Playing Crosscourt Points
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The ability to dominate crosscourt exchanges is a fundamental element in winning
strategic play. Dominating crosscourt allows a player to force errors by pounding an
opponent’s weakness. It also forces an opponent deep and wide, opening up the down
the line attack to hit baseline winners or make net approaches. It is amazing how many
high level league players and ranked junior players can’t play deep and crosscourt,
and are unable to really work the geometry of the tennis court in match play.
A first step, as I outlined in a previous drill (Developing Superior Crosscourt
Patterns), is to practice and to measure your ability to hit crosscourt with depth off
both sides using a ball machine. This second crosscourt drill creates a situation that
allows you to test your ability to win crosscourt exchanges under some competitive
pressure, though less than in actual match play. It follows that if you can’t achieve
crosscourt dominance in this transitional crosscourt game, your chances of doing so in a
match are next to zero. Build up you ability to "win" crosscourt points through
this game and you’ll see it reflected directly in your competitive results.
The Crosscourt Game should be played on both the forehand and backhand sides. Simply
divide the court in half by imagining the service center line extending the full length of
the court. Now play crosscourt points. For the forehand, both players must keep the ball
on the other player’s forehand half, hitting crosscourt according to the extended
service center line. Drop and hit to start. Play "two hits to start." This means
the point begins after each player has hit one ball over the net and into the court. Both
players must hit only forehands - if you hit a backhand you lose the point. Play games to
4, 7, or 11 points then repeat the exercise on the backhand side.
A variation of this game is to have one player play inside out forehand’s on his
backhand side, against the other player’s backhand. This is a common and effective
pattern in pro tennis. Since most player’s at all levels are stronger off the
forehand, it can be an extremely effective pattern for juniors and club players as well.
The Crosscourt Game quickly exposes the relative strength of any player’s forehand
and backhand. The goal is to be equally sound and effective off either side. If one side
is consistently breaking down, that’s a signal to go back and do more technical work.
Success in this drill should give you the confidence to really go for it crosscourt in
matches. This crosscourt confidence can provide you with the competitive edge! |
