters.