Lesson 11: Tennis Singles Strategies with Ryan Reidy

After reviewing my Singles tennis matchplay against Gerardo de Leon, Ryan explained the best strategies for my team and me.

Here is the video of my Zoom Lesson with Ryan on Singles Strategies.

 

Main Singles Strategies

1. Serve
• On the first serve, always serve to your opponent's backhand. For a right-handed player, it would serve to the T on the deuce side and right-corner on the ad side. For a left-handed player, just the opposite
• On the second serve, always aim for the center of the box. You want the ball to go in.
• There is no need to be unpredictable by varying spins, serve types
2. Return
• On the first serve (or any fast serve), return to the middle of the court
• On the second serve (or any slow serve), aim for corners
3. Rally
• Try to rally cross-court as much as possible. This requires less re-positioning after hitting the ball.
• If hitting down the line, immediately move to the new position to cover your opponent's new position.
4. Net Approach
• If the incoming ball lands short, come forward and volley it to either corner.
5. Opponent Net Approach
• When the opponent approaches the net, hit the first ball to the opponent (do not try to avoid the opponent)
• On the second short

Additional Considerations

1. Overheads
• Don't try to hit overhead balls on the rise. If timing is tricky, just patty-cake the ball.
2. Winning Percentage
1. You only need to win 55% of all points to win a match. That is 1 out of 20 points! You must be comfortable losing 45% of all shots.