What Type of Player Are You?

Tom Downs

In between lessons at my club I often walk around the outside courts and observe matches between club level players and high performance junior level players. While all players seem to hit the ball well for their respective levels, the one thing that stands out is the lack of smart tennis being played. Too often players and coaches dwell on the latest technical happenings in the sport, but at the end of the day one of the most important aspects at all levels is playing the style of tennis that gives you the best chance to win. The game plan must be all about what you do best versus what your opponent does least best.

I cannot tell you how many times I see smaller sized players trying to blow opponents away when they should be working the points more, or a taller player standing way back behind the baseline and playing a passive brand of tennis even after hitting a relatively big first serve.

On the practice courts I always see players training and working hard by running side to side and hitting a lot of balls, but are they working on things that might help them better their style of play? The fact is, most of them don’t even understand how they should be playing. It is important that players at all levels understand how they should be playing and establish their own identity. Once you have determined this, then it is a matter of playing smart, and under control, then using hurt and finish tactics.

Vera's backhand was her stronger side so we set up patterns designed to take advantage of it.

Get You Identity Right

Several years ago I coached former world number one junior and top 50 WTA pro Vera Dushevina. During our first session, I asked Vera how she thought she needed to play. She told me her forehand needed to improve and that was all she was working on. I said okay but how are you going to win more matches next year? She just said if her forehand gets better she would win more. Not a completely wrong answer, just not the one along the lines I had in mind.

Vera used a full western grip on the forehand side, so we changed that slightly during the off season. Tactically, she thought she needed to hit crosscourt forehands all day long. I disagreed with this as she is an aggressive baseliner with a dominant backhand and a good serve. I believed we needed to use the forehand to set up the stronger backhand side, which means the down the line forehand is very important. This is because the highest percentage play for the opponent is then to hit the backhand or lefty forehand crosscourt to Vera's stronger backhand side. So our basic guideline pattern once the point started was to hit maybe 1 or 2 crosscourt forehands and then play a high heavy forehand drive down the line hoping to get the opponent into a backhand to backhand exchange. Once the backhand to backhand started, she could go down the line when she was on top of or inside the baseline, or if the opponent played a ball which was considered more of an inside ball (a ball that doesn’t travel across a players body). For short balls in the middle of the court, she would hit a backhand. Well it blew my mind how effective this pattern became.

While we continued to work on the forehand and other parts of her game, this pattern helped Vera rise more than 30 spots in the rankings over a short period of time. In our first five matches together, she won more than she did the entire past 18 months. It amazed me even more that none of the opposing players and their coaches seemed to figure it out let alone counter it.

So to all you club level players and juniors out there, do not be surprised if a coach asks you what type of player are you? And if you're unsure, you fit the boat of most tennis players. Make the effort to find out. It is important to be clear about how you should play. Those that are not, often think too much on court and get confused because of their lack of clarity.

I used to watch Martina Hingis practice a lot. Martina hit every shot with a purpose and knew how to play all court tennis almost to perfection. She never tried overpowering anyone, because she knew she couldn't but she used the whole court very well. I once asked her coach and mother what made her so smart and she gave me a simple answer. She said, “Tom just teach the girls one or two simple patterns once you have told them how they need to play. Martina knows to change direction on the forehand by playing a loop shot down the line. She only has one option here. This loop forehand will more times than not have the opponent play to Martina's stronger backhand side. It is all about keeping things simple.”

Well that answer has always stuck with me. And to this day, regardless of all the technical advances to our great sport, this aspect of the game hasn't changed. The key to getting you players to play smart tennis is to provide them with a game plan that makes how they need to play very clear and concise.

So, a great idea for club players, and really anyone just starting off with a new coach, is to ask that new coach how you need to play, meaning what type of player are you. Then, simulate point situations in practice based around your strengths. For example, if you have a big serve and a big forehand do a lot of serve and first ball forehand point situations. A common one here would be serve wide to the deuce court, have your sparring partner return through the middle or crosscourt (most likely places a returner will return this serve in a match) and then hit your forehand deep to the opposite corner. Practice this pattern over and over again.

What Does the Word Pattern Really Mean?

In our sport, we often hear the word pattern thrown around. Some are referring to tactics as in various patterns of play, others are talking about footwork patterns as in contact moves, and some may use patterns to refer to something a player does towards the end of the match when the pressure is on, such as getting nervous at four all in the final set or when trying to serve out a match.

I am not one for teaching students to become robots, meaning I tell them to hit, for example, two crosscourt one down-the-line the entire match. I want them to be able to think for themselves. Once they've gotten their player identity right, I give them playing "patterns" that best fit their style, with the understanding that these patterns are strictly playing guidelines and can be altered at any time during a match. After all, the patterns of play in a match are never exactly the same. And how can they be?

I find that once players understand their playing guidelines or patterns, they tend to start making better decisions under pressure as they have a better  understanding as to what they need to do. The only pattern of play that is always the same might be the serve and first shot.

Federer, along with vast majority of forehand dominant players, when serving to the deuce court, will regularly use a wide serve followed by a forehand down the line if the opponent returns cross. This is a pattern Federer has perfected and it works against everyone. I would encourage all club level players with dominant forehands to rehearse this pattern. Practice it 30 times in a row.

Control, Hurt and Finish

I love the basic Bolletieri concept of control, hurt and finish tactics. Control, hurt and finish tactics are different for everyone but the basic idea of taking control of the point, then hurting the opponent when given the opportunity ball, or as Bolletieri would say "green light" ball, and finishing by either forcing the opponent into an error, hitting a winner or ending at net in some fashion, are the same. Once you know how you need to play, you can figure out how to take control of points. If you have a big serve and big forehand and a suspect backhand, you want to use your serve and then look for a forehand as the first shot so you can take control immediately. You then want to look to keep using your forehand and look to come forwards and end at net. Against certain players, like fast counter punchers, you may have to hit more and bigger forehands before earning the opportunity ball than you would if you played someone slower who doesn’t play great defense.

The following is an example of a simple but very effective control, hurt and finish drill you might use against an aggressive baseliner. Divide your side of the court into thirds perpendicular to the net. Start by hitting crosscourt forehands. The goal is to hit deep crosscourt to first take control of the exchange so that you earn a ball to go down the line to hurt the opponent. If your partner hits a ball on the outside third, play it back crosscourt. If your partner hits a ball that lands in the middle third, this is an opportunity ball to go down the line and hurt the opponent. If it is short, go for a winner but if it’s deep, hit a change of direction shot that allows you to hurt your opponent and seize control of the point. Do this to the backhand side also. This will teach you high percentage tennis, and will make you work the points more before looking to finish.

Learn From the Pros

One of my coaches made an interesting comment once. He said, “Tom I understand that good players hit the ball hard but the ones that win the most are the ones that play the smartest.” This comment was around the time that Lleyton Hewitt was beating bigger and stronger hitters. This struck a chord with me, and changed my way of thinking. Sure the players at the top of the men’s game all hit great and move great, but they play smarter than those ranked below them. Andy Murray has a terrific ability to play defense but yet still be in control of the points. He can turn defense into neutral or defense into offense, as the situation requires. He knows how he needs to play and also possesses an incredibly high tennis IQ. So often the best way to start playing smarter tennis is to listen to the commentators and ask yourself questions while watching matches like how is Federer going to win today? Become a better student of the game and learn from the best.

I always see pros doing a variety of drills at big tournaments. Sure, they all do technical fine tuning work but most of their drills consist of point situations. They do not just practice shots for the sake of practicing shots. There is always a purpose to the practice and each shot has a purpose.

One of the best drills is the "Swedish drill,” a perfect drill for counter punchers, players who lack consistency, and for big hitters who need to work points more. I saw Swedish greats Mats Wilander and Joakim Nystrom do this drill for one hour without missing a ball (well at least it seemed to be that long).

There are a few versions of the drill but the basic one goes like this: There is a player on each side of the court at the baseline. Neither player can hit a winner. The coach feeds the ball and the players have to move each other around the court. Each player must play every ball, regardless of where it lands. This means if one player misses a shot long by 6 feet, the other player has to return the shot. Both players have to make a combined total of at least 8 shots and they must do this 5 times.

I also encourage players to have someone chart their match statistics sometimes. Obviously, not all stats are relevant for every type of player, but choose the ones that are relevant for you. Also, take a look at the stats of a pro player that may play like you. You may be surprised at the numbers you see.

For now, good luck in your quest to understand how you need to play, and use that knowledge to become the best at it that you can possibly be.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Tom Downs' article by emailing us here at TennisOne.

Tom Downs

Tom has and extensive coaching background, and has been a member of the Institute team for several years. He has served as our Head Staff Professional, and is currently the Traveling Coach for Institute players. He has traveled with several of our Tour players including Laura Granville and Carly Gullickson, who won the US Open Mixed Doubles title in 2009.

Tom has worked with junior and other professional players, including Sam Stosur and Rennae Stubbs, at all 4 Grand Slam events, as well as other major tournaments around the world. Tom graduated from the University of South Florida in 2005 with a degree in communications. As a successful junior player, Tom represented Australia, and was consistently ranked in the top 10 in all age groups in Australia. He played college tennis at South Carolina State University and was a member of their conference championship team in 2004.