Do you love watching tennis games?
Me too!
There’s nothing like the thrill of ATP finals.
We all have our favourite players that we particularly enjoy watching and who inspire us.
We get excited and try emulating what they do.
Emulating Tennis Pros
I play with a lot of people who try to hit massive powerful winning shots (like the pros) which leads to a lot of unforced errors.
They get 1 out of 10 big shots in (if lucky) and it makes them feel awesome, so they try hitting big again and again.
Although that one winner feels great, the statistics are against them and they lose easy points.
This consumes both physical and mental energy during the match and lowers the mental game through frustration.
What’s more, the accuracy of shots drops dramatically when you’re tired.
A study of expert and amateur tennis players revealed the following:
- Groundstroke accuracy declines significantly in both expert (40.3% decline) and non-expert (49.6%) tennis players following high-intensity fatigue.
- Expert players are more consistent, hit more accurate shots and fewer out shots across all fatigue intensities.
(Lyons, Al-Nakeeb, Hankey & Nevill, 2013)
And that, my friend, is a sure way to not only lose a match but also be upset while doing it.
Mindset Shift
A few years ago I was mesmerised by massive forehands of guys like Alcaraz and Rublev.
Just like many others I got inspired and tried emulating these big shots (with few successes, but mostly a sore shoulder joint).
I adopted a “hit big and chase down everything that came back” mentality that got me tired.
Losing to opponents I could have beaten just because of fatigue was very frustrating.
Something needed to change, and reflecting on my game (one of the best tools for improving your game) I saw that my game was based on ego (what felt good) rather than on logic (what worked well).
That (and advice from my dad) helped me update my game mentality to “let them do the running” and “enjoy winning points, regardless of style”.
You might ask “How do I let them do the running?” – great question!
This is where ball placement comes in and works the magic.
Over the next few months, I practised placing the ball in specific parts of the court.
Handy tip: at club-level tennis, you only need to place the ball in an awkward-to-reach place for your opponent, it doesn’t need to make a burn mark on the court and pierce the fence behind.
I started winning more matches because of fewer unforced errors, and more “gas in the tank” during the whole match.
My dad likes to say “Recreational tennis is a game of mistakes.” – whoever makes fewer mistakes wins.
It is not a game of powerful winning shots.
Placement is far more effective than power at the club level.
Medium-strength shots (green) are far more reliable than powerful ones (orange).
Conserve your strength – you will need it to win the match towards the end when both players are tired (or if your opponent is fitter and just keeps going for longer).
There are a small number of simple (but very effective at this level) places on the court where the ball should be placed.
Recreational players don’t train as much as pros so it is vital to find and focus on 20% of things that will get 80% results.
How To Win More Matches
By focusing on precision over power you will win more tennis matches at club level (this guide is for intermediate players, not aspiring pros).
You will enjoy exercising because you will be winning more points during the match.
You will also start playing better because there will be less frustration during the match (better mental game, more on this in another guide).
If you don’t want to give up feeling awesome after a powerful winning shot – how about feeling awesome after winning the whole match?
Train yourself to feel great about winning points in any way, not just with massive forehands.
With this mentality, you will have fun playing tennis, even if you don’t get the match.
Step 1: Get Consistent
(if you hit with good consistency already, skip to step 2)
As we discussed earlier, club-level players simply don’t have the advantage of 1000 practice hours, so we should focus on using more reliable shots.
For good placement, you need to practice these standard shots:
- Forehand groundstroke
- Backhand groundstroke
- Forehand volley
- Backhand volley
The best way to improve these shots is with your local coach (or a willing friend who plays better than you and can offer advice).
It is a little tricky to explain a very specific motion in an article, let alone provide valuable feedback on what to improve.
I could record a bunch of videos to show my technique but it’s not perfect and there is a huge amount of good material over on YouTube for every taste.
Even then, videos are good for people who can analyse their game, know what to improve and are looking for specific advice.
Your local coach will be able to give you feedback on the spot – we all need improvement in different areas.
To emphasise the value of this, an hour with a coach is 100 times more valuable to you than watching hours of tennis training videos.
Even a trainee coach will do – we’re not training to be pros, we just need to practise basic shots to achieve muscle memory of basic technique.
In a future guide, I will share simple but effective drills to help train shot precision that you can practice with your friends.
Step 2: Know The Target
Once you get consistent shots from the training, it is time to learn about the placement.
Following our 80/20 philosophy, I’ve narrowed down all possible ball placements to just four.
These are the most effective at club-level tennis and will serve you well (no pun intended).
- Baseline right (use groundstroke)
- Baseline left (use groundstroke)
- Service line right (use volley or short groundstroke)
- Service line left (use volley or short groundstroke)
You can see how the basic shots we talked about earlier come in very handy here.
The diagram only shows the player (you) on the right-hand side, but the idea is the same if you’re positioned on the left.
Use medium-powered, accurate groundstrokes to place the ball in the corners of the court.
From the baseline, the most reliable shot to take is always the cross-court.
A lower net in the middle and longer court distance bend probability in your favour.
There are great opportunities to play down the line, and I will talk about this tactic in one of the future guides.
When you find yourself close to the net (for example, returning a weak short ball) you have a much wider angle to choose from.
Use a volley or a short groundstroke to place the ball accurately just on the inside of the service line.
Again, placement is key here – don’t try to smash it out of the court.
Most recreational players won’t ever get a racket to this shot, even if you play it with medium strength.
Don’t chase the ball all over the court and get tired – let your opponent do the running.
Wrapping Up
Taking the journey from emulating the explosive power of tennis pros to training (and using) precise ball placement in club-level matches is a very effective strategy for recreational players.
By changing your mindset from power to placement, you conserve precious energy and dramatically shift the odds in your favour by minimising unforced errors.
With this knowledge, you’re now well-equipped to start winning more matches (with practice, of course).
Good luck on the court!
What tips would you share that help you personally? Do you have a favourite spot to place the ball that works like magic? What’s your own play style – safe or aggressive?
References
Lyons M, Al-Nakeeb Y, Hankey J, Nevill A. The effect of moderate and high-intensity fatigue on groundstroke accuracy in expert and non-expert tennis players. J Sports Sci Med. 2013 Jun 1;12(2):298-308. PMID: 24149809; PMCID: PMC3761827. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3761827/