TennisOne Lessons
Playing
The Score, Part 1
by Robert C. Murio, Competitive Sports Counselor
At first glance, this topic may seem rather elementary. Everyone knows
how to score, right? But as we analyze this further, I believe you'll see
that the entire mental, strategic and emotional preparation for a tennis
match must be grounded in a detailed understanding of the scoring system.
Points Aren't Equal
The first idiosyncrasy of the scoring system is that each individual point
really doesn't have equal importance. The next point in a 40-0 game, for
example, isn't nearly as important as the next point in a 40-30 game. Similarly,
the next game in a 5-0 match isn't close to importance as the next game
in a 5-4 match. Finally, being ahead 1 set to 0 is quite different than
being behind 1 set to 0, and they are both quite different from being tied
one set all. The serious competitor must realize the differences in these
and numerous other scoring situations and plan his/her play accordingly.
You Can Win More Points and Still Lose
The second idiosyncrasy of the scoring system is that you can lose more
points than you win and still win the match. For example, let's say you
won a set 7-5. If you won all your games at 40-30 and your opponent won
all of her games at love, you would have 28 points (7 games x 4 points)
for the set and your opponent would have won 34 points (5 games she won
x 4 points = 20 and 7 games she lost x 2 points = 14 points). You have won
over 20 percent more points than your opponent yet you've lost the set.
You might reasonable ask, "Yes, but how often does that happen?"
Granted, not very often. But how often have you walked off the court after
a 6-1 or 6-2 loss telling yourself, "I really thought I played pretty
well." And unless you're stubbornly trying to preserve what remains
of your ego, you probably did! You probably won nearly as many points as
your opponent--yet the score reflects an overwhelming defeat. The
implications of this unique scoring system is that your job on the tennis
court is not to rack up individual points but to put points
together so that you win games. Said another way, tennis' scoring
system dictates that you must win the big points (30-30, 40-30 and deuce)
that usually decide who wins the game.
Scoring System + Inherent Difficulty = Appropriate Strategy
Beyond understanding the implications of tennis' scoring system, you must
understand the inherent difficulty of the game of tennis. Successfully hitting
a spinning tennis ball that is traveling anywhere from 30-120 m.p.h. back
over the net and into a strictly defined playing space is an inherently
difficult task. Since it is a task more likely to produce an error
than a perfectly played shot (i.e., winner), every serious competitor must
work to minimize his/her unforced errors. Too many players think
they have to hit great shots to win points. They never give their opponent
a chance to miss because they are always making missing first.
The scoring system in tennis, as we've discussed, puts greater weight and
therefore more pressure on the big points. Under pressure, it is that
much more difficult to hit winners, and that much harder for your opponent
to successfully return even average shots. Therefore,
in pressure situations, it is even more important than ever to give your
opponent the opportunity to miss.
In the next weeks, parts 2 & 3 of "Playing the Score" will
go over the 10 most frequently misplayed scoring situations in tennis.