Learn To Lose?

Coaches (and some parents) often advocate playing in higher age divisions in order for the player to become accustomed to more pace and a "higher level of tennis". Sometimes, they justify the poor results by claiming that it's good for the player to "learn how to lose." Nothing can be more detrimental for a developing tennis player than a losing record. What does this player have to look forward to in life?! Bust her butt in practice, work hard in the gym and then get thrown into an age divisions where they stand no (or little) chance of succeeding. Listening, winning is an addiction; winning begets winning. If winners win, then those who lose are....well you get the point. 

What is important for a player to learn is how to DEAL WITH LOSSES. This is not learning how to lose; it's learning to handle the results and utilize them to propel forward to a different level. Take for example a junior player who has just lost in the morning match of a tournament. This player will mope around for a bit, find consolation in the words of some friends, family coaches, eat a snack and then jump in the car for the ride home. What is his opponent doing? Well, most likely, the opponent will have to play another match. So where the losing player spends 1.5 hrs on the court, the winning player spends 3 hours on the court. Who benefits more from that Saturday? The winning, player, obviously. First, she learned how to pull off a tough match. She has figured out a strategy, devised various tactics to implement the strategy and executed those tactics at the right time. Second, she now has to step on the court (maybe 30 minutes, maybe 45 minutes later) and have to toughen out a second match. All this time, the player who lost the first round is driving home. If the goal of this player is to improve, she would be better served by (a) having a practice right after the match (wipe the slate clean; work on some things while they're fresh); (b) play a practice match against someone who may have also lost; AND/OR (c) have a fitness workout (to "punish" herself for losing). Follow any (or all) of these paths, and the defeated player will keep up with the rest of the pack. 

If you want to be in the top pack when it matters (U18s), you have to spend just as much on court (or doing fitness) as your better peers. You cannot allow them to get an extra 3-4 hrs of tennis/week. You have to be right there with them. They may have beaten you but they have not DEFEATED you (unless you let them). So, get knocked down seven times, get up eight times. If you lose, no big deal. Grab a basket and a back-court and work on the things that you feel need improving at that time. Show your opponents that you are tough to beat. 

Own The No-Man's-Land

There are a few pieces of advice that get passed down from generation to generation and one of them happens to "don't play in no-man's land" or "don't get stuck in no man's land". Although I agree with the theory behind these concepts - after all, the closer to the court you are, the faster you need to be and the better your balance (in addition to the risk of being struck "in the shoe-laces) - I completely disagree with the concept that one should not know how to play from inside the baseline entirely. 

No man's land is a transition area and if you're no comfortable in that part of the court, the chance that you will be comfortable coming in (to the net) is very small. One of my pet peeves is seeing players practice from 2, 3, 5 or 10 feet behind the baseline where they look like world-class tennis players. Then, they move in and practice volleys from 6 feet from the net....completely ignoring the 400 square feet of court in between. Let me dispel one myth right off the bat: the chance that you are going to hit a shot (bet it serve or groundstroke) from behind the baseline and then be able to make contact with the volley 6 feet from the net is extremely small...either the opponent isn't very good or you hit a very fortunate shot.

The vast majority of first volleys are really encountered around the service line (maybe a bit behind it). But if you're not confident that you can handle this no man's land zone, the likelihood that you will be confident in making the journey to the net is very small. That's primarily because if opponents don't hit outright winners, they can usually dip the ball with heavy spin or hit a slice that grazes the net (forcing you to make contact from further back than you're used to).

As a baseline player (which most players happen to be), it is important to become comfortable in this transition area (from 1 foot inside the baseline to 1 foot behind the service line) because you never know when the play calls for coming in and you don't want to hesitate or second guess yourself. It is sometimes amusing to see coaches yelling at players (with proverbial steam coming out of their ears) for not following the ball in. They never bother asking the question why the player did not do so. Often times the answer is "because I'm not confident in the mid-court", You can practice volleys until you're blue in the face, but if you don't know how to handle the transition area, you will simply not come in at all the right times...and God forbid that the opponent happens to pass you the first time out. That's when junior say "check please" and keep on staying back, pounding groundies.

Listen, if you want to improve your net game, you have to start it one step at a time. In a previous tip, we mentioned how you should see the court as a chess-board with 3x3ft squares. In reality, try seeing it as a Rubiks cube that is made up of smaller 3x3x3ft cubes. These "cubes": are on your side of the court as well as your opponents. You should strive to master hitting any "cube" on your opponent's side of the court FROM any cube on your side of the court where the ball happens to be...and a lot of these "cubes" happen to be in the mid court. Therefore, swinging volleys, regular volleys, pick-up/half-volleys, abbreviated swing groundstrokes, bunts, high backhand "overheads", skyhooks, etc. all have to be practiced. Any player who is comfortable hitting these shots from mid-court will have more confidence in going in "all the way". It's really the fear of missing or getting passed (something that doesn't happen a lot from the baseline) that holds the players back.

Therefore, do drills where you are mixing baseline shots, with swinging volleys, with pick-ups and regular volleys so that you know what you have to do if you don't happen to hit your first volley from on top of the net. In other words, get comfortable coming in in stages, and then try to have fewer and fewer stages. In your mind, you should have the belief in yourself that if the ball bounces a foot from the baseline you can handle it ("I got this") and know exactly where and how your shot should be hit.

Chip-N-Charge

An oft-forgotten strategy is the chip-and charge play. Currently, when players do decide to come in on the opponent's serve, they tend to do so by thumping the return and sprinting in (and even these plays are few and far between). The chip-and-charge way is one of the cleverest ways to put pressure on the opponent when she is already serving under pressure. Unlike a "belt-and-bolt" (i.e., where you crush the return and then sprint in), the chip and charge, if executed correctly takes time away from your opponent since you are executing the stroke WHILE moving in. In addition, instead of risking that the opponent sticks her racket out to block your massive forehand return, against a chip she actually has to (1) move, (2) get down low, and (3) generate her own pace in order to pass you. All the while, you're rushing in and closing down the angles where she can go. 

To execute a good chip and charge play, it helps to be proficient at the slice. In this regard, it is important to understand that the chip (or the slice) is NOT A SWINGING stroke. That is, you don't try to swing at the ball as if you're cutting down a bamboo tree. You want to split forward, generate only a little pace with your shoulders (utilizing mostly the pace coming from the opponent), make contact out in front by leaning against the ball, and continue to follow the ball in a natural fashion. Practice this while your playing partner is working on her serves. Or, if you're working with a coach, practice this by having the coach serve to you and then feed a dipping volley. Remember, this is a shot that will pay huge dividends in pressure situation and you don't have to be a classic serve-and-volleyer to execute it correctly. It's the element of surprise that will win you the point. As long as you hit the ball deep (2-3 feet from the baseline) you will be in a great position to win - whether by putting the next volley away or by drawing outright errors from the opponent. Even if the opponent gets lucky and squeezes a passing shot by you, in her mind, she will always think that you're going to repeat the play and, as a result, put more pressure on herself next time around (and maybe you'll get a double fault). 

Initially, try to work on this play against weaker opponents in order to get the feel for how the ball should be struck and how you should follow the ball in. Then, against a better opponent, find a pressure situation where you can take advantage of her second serve and charge in "like the Russians to Berlin" (i.e.  FULLY COMMITTED to the cause; "d**n the torpedoes"). 

Fluid Strategy

"The whole art of war consists of a well-reasoned and extremely circumspect defensive followed by rapid and audacious attack" - Napoleon.

This principle is equally true when it comes to war, martial arts or tennis. In martial arts, Bruce Lee stated that we should "be like water." Water is not rigid, it fills the space in which it is placed instantaneously. If a crack opens up in the container, the water rushes out through it. If the container remains intact, the water stays patient ans waits for the opportunity. 

In tennis, it is important to develop strong defenses. A strong defense means that you are capable of being patient and waiting out the opponent until a crack in his armor appears. And, in the developing stages (and even some of the higher levels), it will not take long for the opponent to break down. However, when this happens, do not hesitate to capitalize on your good fortune (or goo strategy). Pounce on the opening immediately; do not remain rigid in your thought and movement; "go with the flow". When watching Federer, you can see how effortlessly he moves from defense to offense and vice-versa. He is neither rigid nor flustered when getting pushed around the court; it happens and he expects it. When the play calls for defense, he defends. When it calls for offense, he attacks. It seems that he never waits to execute 3 shots if 2 will do. Watching him move around the court, it seems as if there's a water bubble between him and the ball, he backs up slightly on deep balls, moves in to follow penetrating shots and side to side. 

Master Time and Space

Napoleon said "Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. Space we can recover; lost time, never." In tennis, you too will have to deal with these concepts: time and space. Space is the court that you control as well as the court controlled by your opponent. Time is, obviously, the duration that you have available in which you have to make a particular decision. Controlling your opponent's court is your goal (although, you're not trying to invade it with armies but with balls). However, if the opponent controls time, you will not be successful in your campaign. 

Take for example an offensive shot by you. In this example, we'll assume that it's not be a winner but it's pretty close. If you allow your opponent to throw up a defensive lob (pop-up) and you let it come down, bounce and come down again, your initial artillery attack is useless. You controlled some extent of your opponent's court, but he controlled time - in which he recovered back to a central positions. You simply cannot allow the opponent to "press the reset button" in a point and get herself into the court. When you hit a good shot, you have to recognize it right away in order to capitalize on it. Look at the opponent's location in the court. Is she 10 ft behind the baseline? 5 ft outside of the side-lines? Moving backwards? Scrambling?  So, in this example, step in and either belt a swinging volley, punch a regular volley or follow up with another offensive shot. Never allow the opponent to recover "space" with "time". Conversely, if you're on the defense that's exactly what you want to do: buy your way back into the point with a shot that takes a while to get back to the other side of the court (unless you see that the opponent is "bolting in" to control space and time). A lot of juniors get pressed on the defensive and then go for a blasting, Hail Mary shot. Even assuming that you make it, if the opponent gets his racket on the ball, you have no time to recover (in which case, she's controlled both space and time). 

Similarly, you can control more "space" if you play from close into the court than from "the vineyard". If you're 10-12 behind the baseline, you can only home to control time. However, due to the angles, you are relegated to only hitting in certain parts of the court. Conversely, the closer into the court you find yourself, the more the court opens up and the less time the opponent will have to react and make proper decisions.