Here is my move: I go DTL with a high loopy FH. This gives me time to recover to the middle, gets the rally onto my opponent's BH, and keeps my opponent from attacking the ball. I anticipate the CC response and position myself to run around my BH and hit an inside out FH and take control of the point.
This is a very good tip. One problem I constantly see however is that while tennis teachers expect all 4 / 4.5 players to be consistently hitting cross court, most of the players I play have no consistent pattern and drop balls all over the court with no real strategy. Cross court rallies are less common than people think
I completely agree. At the 3.5 level in my part of the country, the vast majority of singles players have unorthodox technique and are hitting absolute garbage shots that no one trains for - spinny junk balls, upside-down forehands as backhands, zero pace, 100% side-spin garbage, 100% lobs, etc. etc. Many of these players seem to have also developed a complete mastery of what I'll call the "lucky AF shots" - winning a dozen points per match on net cord balls, framed bloopers that manage to go in 6 inches over the net, an innate ability to place stretched-out, backhand, defensive lobs within a foot of the service line when you come to the net after hitting a great cross court shot... Tennis coaches don't spend an afternoon hitting garbage at you or testing your mental toughness by charging the net on every single play or by calling any serve near the line as "out". I hit great with my coach and with 4.0+ players - I routinely beat 4.0 singles players, but I can't seem to crawl out of the 3.5 ooze of garbage because I consistently lose against all this unconventional junk that permeates 3.5 singles.
Thank you for making this video. This and my self belief are what is lacking in my game which in turn makes me great in practice but not so good in tournaments.
This resonates. In matches I will win the best point, make anyone watching turn their head to think I'm winning and play well... but I'm just not a match winner. It must be something mental. Not an active thought but I need to see myself winning tournaments and not some fictional version of myself that I can't identify with when playing somehow. I sound like some mental guru now but yeah... I need to win more!!
Good point, did not think about the option of hitting a high shot down the line to get out of the cross court rally, get the ball to the opponent's backhand, and have time to recover. Good job.
I have legitimately done this at least once a day most of the days I've played this year. As I get more confident in hitting my targets it makes it even more tempting to go for the low percentage shots and shockingly they usually don't work out well. I found your video on the 4x4 rule for shot selection super helpful. I play a baseline style and so actively trying to flatten out my clearance when I am pulled into the court more has helped me win a lot more points recently. I had been striking a lot of those still with lots of top spin which gave my opponents time to get to balls that should have been winners. Shot selection and positioning is something club players really under-estimate. We've all lost games to people who have inferior technique but make better decisions. Well I certainly have. :/
Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear the 4x4 instruction helped! No doubt we've all taken losses to opponents with better tactics on the court. The goal is to learn from those opponents and improve the weaknesses they exploited. Knowing who we are as a player is one of the most valuable assets we have. Sounds like your on the right path my man!
So true about attempting to go down the line, an added liability is that you're hitting over the higher point of the net, so your down-the-line could easily get buried in the net. Believe me, I know.
very true the mistake happens a lot. its just so tempting rip the ball down the line. my question is, how to win that cross court battle? any better option to put pressure on opponent? or just see who misses first? cheers ✌️
Great question, ideally we force them into a error using depth, spin, pace etc. A lot of times players will be impatient and try to change directions resulting in an error. More frequently we'll force a short or weak ball from our opponent i nwhich we can then attack off of. Playing deep through the middle is also a solid tactic! Thanks for watching
Great and simple video. Thank you both for all of the quality content you provide on this channel. I just subscribed to the offer and I am looking forward to learning from it.
Hey scott and nate I am 5 feet 7 inches and I am an advanced tennis player . I had two questions - 1. I can hit both type of backhands comfortably , so if I gave both you to chose a faster and a deadlier type of backhand ? 2. I have my racket head speed is slow even I have lag and snap , I pause my arm at 5.30 clock position but still lack speed on ball , so what should I do because I choke a lot too? 3. Also which equipment is better dumbbells or toning resistance bands of same resistance level ?
Hi ishv, as you can imagine our bandwidth is unfortunately pretty limited to answer very detailed questions. I'll do my best to help you out here though. 1. Are you referring to choosing between a one-hander and a two-hander? 2. You really don't want to "pause" the racket on the backswing. The lag is initiated due to the upper body uncoiling before the lower body causing the racquet to lag. 3. Both tools are great for exercise but I prefer toning bands due to the variety of exercises that are accessible and their ability to be used for physical therapy and injury prevention. Hope this helps!
really appreciate, wish i can give u 50 $, but out of money to even pay my sons tennis lessons bills , but thanks for all your lessons. not asking for free stuff, just being honests...
We're just happy to have you here my friend. Selling products help keep the lights on but at the end of the day it's about growing the game of tennis and helping people improve in the game we love! Thanks for watching.
Your own argumentation destroys your... argument. Just like our opponent will be around the middle when we hit down the line, so will we be around the middle when he "rips" it cross-court. And just like we can't hit the corner with precision, he also can't hit our corner, especially with his weaker backhand if we both are righties. Same rules apply to both players. Truth is, hitting back to your opponent is always the worse placement decision you can make. Make your opponent work, don't give him the luxury of time to prepare and optimize his next shot.
No. Hitting the down the line shot in this situation, unless hit perfectly, tends to lack depth and goes right to where your opponent can get in a few steps. Since the distance is shorter, less time has passed for you to recover so there is more open court available to your opponent.
they got the fuzzy yellow balls wall?! If they also adopt the same business model, they will disappear from the internet completely when they have enough money ;)
Shot selection is the reason that 90% are lost? What planet are you from? Rec players, your term, lose 90% of the points due to unforced errors. Period, end of sentence. Doing a chalk talk is giving illusion of knowledge. Without seeing a player’s technique, this is insane. Technique is the whole deal for rec players. Selling this “product” is a joke. Rec players need to use this money to go on the ball machine - and fire this coach.
@ shot selection absolutely has to do with unforced errors. Attempting shots that you don’t own causes errors. And even as a tour player, I had to keep that in mind. Few amateurs have more than one shot in their quiver on each shot. Strategy requires the ability to execute the shot. So high deep balls is the only strategy that works for everyone. So without seeing the player, no way to devise a strategy. A chalk talk is worthless on a UA-cam video. And not realizing your own limitations is self-indulgence, not winning. Medvedev should be served and collide a lot because he stands so far back. Since most pros and virtually all amateurs can’t volley, this good strategy won’t work. Roddick should never have been told to go in more because of his poor volley. Sinner should be told to give up the dropshot. The rest of us mortals have to much more work around our limitations.
This is one of the best tips i have ever heard. It seem like an obvious pattern mistake but players do this all the time without thinking
Thank ya sir, glad it was helpful!
Here is my move: I go DTL with a high loopy FH. This gives me time to recover to the middle, gets the rally onto my opponent's BH, and keeps my opponent from attacking the ball. I anticipate the CC response and position myself to run around my BH and hit an inside out FH and take control of the point.
This is a very good tip. One problem I constantly see however is that while tennis teachers expect all 4 / 4.5 players to be consistently hitting cross court, most of the players I play have no consistent pattern and drop balls all over the court with no real strategy. Cross court rallies are less common than people think
I completely agree. At the 3.5 level in my part of the country, the vast majority of singles players have unorthodox technique and are hitting absolute garbage shots that no one trains for - spinny junk balls, upside-down forehands as backhands, zero pace, 100% side-spin garbage, 100% lobs, etc. etc. Many of these players seem to have also developed a complete mastery of what I'll call the "lucky AF shots" - winning a dozen points per match on net cord balls, framed bloopers that manage to go in 6 inches over the net, an innate ability to place stretched-out, backhand, defensive lobs within a foot of the service line when you come to the net after hitting a great cross court shot... Tennis coaches don't spend an afternoon hitting garbage at you or testing your mental toughness by charging the net on every single play or by calling any serve near the line as "out". I hit great with my coach and with 4.0+ players - I routinely beat 4.0 singles players, but I can't seem to crawl out of the 3.5 ooze of garbage because I consistently lose against all this unconventional junk that permeates 3.5 singles.
@@soppliger "calling any serve near the line as "out"."
Starting calling their balls out too. They'll get the message ;)
@@soppliger Harsh but fair!
Tip: Don't try to hit down the line when you're going out of position. Instead always try to hit cross court shot to defense
Thank you for making this video. This and my self belief are what is lacking in my game which in turn makes me great in practice but not so good in tournaments.
More than happy to help Rishi! Keep working hard and the results will come!
This resonates. In matches I will win the best point, make anyone watching turn their head to think I'm winning and play well... but I'm just not a match winner. It must be something mental. Not an active thought but I need to see myself winning tournaments and not some fictional version of myself that I can't identify with when playing somehow. I sound like some mental guru now but yeah... I need to win more!!
Good point, did not think about the option of hitting a high shot down the line to get out of the cross court rally, get the ball to the opponent's backhand, and have time to recover. Good job.
Thanks, glad it was helpful!
I have legitimately done this at least once a day most of the days I've played this year. As I get more confident in hitting my targets it makes it even more tempting to go for the low percentage shots and shockingly they usually don't work out well.
I found your video on the 4x4 rule for shot selection super helpful. I play a baseline style and so actively trying to flatten out my clearance when I am pulled into the court more has helped me win a lot more points recently. I had been striking a lot of those still with lots of top spin which gave my opponents time to get to balls that should have been winners. Shot selection and positioning is something club players really under-estimate. We've all lost games to people who have inferior technique but make better decisions. Well I certainly have. :/
Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear the 4x4 instruction helped! No doubt we've all taken losses to opponents with better tactics on the court. The goal is to learn from those opponents and improve the weaknesses they exploited. Knowing who we are as a player is one of the most valuable assets we have. Sounds like your on the right path my man!
So true about attempting to go down the line, an added liability is that you're hitting over the higher point of the net, so your down-the-line could easily get buried in the net. Believe me, I know.
Great addition to the content robert, much appreciated!
LOVE you guys.
Much LOVE from the USVI.
Thanks for the support! 🙌
Great coaching
very true the mistake happens a lot. its just so tempting rip the ball down the line. my question is, how to win that cross court battle? any better option to put pressure on opponent? or just see who misses first? cheers ✌️
Great question, ideally we force them into a error using depth, spin, pace etc. A lot of times players will be impatient and try to change directions resulting in an error. More frequently we'll force a short or weak ball from our opponent i nwhich we can then attack off of. Playing deep through the middle is also a solid tactic! Thanks for watching
Great and simple video. Thank you both for all of the quality content you provide on this channel. I just subscribed to the offer and I am looking forward to learning from it.
You’re very welcome JR! We appreciate the kind words and the support!
Want to improve my singles match
Hey scott and nate I am 5 feet 7 inches and I am an advanced tennis player . I had two questions -
1. I can hit both type of backhands comfortably , so if I gave both you to chose a faster and a deadlier type of backhand ?
2. I have my racket head speed is slow even I have lag and snap , I pause my arm at 5.30 clock position but still lack speed on ball , so what should I do because I choke a lot too?
3. Also which equipment is better dumbbells or toning resistance bands of same resistance level ?
Hi ishv, as you can imagine our bandwidth is unfortunately pretty limited to answer very detailed questions. I'll do my best to help you out here though. 1. Are you referring to choosing between a one-hander and a two-hander? 2. You really don't want to "pause" the racket on the backswing. The lag is initiated due to the upper body uncoiling before the lower body causing the racquet to lag. 3. Both tools are great for exercise but I prefer toning bands due to the variety of exercises that are accessible and their ability to be used for physical therapy and injury prevention. Hope this helps!
what about a wide-angle cross-court return to stretch them out of the court further to open more court for a winner?
Love that, especially a wide short angle!
Great vid! And a question: how should I defend if my opponent pulls me wide, and closes in to the net?
Great question. We're big fans of the dipper! Checkout the link below for a detailed lesson! ua-cam.com/video/88HdgDjyGI0/v-deo.html
but I live for the DTL shots=)
We dig em too! (Just dig them more when hit from the right position 😉)
20% intro, 10% teaching, 70% selling. 😢
Why would you put 'us' at the top of the court. We should be down the bottom.
I‘ll probably gonna take the offer because you are maligne such Good contents
Thanks for the support Andreas!
It's not 90%!! That's just clickbait. It's maybe 30% at most.
I call it hitting behind the player.
Best of luck out there.
really appreciate, wish i can give u 50 $, but out of money to even pay my sons tennis lessons bills , but thanks for all your lessons.
not asking for free stuff, just being honests...
We're just happy to have you here my friend. Selling products help keep the lights on but at the end of the day it's about growing the game of tennis and helping people improve in the game we love! Thanks for watching.
Get Singles Strategy & Tactics 75% off + 3 free Bonuses! Go here 👉bit.ly/2P2LTh1
I can't beat moonballers 😂
Your own argumentation destroys your... argument. Just like our opponent will be around the middle when we hit down the line, so will we be around the middle when he "rips" it cross-court. And just like we can't hit the corner with precision, he also can't hit our corner, especially with his weaker backhand if we both are righties. Same rules apply to both players. Truth is, hitting back to your opponent is always the worse placement decision you can make. Make your opponent work, don't give him the luxury of time to prepare and optimize his next shot.
No. Hitting the down the line shot in this situation, unless hit perfectly, tends to lack depth and goes right to where your opponent can get in a few steps. Since the distance is shorter, less time has passed for you to recover so there is more open court available to your opponent.
I think you should have tried to make this video longer (and even more boring)
they got the fuzzy yellow balls wall?!
If they also adopt the same business model, they will disappear from the internet completely when they have enough money ;)
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣. Don't worry we aren't going anywhere regardless of wallet size.
This is ad.
Shot selection is the reason that 90% are lost? What planet are you from? Rec players, your term, lose 90% of the points due to unforced errors. Period, end of sentence. Doing a chalk talk is giving illusion of knowledge. Without seeing a player’s technique, this is insane. Technique is the whole deal for rec players. Selling this “product” is a joke. Rec players need to use this money to go on the ball machine - and fire this coach.
Yup because decision making has nothing to do with unforced errors.......
@ shot selection absolutely has to do with unforced errors. Attempting shots that you don’t own causes errors. And even as a tour player, I had to keep that in mind. Few amateurs have more than one shot in their quiver on each shot. Strategy requires the ability to execute the shot. So high deep balls is the only strategy that works for everyone. So without seeing the player, no way to devise a strategy. A chalk talk is worthless on a UA-cam video. And not realizing your own limitations is self-indulgence, not winning. Medvedev should be served and collide a lot because he stands so far back. Since most pros and virtually all amateurs can’t volley, this good strategy won’t work. Roddick should never have been told to go in more because of his poor volley. Sinner should be told to give up the dropshot. The rest of us mortals have to much more work around our limitations.