I saw couple of your videos, and I've learned the essence of tennis: it's a game played by one and only Hero against a bunch of Villains, like Agassi and the others.
Will, As much as I hated playing pushers and felt they were beneath me, I realized that they exposed the biggest weakness in my "heroic" game. Consistency. It's easy to consider yourself a better player when you can hit beautiful poster (poser?) strokes but tennis is also about playing your opponent and whatever they give you to work with. Focusing on smart shot selection is really key in these situations and aggressively attacking weaker, shorter shots. Utilizing the middle court to attack with short angles and mixing deep drives is also useful here. You will not get rhythm so you have to use that to your advantage. In the end, I have learned to really appreciate and learn from pushers and folks who have mastered the ability to disrupt opponents and play the situation with more strategy. What they lack in physical tools, they make up for tennis IQ.
Hey great insights. Learning that you can't always play, and win, beautifully is a big milestone. Sometimes it's ugly and you gotta tough it out. More often than I'd like to admit lol :-)
Reminds me of when I was younger, I played this guy who hacked and slashed the ball most unorthodoxly with little pace, I kept complaining to my coach why won't this guy play real tennis. My coach said he was doing everything in his power to make you uncomfortable and doing that for a win is about as real as it gets!
Another option is to hit a slice backhand cross court rather than the forehand. You don't need a very killing slice, actually a slice bouncing twice inside the court would be the ideal.
Crunch Time Coaching crappy is just wrong. It’s an intentionally hit short ball on an opponent playing off the court, perhaps with high topspin to shape it into the court. On a completely different note, appreciate your videos
Fed hit his forehand down the line and bounced just crossing the net. The ball dropped so low at the baseline creating mishits and netballs. He did this many times in Wimbledon against Nadal and Joker. It was a great shot that I’ve never seen anyone do before. Your shot that bounces before the service line is not as effective as Fed’s. I’m amazed at how at his age, he’s still creating new tennis shots.
A couple of years ago, you used a chalk board (tennis court), and I thought "wow", he could do a lot with that. I like that you are still using it, but now in a more detailed way. Tom
I play a lot of pushers or risk adverse types and the recipe that works the best for me are any of these 3 steps: 1) in general they do not have strong serves especially the 2nd so I try to drive my returns to the corners/sides or even drop shot my return. 2) try to volley as much as you can with the easiest play being to get them running to their weaker side and come in for a volley and also serve and volley 3) get them to the net however you can... they in general are not good volliers(?) so you can pass or lob them. The requirements here are you can volley and hit overheads consistently with slow to medium pace balls.
Thanks! I would actually use "Home Base" against them. ACPs are super-talented so you need to reduce your risk and make them take chances to attack. If they're treeing there's not much you can do, but at least you made them earn it.
Do you have a podcast or something? what happened to you for 9 months? You're the OG UA-cam Tennis instructor! Hope all is good, keep making great stuff.
nice video, but how does that fit to your other video "Roger Federer's "Imaginary Line Rule"". In this video you suggest to play a coming cross ball down the line.
Good question! "Home Base" is a relatively conservative play. But others are more aggressive and riskier. But in either case, if you get a short ball then you can change direction on an outside groundstroke. It's when you're behind the baseline receiving a well-hit ball that you get yourself into trouble.
Hmm not necessarily. At the 4.0 level you still have pushers and there are some 4.0s that actually can hit decent seves regularly. Most 4.0s that are aggressive have atleast 1 to 2 weapons so not a ton of weapons but 1 or 2 is not unreasonable and if the ability to hit decent aggressive serves is one of those weapons you developed than I could see this being a tactic. I remember in high school I was on the JV team a couple of years before playing varsity and I played against some who had a monster serve, it was as big as someone playing at a 5.0 or 5.5 level but the rest of his game was weak, in rally points I could see him struggling to rally with a 3.0 or 3.5 level player so if someone's serve is developed above the rest of their game I could see this being a tactic.
love the theory of this play. But need guidance from a Lefty point of view. also What if the villian...just lobs /floats a return shot? suggestion on position? shot /return? very difficult to take a floater/high ball and drop it short as original play plan reccommends.
Linda Sheehan If this is a happening then your shots are too soft and too short load up more with your legs for power so you stop allowing the other player to lob. Don’t over brush the with spin by finishing too high with your forehand over your shoulder instead go more linear or straight thru your shot. By doing this you keep the ball lower and it’s much harder for the opponent to make a lob return also practice your overhead smashes from net to base line. Good luck.
The singles play book is way too expensive for me to buy. Even on special. $67 is over R1000. I could buy an entire month of groceries for the price of that book in south africa. This book is extremely handy and well thought out but just not in my price range. You could make it into a e-book which can lower the price because you are not using any materials or paying for shipping.
Ok but pushers are smart and they play back a return of serve very high and deep into the court and this makes very difficult to play short and low and anyway, they had all the time to recover from the wide position
Sorry but this is only theoretical. Unless you have an advanced serve (5.0 or higher) the pusher can always moonball the return and have all the time in the world to come back to the middle of the court. Than your short through the center forehand wouldn't be effective at all.
Pera Kojot except it’s really not. All you need is a controlled serve, bc pace won’t draw them further back. A 2.5 with a 30mph serve could run this play. Maybe learn some control?
@@juliansanderson839 Sorry, but I don't think you know what you are talking about. 30mph serve, wtf??? Advance serve doesn't only mean pace (ofc fast serve works the best) but can also mean slice wide. But both these are 5.0 and higher types of serve. A similar pattern to what video is proposing can actually work but requires at least 4.0 level and serve doesn't matter much (as long as opponent can't directly attack it). The idea is after return to play short CC BH slice. Then the pusher can't have much choice but to try to play short ball or (as most often happens) just push the ball long. However, one needs a decent slice to do that.
@@perakojot6524 in what world is a wide slice considered 5.0 material? it's a basic serve, and doesn't even have to be performed well in this situation. and like i said, pace doesn't mean much against someone standing so far back. your pattern is almost the exact same in terms of difficulty, you just changed which part was difficult. instead of a controlled serve you need a controlled slice. plus, your pattern doesn't account for court geometry -- you've hit a backhand, drawn your opponent to the net and given them an even shorter angle to use on your backhand, n a passing shot to your forehand, and every angle in between. it's a completely defensive situation for you unless you play the perfect slice
@@juliansanderson839 Wide slice serve that doesn't get crushed under your feet requires 5.0 level unless you play against ppl who are (probably as yourself) clueless about return. And even if it doesn't get crushed any decent moonballer will just moonball it back to the base line. You are just talking out of your ass like the guy that posts a video. Bunch of useless theory that doesn't work on the court. Or you are simply 3-3.5 player that never played against ppl who can hit hard FH return or know how to properly play defensively by killing your pace and sending relentless amount of defensive slices deep on your baseline.
Pera Kojot i play singles at the varsity 3 position in a division one high school. you must have a massive superiority complex to judge my knowledge on the return with no context and just assuming you are more educated on a topic. you also lack evidence to back your claims, so saying im talking out of my ass is hypocritical and ignorant. let me irrita rate: this is a counter strategy to a PUSHER -- as in someone with minimal technical skill, yet high athletic ability. they are not capable of crushing ANY serve, even a poorly aimed wide slice. if someone moonballs it, there is this little known secret called the OVERHEAD. better yet, let it drop and hit a short topspin/drive shot from the baseline, if you aren't capable of doing a BASIC fundamental. the opponent can't be a 5.0 power baseliner with a return that kills every serve and a weak ass moonballer. stop picking and choosing when someone is capable of hitting a winner when it is assumed they are not technically sound enough to do so.
He realizado compras en su plataforma y me han negado los acceso a mis compras y no he recibido ningún libro de los dos que ya les he comprado, requiero una atención inmediata porque ya reporte esto desde inicio de mes a su correo de soporte y no me han dado solución, en caso de no ser posible arreglar esta situación agradezco la devolución de mi dinero. Saludos
I bought book/course and took this theory in to the court last weekend, and ... DISASTER. Does it mean it is all wrong - NO. It only means that it is not that straight forward. First of all, unless you have a huge serve or the pusher is a bad receiver, this "play" is not straight forward. 2 shots and you win the point - no way. Secondly, control the point with your forehand, and hitting a lot of inside out forehands it is physically demanding - you need to be fast and real fit. And last, assuming that you are able to build your points and come to the net it is another physical challenge. It is a lot more demanding to sprint to the net and sometimes run back to recover lobs, than to run around in the baseline in the "pushers game". And a "bonus variable" to add to all of this scenario - clay court... It is a pity that they don't reply to comments in the course. If there is a comment option, they should. If not, just remove it, don't create false expectations.
Carlos Silva As my tennis coach says you don’t play tennis to get fit you get fit to play tennis. So you need to work on fitness and strategy. The pointers Will gives are correct they are not theory just watch the first video and you will see Federer using the plays. If you’re finding it too physically challenging then a quick start would be don’t forget to split step when your opponent is about to hit the ball so your uni turn is quick those milliseconds are critical. If you are split stepping every single time then maybe your split step is too high costing you time. Try and keep your split step as low as you can so you can move quicker with your same physique. Keep coming to the net when your opponent is on the run and your first shot is deep to give you time it take practice but it does work. The more times you come to the net the better you will get. Your frustration to quit is greater than your motivation to improve, work on your mindset. It takes time be patient don’t expect instant results and gratification we so easily can find online. Good luck.
Hi@@HT__00, As I wrote down - Does it mean it is all wrong - NO. It only means that it is not that straight forward. And this is for me a valuable advice to all of those out there, that as I did, want to buy to book/course to improve there tennis. As for "Your frustration to quit is greater than your motivation to improve, work on your mindset." - this is a absurd point of view. I'm 50 years old, and I'm far from being unmotivated. As a matter of fact I'm super motivated, and that's why I'm constantly searching for new solutions, new points of view, new technical approaches. I'm a coach myself and have tried tons of new approaches to several issues in the last decade, and some are great, some are not. Having payed for these "pack of advice" (book/course), I was at least expecting some feedback from the authors. Still do. The channel is open.
Carlos Silva You’re supposedly a coach and still don’t find it straight forward? I don’t think it can get much simpler the videos do a great job of making even easier, you only gave it a weekend before criticizing it that to me is quitting, its pretty obvious why he’s not responding to you if he sees your comment out of the many comments he gets daily. The material is high quality and it takes more than a weekend to get it right try more like a few months to get into the new habit. The first serve first strike does work if you hit your serve in the right spot and get a short return it will not work on every serve what he’s trying to teach is what is possible and what is probable and to play your percentages accordingly for a higher win rate. Good luck.
@@atore Yes. And a lot of extras like "The 100MPH Club" (serve), "The Kinetic Forehand", "The 55% Advantage" (the statistical analysis of pros that is behind the "Singles Playbook")
Warning this is a scam. I purchased a lifetime access last year and I was not given access to their videos at all and what I emailed and called them countless times without getting a response. They just want to get people’s money.
Hey I’m sorry you’re having trouble accessing the content. If you go to our website, Fuzzy Yellow Balls for com, there’s a chat box where we can get you up and running. Please let me know if that works.
I saw couple of your videos, and I've learned the essence of tennis: it's a game played by one and only Hero against a bunch of Villains, like Agassi and the others.
Your videos are phenomenal. Please keep making and posting them.
Will, As much as I hated playing pushers and felt they were beneath me, I realized that they exposed the biggest weakness in my "heroic" game. Consistency. It's easy to consider yourself a better player when you can hit beautiful poster (poser?) strokes but tennis is also about playing your opponent and whatever they give you to work with. Focusing on smart shot selection is really key in these situations and aggressively attacking weaker, shorter shots. Utilizing the middle court to attack with short angles and mixing deep drives is also useful here. You will not get rhythm so you have to use that to your advantage.
In the end, I have learned to really appreciate and learn from pushers and folks who have mastered the ability to disrupt opponents and play the situation with more strategy. What they lack in physical tools, they make up for tennis IQ.
Hey great insights. Learning that you can't always play, and win, beautifully is a big milestone. Sometimes it's ugly and you gotta tough it out. More often than I'd like to admit lol :-)
Reminds me of when I was younger, I played this guy who hacked and slashed the ball most unorthodoxly with little pace, I kept complaining to my coach why won't this guy play real tennis. My coach said he was doing everything in his power to make you uncomfortable and doing that for a win is about as real as it gets!
Another option is to hit a slice backhand cross court rather than the forehand. You don't need a very killing slice, actually a slice bouncing twice inside the court would be the ideal.
rodctenis yes and also short slice forehand instead of topspin, whichever is more comfortable depending on the return
exactly what Fed did against Djoker last time. It worked perfectly well, well except that ...
Great stuff Will...I like the idea of hitting a crappy forehand to open up the point. I am great at that :)
Crunch Time Coaching crappy is just wrong. It’s an intentionally hit short ball on an opponent playing off the court, perhaps with high topspin to shape it into the court.
On a completely different note, appreciate your videos
Haha me too
Fed hit his forehand down the line and bounced just crossing the net. The ball dropped so low at the baseline creating mishits and netballs. He did this many times in Wimbledon against Nadal and Joker. It was a great shot that I’ve never seen anyone do before. Your shot that bounces before the service line is not as effective as Fed’s. I’m amazed at how at his age, he’s still creating new tennis shots.
A couple of years ago, you used a chalk board (tennis court), and I thought "wow", he could do a lot with that. I like that you are still using it, but now in a more detailed way. Tom
Good Stuff! I'm also very good at hitting bad shots that fall short!
I play a lot of pushers or risk adverse types and the recipe that works the best for me are any of these 3 steps: 1) in general they do not have strong serves especially the 2nd so I try to drive my returns to the corners/sides or even drop shot my return. 2) try to volley as much as you can with the easiest play being to get them running to their weaker side and come in for a volley and also serve and volley 3) get them to the net however you can... they in general are not good volliers(?) so you can pass or lob them. The requirements here are you can volley and hit overheads consistently with slow to medium pace balls.
Hey Will! Loved the video. Any ideas on how to beat All-court players? Would love a video on that! 😬
Thanks! I would actually use "Home Base" against them. ACPs are super-talented so you need to reduce your risk and make them take chances to attack. If they're treeing there's not much you can do, but at least you made them earn it.
I'm keen on your singles playbook but I'm a southpaw as you call em and I wanted to know how specific drills are for me?
Watch the video on how to play southpaws and flip them in your head. Unless, of course you play against another southpaw ; )
Do you have a podcast or something? what happened to you for 9 months? You're the OG UA-cam Tennis instructor! Hope all is good, keep making great stuff.
Great stuff!!!
for me the most difficult phase is the rally in a quick court with the forehand
nice video, but how does that fit to your other video "Roger Federer's "Imaginary Line Rule"". In this video you suggest to play a coming cross ball down the line.
Good question! "Home Base" is a relatively conservative play. But others are more aggressive and riskier. But in either case, if you get a short ball then you can change direction on an outside groundstroke. It's when you're behind the baseline receiving a well-hit ball that you get yourself into trouble.
If you're playing at a level where you face pushers often, then you probably also have difficulty hitting a decent serve, let alone aiming one.
Hmm not necessarily. At the 4.0 level you still have pushers and there are some 4.0s that actually can hit decent seves regularly. Most 4.0s that are aggressive have atleast 1 to 2 weapons so not a ton of weapons but 1 or 2 is not unreasonable and if the ability to hit decent aggressive serves is one of those weapons you developed than I could see this being a tactic. I remember in high school I was on the JV team a couple of years before playing varsity and I played against some who had a monster serve, it was as big as someone playing at a 5.0 or 5.5 level but the rest of his game was weak, in rally points I could see him struggling to rally with a 3.0 or 3.5 level player so if someone's serve is developed above the rest of their game I could see this being a tactic.
love the theory of this play. But need guidance from a Lefty point of view. also What if the villian...just lobs /floats a return shot? suggestion on position? shot /return? very difficult to take a floater/high ball and drop it short as original play plan reccommends.
Linda Sheehan If this is a happening then your shots are too soft and too short load up more with your legs for power so you stop allowing the other player to lob. Don’t over brush the with spin by finishing too high with your forehand over your shoulder instead go more linear or straight thru your shot. By doing this you keep the ball lower and it’s much harder for the opponent to make a lob return also practice your overhead smashes from net to base line. Good luck.
Hi. Great videos. The playbook says it's unavailable on your website.
The singles play book is way too expensive for me to buy. Even on special. $67 is over R1000. I could buy an entire month of groceries for the price of that book in south africa.
This book is extremely handy and well thought out but just not in my price range.
You could make it into a e-book which can lower the price because you are not using any materials or paying for shipping.
sir make a video for lefties how can they use strategy
If I was a leftie, I could use the strategy (modifying it) Will gave.
Ok but pushers are smart and they play back a return of serve very high and deep into the court and this makes very difficult to play short and low and anyway, they had all the time to recover from the wide position
nice one! 👍
Hit a ball short? How bad an opponent is this? They'll come forward and spin the ball out wide. Hope you've got your running shoes.
I'm in Ireland, can I get a copy of the play book please? But I can't see how to request 1. Tnx Paul.
Hey Paul! You can get one at FuzzyYellowballs.com
Santoro.
Hsieh.
Niculescu.
Anyone else I'm missing?
Common thread: Double handed both wings.
Adam Haase Peng Shuai
Good nomination.
Another one who annoys me.
Can I get the book in Australia?
Hey, yep! We ship international :-)
@@fuzzyyellowballs Thanks mate
Sorry but this is only theoretical. Unless you have an advanced serve (5.0 or higher) the pusher can always moonball the return and have all the time in the world to come back to the middle of the court. Than your short through the center forehand wouldn't be effective at all.
Pera Kojot except it’s really not. All you need is a controlled serve, bc pace won’t draw them further back. A 2.5 with a 30mph serve could run this play. Maybe learn some control?
@@juliansanderson839 Sorry, but I don't think you know what you are talking about. 30mph serve, wtf???
Advance serve doesn't only mean pace (ofc fast serve works the best) but can also mean slice wide. But both these are 5.0 and higher types of serve.
A similar pattern to what video is proposing can actually work but requires at least 4.0 level and serve doesn't matter much (as long as opponent can't directly attack it). The idea is after return to play short CC BH slice. Then the pusher can't have much choice but to try to play short ball or (as most often happens) just push the ball long. However, one needs a decent slice to do that.
@@perakojot6524 in what world is a wide slice considered 5.0 material? it's a basic serve, and doesn't even have to be performed well in this situation. and like i said, pace doesn't mean much against someone standing so far back.
your pattern is almost the exact same in terms of difficulty, you just changed which part was difficult. instead of a controlled serve you need a controlled slice. plus, your pattern doesn't account for court geometry -- you've hit a backhand, drawn your opponent to the net and given them an even shorter angle to use on your backhand, n a passing shot to your forehand, and every angle in between. it's a completely defensive situation for you unless you play the perfect slice
@@juliansanderson839 Wide slice serve that doesn't get crushed under your feet requires 5.0 level unless you play against ppl who are (probably as yourself) clueless about return. And even if it doesn't get crushed any decent moonballer will just moonball it back to the base line.
You are just talking out of your ass like the guy that posts a video. Bunch of useless theory that doesn't work on the court.
Or you are simply 3-3.5 player that never played against ppl who can hit hard FH return or know how to properly play defensively by killing your pace and sending relentless amount of defensive slices deep on your baseline.
Pera Kojot i play singles at the varsity 3 position in a division one high school. you must have a massive superiority complex to judge my knowledge on the return with no context and just assuming you are more educated on a topic.
you also lack evidence to back your claims, so saying im talking out of my ass is hypocritical and ignorant.
let me irrita rate: this is a counter strategy to a PUSHER -- as in someone with minimal technical skill, yet high athletic ability. they are not capable of crushing ANY serve, even a poorly aimed wide slice.
if someone moonballs it, there is this little known secret called the OVERHEAD. better yet, let it drop and hit a short topspin/drive shot from the baseline, if you aren't capable of doing a BASIC fundamental.
the opponent can't be a 5.0 power baseliner with a return that kills every serve and a weak ass moonballer. stop picking and choosing when someone is capable of hitting a winner when it is assumed they are not technically sound enough to do so.
Hey Will. I love this “how to run play” series. Is this going to be the last video you upload in the series?
Hey Farhang, thanks! For the time being, ya, but we'll have more in the fall. In the process of figuring out our content schedule now :-)
I'm a 10× better player after watching your videos
That's awesome congrats!
He realizado compras en su plataforma y me han negado los acceso a mis compras y no he recibido ningún libro de los dos que ya les he comprado, requiero una atención inmediata porque ya reporte esto desde inicio de mes a su correo de soporte y no me han dado solución, en caso de no ser posible arreglar esta situación agradezco la devolución de mi dinero. Saludos
I’m left handed so does this work on the add side or is this only on the deuce?
Hi Reed, Yes it does. Your forehand would be to the "sword" but in the context of your opponent being a pusher it is still a good strategy.
I bought book/course and took this theory in to the court last weekend, and ... DISASTER.
Does it mean it is all wrong - NO. It only means that it is not that straight forward.
First of all, unless you have a huge serve or the pusher is a bad receiver, this "play" is not straight forward. 2 shots and you win the point - no way.
Secondly, control the point with your forehand, and hitting a lot of inside out forehands it is physically demanding - you need to be fast and real fit.
And last, assuming that you are able to build your points and come to the net it is another physical challenge. It is a lot more demanding to sprint to the net and sometimes run back to recover lobs, than to run around in the baseline in the "pushers game".
And a "bonus variable" to add to all of this scenario - clay court...
It is a pity that they don't reply to comments in the course. If there is a comment option, they should. If not, just remove it, don't create false expectations.
Carlos Silva As my tennis coach says you don’t play tennis to get fit you get fit to play tennis. So you need to work on fitness and strategy. The pointers Will gives are correct they are not theory just watch the first video and you will see Federer using the plays. If you’re finding it too physically challenging then a quick start would be don’t forget to split step when your opponent is about to hit the ball so your uni turn is quick those milliseconds are critical. If you are split stepping every single time then maybe your split step is too high costing you time. Try and keep your split step as low as you can so you can move quicker with your same physique. Keep coming to the net when your opponent is on the run and your first shot is deep to give you time it take practice but it does work. The more times you come to the net the better you will get. Your frustration to quit is greater than your motivation to improve, work on your mindset. It takes time be patient don’t expect instant results and gratification we so easily can find online. Good luck.
Hi@@HT__00,
As I wrote down - Does it mean it is all wrong - NO. It only means that it is not that straight forward.
And this is for me a valuable advice to all of those out there, that as I did, want to buy to book/course to improve there tennis. As for "Your frustration to quit is greater than your motivation to improve, work on your mindset." - this is a absurd point of view. I'm 50 years old, and I'm far from being unmotivated. As a matter of fact I'm super motivated, and that's why I'm constantly searching for new solutions, new points of view, new technical approaches. I'm a coach myself and have tried tons of new approaches to several issues in the last decade, and some are great, some are not.
Having payed for these "pack of advice" (book/course), I was at least expecting some feedback from the authors. Still do. The channel is open.
Carlos Silva You’re supposedly a coach and still don’t find it straight forward? I don’t think it can get much simpler the videos do a great job of making even easier, you only gave it a weekend before criticizing it that to me is quitting, its pretty obvious why he’s not responding to you if he sees your comment out of the many comments he gets daily. The material is high quality and it takes more than a weekend to get it right try more like a few months to get into the new habit. The first serve first strike does work if you hit your serve in the right spot and get a short return it will not work on every serve what he’s trying to teach is what is possible and what is probable and to play your percentages accordingly for a higher win rate. Good luck.
Does the book come with an explained video for each of the 41 Plays like this one?
@@atore Yes. And a lot of extras like "The 100MPH Club" (serve), "The Kinetic Forehand", "The 55% Advantage" (the statistical analysis of pros that is behind the "Singles Playbook")
Be careful. You will not get the product, phone they are “not able to answer” and emails are simply ignored.
First time they pushed this (last year), the only good thing that they delivered on for me was the no questions asked refund policy.
This video is only ok in theory
How do I get my hands on that book??
$67. That's funny.
he needs money again. sorry will, you lost my trust. I invested 100+$ in you and won't do it again.
wat are u bubling about?
For those of us considering to buy the book, can you explain why? Thx
Warning this is a scam. I purchased a lifetime access last year and I was not given access to their videos at all and what I emailed and called them countless times without getting a response. They just want to get people’s money.
Hey I’m sorry you’re having trouble accessing the content. If you go to our website, Fuzzy Yellow Balls for com, there’s a chat box where we can get you up and running. Please let me know if that works.