This is the seventh and final article of a series of seven
Inevitably you will encounter a player who completely frustrates you and no matter what you try, you keep failing to come up with a winning strategy.
Learn to identify your opponent’s particular style, strengths and weaknesses, and their pattern of play, and how to exploit these to your advantage.
As well, inform yourself regarding your own style of play to develop the best strategy to protect your weaknesses.
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7. The All-Around Court Player
Of all the types of players, this is perhaps the most difficult to defeat. They have developed their game to the point where they can hit all their strokes consistently and with good placement, spin, and power. They are just as efficient from the baseline as they are from the net. They can effectively play from anywhere in the court.
Strategy Against the All-Around Court Player
Despite their apparent ability to play any shot, all-around court players will have some weaknesses, such as lacking a signature stroke, a real weapon. They will, however, make up for it with the variety of shots they have available.
Identify Their Weakness - it may not be immediately apparent. Test them out using a variety of shots to find their weakness. Once you identify it, hit to their weakness as much as possible. Put yourself at an advantage by serving and returning to a spot that will result in you hitting a forehand on the next shot. Run around your backhand if necessary. Play down the middle shots with your forehand.
Hit High Deep Balls with a lot of topspin so that they rise high above the baseline. When possible, hit high balls to their backhand side. If you have to, hit moonballs that land far back in their court. You can limit your opponent’s reaction time by hitting your shots early and on the rise. By limiting their reaction time and controlling court positioning, you will have a leg up on your opponent.
Vary Your Shots so the pace, spin, and height of the ball is always changing - keep your opponent guessing. Be aware that they will be able to change tactics quickly given the range of shots they have available. Mix in some slice shots to keep the ball away from your opponent’s comfort zone, particularly if they like to hit their shots above the waist, a slice can throw off their timing. If they tend to hit their shots lower, high topspin shots should make life more difficult for them. If you are able to win the court position battle, make sure your opponent is consistently on the run. Move them around as much as possible, and when you do, finish shots behind them where they will not be able to react.
Closing Thoughts Certain tactics are effective against a variety of players.
Hitting the ball deep into the court and targeting the backhand (assuming that is their weaker stroke), for example, is always a good strategy.
Advancing to the net against players who slice their shots or hit with no pace is also going to be a successful approach. So is placing your shots or running around your backhand, so that you are able to hit a forehand shot.
On the serve, you generally want to try to go wide to force your opponent further away from the baseline and give yourself more time to set up.
On the return, typically you want to go down the middle to limit your opponent’s angles.
These tactics are not going to guarantee that you will be able to defeat your opponent, but they will put you in a better position statistically. By consistently hitting your balls deep and controlling court positioning, you will be in a good place against any type of player.
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