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TennisOne Lessons 
The Secret of Opposites Joe Dinoffer As human beings, we are used to thinking in opposites. Do you like coffee or tea, vanilla or chocolate ice cream, tall or short, heavy or light. Tennis is so full of variables which often times are opposites of one another, that being aware of them may help players remember tactics and strategies more easily. Basically, “opposites” means recognizing that if players have identifiable strengths, a lot of times their weaknesses are the exact opposite. This awareness can help players identify and exploit opponent strengths and weaknesses to accomplish what some call “winning ugly.” Thinking of it in terms of “playing smart” and being aware of “opposites” is just another way to remember many of the various tactical and strategic options that are in front of you. Most of the concepts we will discuss can be adapted for singles or doubles. One of the keys to playing smarter tennis is to get your own warm-up out of the way before you walk on the court for a match to “warm up” with your opponent so you can focus on your opponent. There are many easily identifiable “opposites” and we will share 9 of them in this article. If you notice 3 to 5 “red flags” to try and exploit, you’re doing pretty well. The point is that you need to know who you are playing. Tennis is an open sport and beating someone who is clearly weaker is relatively easy. Competing well against a player at your own level or slightly better is the challenge. This article is designed to give you that extra edge you may be looking for. #1 — Hit the First Ball Down the Middle If this idea is new to you, you’ll wonder why you never thought of it yourself. Every tennis player prefers one groundstroke side to the other. Roger Federer? Forehand. Maria Sharapova? Backhand. Rafael Nadal? Forehand. The list goes on and on. There is a super simple way to evaluate your opponents with just one ball in the warm up. Just feed down the middle. In other words, give them a choice of hitting either a forehand or a backhand. In the vast majority of cases, your opponents will hit their more confident shot giving away which side is their strength; the “opposite” side will be more likely to collapse under pressure.
Take Home Tip: Most players will have one groundstroke that is more confident than the other. Identify it and exploit the opposite side on the more pressure-packed points of a match. #2 — Feed high forehands and backhands Players also have “opposite” preferences when it comes to hitting high or low balls. While the cause of these strengths and weaknesses is usually grip-related, you don’t have to be a grip expert to figure it out. Just feed your opponent a high forehand, a high backhand, and also a couple of low balls on each side to see what balls they are comfortable hitting and which shots make them feel awkward.
Here’s one more little detail. Feed your opponent a high forehand. If they have a strong eastern or continental grip, they will usually back up to let the ball drop to strike it from a lower position. This player will like low balls. However, if they attack those high balls without hesitation, it usually means they have a semi-western or western forehand grip. This player will not feel confident handling low forehands. Take Home Tip: Players who like high balls on one side will not like low balls on that same side. #3 — Steady Eddy or Powerful Pete Some players are steady and others are more powerful but prone to unforced errors. The good news is that few players have both skills, especially at the recreational level. This is another example of “opposites” and it is one of the discoveries to make in the warm-up. How? Hit one slow ball down the middle and see what your opponent does. If he hit its back slow and controlled, chances are you have Steady Eddy on the other side of the net. If he or she steps up and rips it back, you are playing Powerful Pete. Take Home Tip: Even if you are not a grinder-type steady player, if you play a match against Steady Eddy, you are going to need more patience and determination than normal. And, if you are playing Powerful Pete, you need to be mentally strong also. This time the trick is not to be intimidated when Powerful Pete nails a bunch of winners and takes an early lead in the first set. Players like Powerful Pete can be hot and cold and sometimes just waiting out the hot spell without giving away a lot of free points yourself can turn a match around. #4 — Make them move wide and forwards (see if they even run for a short ball)
Besides his serve, Pete Sampras became well known and feared for his running forehand when pulled out wide. He often hit that shot better than the forehands when he didn’t have to run and could set up early. Just feed a wide ball in the warm-up and see what your opponent does. Does he or she seem eager and energetic to run and recover? Or, do they appear slow and a bit lazy in making the effort to go after wide shots. This is another example of how one deliberate feed in the warm-up can tell you what tactics to employ in a tennis match. Players will either like to hit on the run and move for wide balls, or they will like balls hit from the middle of the court. Hardly ever will they do well with both. Take Home Tip: Don’t think you always need to hit away from someone. If your opponent loves to run and hit wide balls, try hitting down the middle. Since they like the excitement of running, this tactic can frustrate the energetic player, while you effectively take away the angles by playing down the middle. #5 — Feed slow at medium height when they volley In every single warm-up, be sure to warm up your volley and overhead. You will find, however, that most of your opponents will not have read this article. That’s good news for you. Many players warm up for a match and never hit a single volley. Therefore you know there will be a glaring weakness you can exploit at key times in a match. Typically, players don’t like to volley because they are not that successful. In other words, if they regularly make a lot of volley mistakes, chances are they will avoid the net like the plague. What is the most common cause of volley errors? Too big a swing. So, even if your opponent comes to the net, feed them slow balls so they get in the groove of taking too big a swing. Then, at a key point in the match, bring them in to the net with a short ball and hit a hard groundstroke down the middle. Don’t bother gambling and try to hit a memorable passing shot. It’s not worth the risk. Chances are the opponent at the net will take a relatively big backswing and make an error. The law of “opposites” in this regard is that the player will have an easy time generating pace on slow midcourt volleys, but volleying against harder hit balls will be difficult at best. Take Home Tip: In the warm-up, only feed slowly to your opponent at the net. Observe if they take a large backswing, which is typical against slower balls. Then, on key points of the match remember to hit hard right at your opponent. Chances are they will take that “too-large” backswing and spray their volleys. #6 — Feed low volleys Many recreational players have trouble with low volleys but an easy time with high volleys. This is nearly always a “wrong grip” issue. And, again, the concept of “opposites” rings true. Just feed a low forehand volley to your opponent in the warm-up. If the player has to severely bend their wrist to open the racquet face, you know the law of “opposites” will hold true for their high and low volleys. Keep in mind that about 80% of the recreational players have this type of “opposite” volley strength/weakness. Take Home Tip: If you play against this type of player, he or she will often crowd the net, especially in doubles because the closer they are to the net, the fewer low volleys they will have to hit. So, if you play someone who crowds the net to avoid having to hit low volleys, remember to lob. And, if they get caught around the service line, don’t go for a low percentage passing shot. Instead, hit down at their feet and their weak low volleys will be exposed. #7 — Wait for them to ask for an overhead This may make you laugh but it’s the truth. Many players will warm-up with their opponents and not hit a single overhead. If you play someone who does not ask for a few overheads in the warm-up, consider it an immediate red flag. It tells you several things and is another example of “opposites.” First, it tells you that they rarely come to the net. Second, it tells you that if they come forwards for a short ball, they are not comfortable volleying and certainly never move close to the net, as they seldom get lobbed (hence there is no need to warm up their overhead). And, third, more often than not, your opponent is a steady baseliner. Take Home Tip: If you play someone who doesn’t hit an overhead in the warm-up, get your dropshot out of your bag of tricks. Your opponent will not feel comfortable at the net, so bring them forwards. Then, instead of worrying about hitting passing shots, throw up a lob and watch them run back. Usually they will let it bounce. You then have two choices. First, you can quickly move in and try to volley their defensive shot away for a winner. Or, second, you can dropshot and try to lob again on the next two shots to really jerk them around the court. #8 — See where they stand to return serve
Every warm-up should include both players hitting some serves. This also means that your opponent will most likely hit a couple of service returns. Look to see where they are standing. Are they on the baseline or far behind it? Are they standing to one side in order to avoid hitting backhand returns? Answer these questions and you can devise a serving plan for the entire match before the first point is even played by using the law of “opposites” to your advantage. Take Home Tip: Consider that there are more important points and less important points in a match. For example, you are ahead 5-0, 40-0. Winning the next point, even though it is set point, is not as important as winning the point if the score is 5-5, 30-all. On less important points, serve to your opponent’s strength. On more crucial points, serve to the opposite location, which should be a relative weakness. #8 — To return serve, how to see what grips they wait with The serve and service return are such an important part of tennis that another key “opposite” to observe in the warm-up solely involves the return of serve and, specifically, the grips. Are they waiting with a topspin forehand grip? If so, this generally indicates confidence in the forehand return. Or, do they twirl their racquet like Roger Federer? If so, it indicates a general looseness in their approach which allows them to swing freely, however it can also delay these players from finding their grips quickly. Often these players have trouble with serves hit right at them. Take Home Tip: The serve and service return generally constitute over 60% of the swings at the ball for each player in a tennis match. Get a jump on your opponents by knowing what grip they are returning serve with and use the laws of “opposites” to dismantle many of your opponents. Example: If they wait with a backhand grip, they will often have trouble returning a fast serve to their forehand.
#9 — How to see what grips they serve with The single most frequently hit shot in tennis is the serve. No question about it. This makes it vital for players to develop as good a serve as possible. On the other side of the net is the receiver and, yes, the return of serve is the second most frequently hit shot in the game. In this example, the “opposites” involves the service grip. The two extremes for a receiver are to hit with either a continental grip or a forehand grip. Knowing what grips your opponent serves with on first and second serves can help you understand what type of serve is coming, including whether it will be fast or slow, flat or slice, etc. For example, if they hit with a frying pan or forehand-type grip, you can anticipate a flat and reasonably fast first serve and then, generally speaking, a much slower second serve. Take Home Tip: Remember to adjust your return position from first serve to second. If your opponent serves with a forehand grip, then you know they cannot hit a wide slice serve in the deuce side. Therefore, it is smarter to wait to return in the deuce court a couple of feet to the left of the singles sideline. On the other hand, if all they hit is slice serves (the grip would be close to continental in this scenario), shift more to the right. Summary We hope the tips in this article stimulated you to think in terms of “opposites” to help you devise a game plan for each opponent you play. Tennis is an open sport with countless variables. Figuring out your opponents’ strengths and weaknesses is the first step to tweaking your own playing style in order to compete better against all types of players. Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Joe Dinoffer's article by emailing us here at TennisOne. |