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The 5 Tactical Dimensions — "Doing Enough to Win" James Corin Have you ever come away from a match you lost and ultimately felt like you beat yourself? If the answer is yes,it may not be your strokes that were the problem, it may have been your tactics, or lack of them. Tactics are a necessity for any tennis match. Tactics can range from an extremely complex pattern of play in order to breakdown and expose an opponent’s weakness or just a basic phrase or set of words that you use in order to keep yourself focused on a certain objective. Many players make the mistake of walking onto court without a game plan or even a rough idea of what they would like to accomplish. This is a terrible error of judgment, as good preparation for a match can be the key to success. Perhaps a mindset of “if I play well enough I can beat anyone” is not always the best option. In this article, I will cover five Tactical Dimensions for preparing for a match and how it will help you to:
The 5 Dimensions of Any Tennis Stroke To discover how to use the 5 Tactical Dimensions of match play, we must first understand what the 5 Dimensions of a tennis stroke are. The idea of the 5 Dimensions is a concept that is featured by the acclaimed tennis writer Peter Burwash in his popular book “Tennis for Life”. The 5 Dimensions are used in relation to any tennis stroke and also as a guide in relation to improving a stroke tactically and making it more effective. The dimensions are as follows:
Over and In – This refers to the objective of getting the ball over the net and into the court. It is an essential aspect of any tennis shot, as without it, a fault will be incurred. In other words you will lose the point if you do not achieve this basic but important objective! This is a tactic for beginners as the target area is large and vast.
Direction – Once one has started to master consistently getting the ball over and in, the next objective is to start to add direction to a shot. Whether it is a serve or a backhand it is important to be able to direct a shot with confidence, as this will be required in match play situations.
Depth – An essential part of improving a stroke, depth will tend to put a large amount of pressure on an opponent and also prevent them from playing the way they want to play. Shots that land short in the court invite an opponent to dictate play and make you run. A good way to lose points quickly.
Spin – It is important to master spin on your shots in order to give you more control and also add variety to your game. As you become a better player, you should want to master as many different spins as possible. Such objectives could include both topspin and backspin on your ground-strokes or slice and topspin to compliment your flat serve. Spin will improve consistency and also make you a more potent match player.
Power – The last, and by no means least dimension is power. Once you feel more confident in your strokes then increasing racket head speed can be very beneficial. The first way it can benefit you is when using spin. For example, the more racket head speed on a topspin forehand the more margin for error can be achieved as the increased racket head speed will result in increased topspin. Another benefit is that a more powerful, flatter shot, will take time away from your opponents. This is due to the fact that a more powerful shot will travel through the air faster and thus put your opponents under pressure and force them off balance.
The 5 Tactical Dimensions Now that we know what the 5 Tactical Dimensions are, we can now look at how they can be used in relation to match play and how they may help you in a competitive match. The first thing to understand is to use the 5 Tactical Dimensions like gears in a manual car. As you play the match, progress up through the gears until you find a way to consistently win points and put your opponent under pressure. Over the Net and In the Court At the very start of a match, the focus should be on consistency and playing solid percentage tennis and avoiding silly mistakes. Use spin and height over the net for consistency and perhaps early in the match your opponents may be nervous and go for too much and as a result you will extract the errors from them. Also, by not playing too close to the lines, you force your opponents to hit a lot of balls and any weaknesses in technique can be exploited early. This may be enough to win…. However, if your opponent matches you and the technique seems solid enough then you will need to adapt to the situation and try to exert more pressure on your opponent. The next step is to use direction. Direction Start trying to move your opponents in order to keep them off-balance. perhaps aiming a little closer to the lines (not for the lines, just closer). Still keep your margin for error. This may be as simple as directing most balls to an opponent's weak backhand side. This can also be done by creating more angles and aiming towards the side T’s, which will pull your opponent off and up the court, and can be followed by a deeper shot to put your opponents on the back foot. This is just a couple of the many ways using direction as technique can keep an opponent off-balance and help break down an opponent's game. Study your opponent and try to think of some more ways in which you feel comfortable in using different directions in your match play. If your opponent is able to deal with this tactic and their technique is not breaking down, move up a gear and add more depth to your shots. Depth By achieving more depth on your shots you will put your opponent under more pressure. If they are hitting winners against you then depth will make it more difficult for them, if they like to rush the net, depth will keep them back. It has many tactical advantages and can prevent an opponents from playing their game. To achieve more depth, try lengthening your contact area – as you are making contact with the ball. Imagine hitting 4 balls towards your target, not just one. Another way is to simply aim higher over the net and increase the amount of topspin to bring the ball back in. Depth not working, opponent coping? Try adding more spin. Spin More topspin will give you more margin for error and also make the ball bounce higher so that it is harder for your opponents to hit powerful shots. Perhaps try some under-spin, which can be used as a change of pace and can often break an opponent’s rhythm and also keep the ball low which can be good for approaching the net or neutralizing a power player or one with extreme grips. Still not working? Try adding power to your shots. Power If you have tried the above tactics and your opponent is still getting the better of you then try increasing the power. But, be careful not to over-hit or start making unnecessary errors. Power means increasing racket head speed, so if one is using spin the increased racket head speed will result in more spin and thus magnify the effect of such spin. Power does not mean just blasting away, although if you are getting hit off the court, getting the first strike in early may be your only option, or at least the last resort. I always try to take the view that if I am going to lose, then let it be on my terms. This then means that you have tried everything in your control to make something happen, and in tennis, your effort, is about the only thing that you are in charge of.
Conclusion Tennis is a game of emergencies and often involves reacting to what we are given as opposed to out hitting someone straight out of the blocks. I see so many players on the courts (particularly men, sorry guys) playing what I like to call caveman tennis which involves trying to out-hit the opponent instead of thinking about what is the best way to win or even what they have to do to win. To emphasize, tennis is about reacting and adapting and sometimes these dimensions may not even be relevant in certain situations and may also vary point-to-point and match to match. But this article is designed to give players a rough outline and thought process when approaching playing matches. So next time you step onto the court think “what will be enough to beat my opponent, what will it take?” rather than stepping on court, blasting away, missing shots early, losing confidence, getting frustrated, and smashing those valuable frames! Happy hitting! Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about James Corin's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.
James Corin James Corin is a Tennis Professional with Peter Burwash International. With over 12 years coaching experience including working in USA, Caribbean, Middle East, and Europe, working at some of the most luxurious clubs and resorts in the world. James also is qualified in Sports Science as well as attaining teaching qualifications with the Lawn Tennis Association and also the PTR. James Corin is tennis professional with Peter Burwash International. This article was inspired by the teaching concepts written by Peter Burwash in his book “Tennis for Life”. If you are interested in improving your tennis and you enjoyed this article then you may like to visit: www.pbitennis.com |