Playing Patterns of the Pros

Tom Downs

I often hear coaches, players, and commentators use the word pattern. The word pattern can refer to different things. In the tennis world a pattern can often be a tactic such as consecutive shot combinations or sequences used to exploit an opponent’s weakness, a type of shot hit with regards to pace, location and trajectory: a serve and first shot after the serve, and there are also footwork patterns. Tennis is often referred to as a sport of patterns and it's hard to disagree with that.

In this article, I am going to explore several patterns the pros use and that I believe can help club level players gain an edge on their competition. In addition, I’m going to show you how some highly ranked successful professional players use these patterns to exploit weaknesses, and how patterns play an integral part of a player's playing structure.

Patterns of Play

I always enjoy listening to former players commentate high level tennis matches, especially those matches featuring the current dominant players on the ATP Tour. When we listen to commentators such as Justin Gimelstob, we often hear them talk about Nadal's left-handed, heavy forehand to Federer's one-handed backhand. And it's not just the direction of the shot that Justin is referring to; it is also the different trajectories and paces of the forehand that makes this tactic so effective.

Nadal will regularly hit some flatter forehands to Federer's backhand then mix in some higher bouncing heavy topspin forehands. Nadal will also use different widths and depths, shapes and spins. Nadal often uses a heavy, sharp angled forehand to pull Federer off the court, creating a lot of open space to attack. Federer's reply will often be crosscourt (unless he tries for a low percentage, down-the-line winner) and not that strong, allowing Nadal the opportunity to hit his forehand aggressively down the line, either for an outright winner or to set up an easy put-away at the net.

Federer has a difficult time playing Nadal (as do most players), and this is largely due to this successful pattern. It also interests me to hear what commentators say about how Federer could avoid this pattern. Developing patterns to prevent your opponent from matching their strengths against your weaknesses is always crucial. Patterns of play will never be exactly the same against all players but developing the angle- line pattern (as I call it) is crucial in the modern game, as is any pattern that opens up the court.

Angle-Line Pattern 

The Angle-Line play is a pattern club level players should practice often. When you practice these patterns, always have your partner hit the most likely or highest percentage shot. So when you hit an angle to open up the court, your partner must go crosscourt. You then go down the line and play the point out from there.

Keep in mind that when you practice these patterns, you need to think about what type of shot the opponent will most likely hit until it becomes second nature to you. So thinking like, "if I hit this angle here my opponent will go crosscourt then, if I hit the next ball down the line, I'll get this kind of response." This kind of thought process will help you construct points and play better and smarter tennis on a more consistent basis.

When practicing this drill, you and your partner will start slightly to the left of the center hash mark in a crosscourt backhand position (lefties do the same drill from the deuce court). Have your partner feed you a ball around three quarter court in depth and go ahead and hit a sharp angle backhand. Your partner plays crosscourt and then you go down the line with your backhand. Play the point out and look to finish at net.

You can vary this drill by playing your first ball crosscourt and deep — after your partner returns crosscourt you can then respond with the crosscourt short angle shot. Then you play down the line. If your partner's return is too deep to play the short angle crosscourt then go back deep crosscourt and wait for the right ball to hit the angle shot. Practice this same drill on the forehand side.

I like the following pattern which I regularly see from teenage Canadian sensation, Eugenie Bouchard. Bouchard will often hit a short, low, crosscourt slice backhand drawing her opponents forward and out of their comfort zone. Their response will usually be crosscourt, then Genie will drive her two-handed backhand aggressively down the line and follow it to net, often finishing with a punishing swinging volley.

I cannot think of a better pattern for club players to use than this sequence of shots. It contains a great change of pace with the short, low, slice backhand, a punishing down the line backhand drive, and then a swinging volley. For one thing, it is important to highlight the amount of movement the opponent has to do during this shot sequence. First, they are pulled forwards off the baseline by several feet, secondly they have to move hard to their right to receive Genie's down-the-line backhand, covering even more territory, then they have to recover yet again and guess as to where she's hitting her swing volley.

Patterns and Playing Structure 

Samantha Stosur is one of many female players who started to play much better tennis when she learned how to maximize her weapons. Sam learned how to use her heavy first serve and great kick serve in combination with her forehand to build a point.

Stosur will regularly look to build a point with her inside-out forehand. She may hit 3-4 inside out forehands and wait for either a short ball to punish and come to net, or wait for a ball that's about three quarter court in depth and relatively weak so that she can move inside the court and hit her inside-in forehand. She also uses her weaker backhand to set up her forehand.

Sam uses different backhand patterns down the line and through the middle of the court, both with her slice backhand and her two-hander, which entices an opponent into hitting to her forehand because the crosscourt would be the opponents highest percentage shot. So it is fair to say that various patterns are a large part of her overall playing structure. Stosur rarely hits her backhand crosscourt. Commentators sometimes get it wrong as they say she hits too many backhands down the line and through the middle, but this is no accident, because it increases her chances of getting the opponent to play to her forehand.

For players like Stosur, who often get emotional when the pressure starts to really set in during matches, being able to simplify points (having a clear picture of how you want to play the upcoming point) is very important because it's very easy to start thinking about too many irrelevant things. This is a very important piece of advice to all club level players. When Stosur simplifies her points, she knows where her serve will go, and based on her knowledge of the opponent, she knows where the return will go. This makes it easier for her to map out the point and gives her a greater sense of control.

>Obviously everyone is different and some players need more clear patterns while others play more on instinct.  Knowing whether you are someone who needs patterns and a clear picture of how to play a point, or if you're someone who needs to play more freely is extremely important at the club level. Regardless, it is important to know where you need to hit the serve and first ball, whether you play by instinct or specific patterns.

Patterns allow you to maximize your strengths and improve your results quickly. Find out what patterns suit your playing style and learn how to rely on them during matches Too often I see club players use what weapons they have ineffectively, so instead of just blindly hitting balls during practice sessions, work on these patterns, they will help you develop better feel for how to play a point.

Forehand Drills

Crosscourt Exchange — Exchange crosscourt forehands with your hitting partner. The first player to get a short or manageable ball takes it down the line. Then play out the point. After hitting the down-the-line continue to build the point with your forehand and look to finish at the net. If your partner returns a deep ball crosscourt to your backhand, then hit your backhand through the middle deep or down the line to increase your chances of getting a forehand. Backhand dominant players can do the same drill but on the backhand side and can use their forehands to set up their backhands.

Inside-Out, Inside-In — Exchange inside-out forehands with you partner until one of you gets a short or manageable ball then hit an inside-in forehand, and play out the point from there. Play a game first to 11.

Serve and First Shot Patterns 

Players on both the men's and women's professional tours build points predominately with their forehands, because bigger, forehands equal shorter points. Even on the WTA tour, where a majority of players are dominant backhand players, you see them starting to use their forehands after the serve so that they can dictate immediately. Even a player like Sharapova hits more forehands on average during a match (about 63%) and it's not because her forehand is the weaker side. It simply increases her chances of playing shorter more aggressive points.

Let's take a look at some of the more common serve and first ball patterns: (please note that all examples are for right-handers and lefties must do the same but from the opposite side).

Deuce court — serve wide and forehand down the line. I have heard well renowned former players turned coaches, like Elliot Teltscher, say this pattern is so important, players should practice it 100 times a day. It works against every style of player. And obviously if you serve wide and the return lands in the middle third of the court, you need to put the extra effort in with your footwork and hit a forehand deep to the opponent's ad side of the court.

Even if your backhand is better, this pattern can work in your favor because hitting a down the line forehand means that the highest percentage shot the opponent can hit is crosscourt to your stronger backhand. Club players need to practice this drill. maybe not 100 times, but 20 times. Make sure that both the serve and first ball are done with quality every time. Put some targets up — one on the deuce court out wide and one in the opponent's ad court corner about three feet by three feet inside the court.

Serve wide to ad court and forehand inside in. We see the dominant forehand players on the ATP Tour, such as Roger Federer, use this pattern a lot. Pro players, once they've hit an aggressive first ball forehand, continue to build the point with the forehand. The serve used by players for this pattern can be more of a flatter first serve, or a kick serve, which can really open up the court nicely for that inside-in forehand. I have also noticed that a lot of the male players stand wider to serve on the ad side, increasing their chances of getting forehands. They may also stand wider so that they have more of an angle to work with on their first serve and/or kick serve out wide.

I also see players using T serves to the deuce court and then an inside out forehand or down-the-line forehand depending upon where the return of serve lands.

Obviously there are a lot of serve and first ball forehand patterns that players use. My advice to club players is to develop one that suits their game. So when you practice your serve, have your partner return the serve and hit a first ball, aggressive forehand. Work on the patterns mentioned above, as well as developing your own. The key to dictating points is to not only get a high percentage of first serves in but to dictate immediately with the first ball.

Remember to be on the cutting edge when it comes to your tennis development. A great way of doing that is to emulate the patterns of the pros. 

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.