- Cross-court, down-the-line redirection. Work the cross court hitting lane until you get a shorter ball or a ball you can attack. Then redirect the ball down-the-line. Flatten the ball out and drive the ball through the court to give your opponent less chance of recovery. Follow your ball into the net in the event your opponent does get to the ball (to finish with a “mop up” volley).
- Grind (extend the rally). Determine your opponent’s shot threshold and then work the point to get that one extra ball in play to force an error by your opponent.
- Draw your opponent in and then lob. Draw your opponent into the net with a chip, drop shot and/or angle and then hit a lob with your next shot over the extended reach of his/her racquet.
- Draw your opponent in and then pass. Similarly, draw your opponent into the net on your terms with a chip, drop shot and/or angle. Hit a cross-court angle or down-the-line pass with your next shot.
- Hit behind your opponent. Work the cross court hitting lane. Draw your opponent off court and then when your opponent scrambles to get back into the court hit behind your opponent preferably with a cross court angle.
- Serve and volley. Serve and close into the net with your serve. Follow the line of your serve and then volley deep to set up your next volley and/or volley to the open court.
- Approach and volley. Pounce and close on the short ball. Follow the line of your ball into the net (protecting the line and down-the-line pass) and volley to the open court. Hit most of your approach shots down-the-line for the best positioning coverage advantage.
- Drop shot. Hit a drop shot when your opponent is pinned back behind the baseline.
- Use your serve to open up the court. Serve out wide and then redirect your next shot to the open court (opposite side of the court). Serve down-the-middle drawing your opponent to middle of the court. Hit a cross-court angle with your next shot.
- Disrupt the rhythm of your opponent. Elicit an error by your opponent by varying pace, spin, net clearance, trajectory and where and how you hit the ball in relation to the bounce and court position. Take time away from your opponent by hitting the ball earlier on the bounce, mix heavy topspin with slice, change the trajectory of your shots, vary velocity and depth, etc. Make things uncomfortable for your opponent.
Ten Ways to Successfully Finish the Point (Singles)
Published
Ten Things Tennis 