Singles Strategy

How to Play High-Bouncing Mid-Court Balls, Part One

Question

How do you play high-bouncing mid-court balls?

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Answer, Part One: Going For The Winner

First, let's start with defining the mid-court area. Mid-court is the area starting from a couple of steps inside the baseline to the area just inside the service line. The mid-court playing area is not where the ball lands but rather the area you are positioned when executing the mid-court shot.

When positioning yourself for a mid-court ball, you can expect two things. First, your opponent ususually on the defensive and possibly out of position. Secondly, because your opponent is generally on the defensive, his mid-court ball will tend to float (if the ball had any pace, you would be hitting it from or behind the baseline.).

Now you have two basic options for handling this mid-court shot: play a winning shot or set yourself up to win on the next shot.

Part One, Going for the Winner

If your confident, the obvious thing to do is pick a target and go for it. There are four basic targets you can choose from. Which one you choose, depends on your opponent's court position and your stroke preferences (some people prefer going to an in-side out forehand, for example, while others much have a greater comfort level going cross-court).

The four target areas are the two baseline corners (where the sideline meets the baseline), and the two service box corners (where the sideline meets the service line). The keys to hitting the high bouncing mid-court ball for a winner are to hit the ball when it's still above the net and to flatten out your stroke and hit a penetrating shot. The idea is choose the right target area and end the point with one blow. However, to cover the remote chance your opponent will return your devastating mi-court shot, keep moving to the net to close out the point.

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