Untitled Document

Playing Against the Big Hitters
What to do when their power seems to overwhelm you.

A few months ago, I was competing in a U.S.T.A. league match. I know this may
not be of much importance to some, but my team was watching me and cheering me
on. I felt the pressure to try to win. The opponent I was playing was far superior
in skill to me...at least that's how it seemed to me. He hit the tennis ball with such
power that it hurt whenever I tried to send it back. In ten minutes I found myself
down 1-5 and receiving serve.

What was it Don had taught me a couple of weeks earlier? I began hearing
his voice before what I thought would be the last game of the set. "Play consistent
and slice the ball back. If your opponent's best shots keep coming back to them
consistently, they will lose confidence in those shots". I made some strategic
changes in my match play; and, before I knew it, I came back and won that first
set 7-5. That's right, kids! My opponent did not win a single game after that.
All of a sudden, he was in a fight. I wished I had practiced this type of playing
more, now that I needed it. So, what advice did Don give me that saved the
day? Ok, boys and girls (and little baby squirrels), here are a couple of tips
to use when playing against the big hitters.

Tip One: Shorten your back swings. There are times when you can
wail away at a return of serve. Sometimes I will challenge a hard server
by slamming the ball at them faster than they served it to me, especially if
I get a nice forehand. For the most part, just block the ball back. You
can also use a little bit of under spin to get the ball back deep and low,
almost like you're hitting a volley. The more power they use, the easier it
should be to block/volley the ball back. If they like to come into the net
behind that power, try to return the ball at their feet. This will cause them
to hit up and you will have an easy put away.

Tip Two: Change your position on the court. This guy I was playing, we will
call him Melvin (names changed to protect the guilty - oh, man that was corny!), knew
how to play with both power and depth. Most of the balls he hit weren't just heavy,
they would land within a couple of inches inside the baseline. I started to move back
a little bit to allow myself more time to adjust to the ball on rallies (remember those?).
I found that doing this allowed me time, not just to get to the ball, but to actually
think about where I wanted to place the ball on each shot.

Tip Three: Play percentage tennis. I began to hit everything, mostly, back to the
same direction from which I received it. In other words, if crazy Melvin, hit a shot
cross court to me, I returned it cross court. If he hit one down the line, I returned it
down the line. I hit most of my shots cross court as the middle of the net is also the
lowest part of the net. Percentage tennis? Yeah, you have the highest percentage
of a chance to get it over that part of the net as opposed to going down the line where
the net is at it's highest. I usually only went down the line when he would hit a short
ball. A ball that landed around the service line.

Tip Four: Always mess with their rhythm (and minds). I hit quite a few slice forehands.
Most tennis players don't take the time to develop this shot, much less to defend against it.
I would slice my forehand and my backhand at him, going both short and deep. Sometimes
I would hit my forehands with regular top spin to keep him back and sometimes with
an extreme amount of topspin to drive him back when the ball exploded towards him
after it landed on his side of the court. In other words, I used variety to keep him from
getting into a rhythm of heavy hitting. This caused him to play more defensively.

Crazy Melvin not only lost that set, he began cursing and throwing his racket. When an
opponent begins to yell and throw his or her racket, you have taken control of that player.
I ran into Melvin a couple of days after our match and he told me that he was hurting so
bad the following day, he called in sick at work. Geez, I should probably feel kind of
bad about that......but I don't (Evil Grin!).

Need hands-on lessons? Don VanRamshorst is a U.S.P.T.A.
certified professional tennis instructor. Nothing beats the real
deal! Call the Harlingen H.E.B. tennis center for rates and your
next appointment today! (956) 428 - 2092


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Playing Against the Big Hitters What to do when their power seems to overwhelm you. A few months ago, I was competing in a U.S.T.A. league match. I know this may not be of much importance to some, but my team was watching me and cheering me on. I felt the pressure to try to win. The opponent I was playing was far superior in skill to me...at least that's how it seemed to me. He hit the tennis ball with such power that it hurt whenever I tried to send it back. In ten minutes I found myself down 1-5 and receiving serve. What was it Don had taught me a couple of weeks earlier? I began hearing his voice before what I thought would be the last game of the set. "Play consistent and slice the ball back. If your opponent's best shots keep coming back to them consistently, they will lose confidence in those shots". I made some strategic changes in my match play; and, before I knew it, I came back and won that first set 7-5. That's right, kids! My opponent did not win a single game after that. All of a sudden, he was in a fight. I wished I had practiced this type of playing more, now that I needed it. So, what advice did Don give me that saved the day? Ok, boys and girls (and little baby squirrels), here are a couple of tips to use when playing against the big hitters. Tip One: Shorten your back swings. There are times when you can wail away at a return of serve. Sometimes I will challenge a hard server by slamming the ball at them faster than they served it to me, especially if I get a nice forehand. For the most part, just block the ball back. You can also use a little bit of under spin to get the ball back deep and low, almost like you're hitting a volley. The more power they use, the easier it should be to block/volley the ball back. If they like to come into the net behind that power, try to return the ball at their feet. This will cause them to hit up and you will have an easy put away. Tip Two: Change your position on the court. This guy I was playing, we will call him Melvin (names changed to protect the guilty - oh, man that was corny!), knew how to play with both power and depth. Most of the balls he hit weren't just heavy, they would land within a couple of inches inside the baseline. I started to move back a little bit to allow myself more time to adjust to the ball on rallies (remember those?). I found that doing this allowed me time, not just to get to the ball, but to actually think about where I wanted to place the ball on each shot. Tip Three: Play percentage tennis. I began to hit everything, mostly, back to the same direction from which I received it. In other words, if crazy Melvin, hit a shot cross court to me, I returned it cross court. If he hit one down the line, I returned it down the line. I hit most of my shots cross court as the middle of the net is also the lowest part of the net. Percentage tennis? Yeah, you have the highest percentage of a chance to get it over that part of the net as opposed to going down the line where the net is at it's highest. I usually only went down the line when he would hit a short ball. A ball that landed around the service line. Tip Four: Always mess with their rhythm (and minds). I hit quite a few slice forehands. Most tennis players don't take the time to develop this shot, much less to defend against it. I would slice my forehand and my backhand at him, going both short and deep. Sometimes I would hit my forehands with regular top spin to keep him back and sometimes with an extreme amount of topspin to drive him back when the ball exploded towards him after it landed on his side of the court. In other words, I used variety to keep him from getting into a rhythm of heavy hitting. This caused him to play more defensively. Crazy Melvin not only lost that set, he began cursing and throwing his racket. When an opponent begins to yell and throw his or her racket, you have taken control of that player. I ran into Melvin a couple of days after our match and he told me that he was hurting so bad the following day, he called in sick at work. Geez, I should probably feel kind of bad about that......but I don't (Evil Grin!). Need hands-on lessons? Don VanRamshorst is a U.S.P.T.A. certified professional tennis instructor. Nothing beats the real deal! Call the Harlingen H.E.B. tennis center for rates and your next appointment today! (956) 428 - 2092