As a tennis coach, during a tennis lesson, I often observe my tennis students trying to crush a ball in the hopes of hitting a winner only to wind up hitting the ball into the net or out long.
There is a very important concept in tennis that you need to understand. The faster you grasp this concept the better off you’ll be. Are you ready? Here it is… Not every shot in tennis is meant to be hit for a winner. Let me say that again, not every shot in tennis is meant to be hit for a winner! In other words, it is very important to choose wisely the type of shot you want to hit. Deciding what shot to hit is largely based on the type of ball that is hit to you. For example, such things as the speed, height, pace, depth of the shot and court position of your opponent are all factors. All these variables come into play when deciding whether a ball can and/or should be hit for a winner.
For example a slow, high bouncing ball that lands in the middle of the court is a good candidate for attempting a winner. In contrast, a hard low ball that pins you behind your own baseline is not a ball that I would try to hit a winner off of. You must choose wisely to increase your chances of winning the point. Good shot selection is important because it reduces our probability of producing errors.
Another example would be when to hit a drop shot. For example, if you are behind the baseline, the degree of difficulty of hitting a successful drop shot is high. However, if you get a medium or high ball near the service line, your chances of hitting a successful drop shot are much higher.
I like this article on shot selection..
If you would like to know more about this topic or how can it be applied to your own game, you can get in contact with me or book a one on one On-court private coaching session, I will be happy to help you achieve your Tennis Goals!
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