Learning to Play Smart Tennis

Over the years I have had students ask me to teach them tactics for playing tennis.  One of the tactics that many of the boys wanted to use was to hit the ball hard. Hitting the ball hard is not a tactic. Often times it is just extra arm practice and the ball goes anywhere. There was a teaching pro that called this tactic,"Bam! Slam! Hope to goodness Sam!" 

What many students don't realize is they are already doing tactics when they serve, return, volley, hit a forehand or a backhand. Any one of those is a tactic, especially depending on how you  play one of the strokes. 

Once you learn the strokes you can start using them to your advantage. First, you must keep the ball in play. You have to be able to rally. You must be able to get one more ball back. I always like to ask students,"How long before you start over? "

After you have been able to keep the ball in play, you try to move your friend side to side. Now you are rallying and making your friend move to play another ball. Once you have them running, you ring your friend to the net and then hit it over their head with a lob. As you become more advanced you start playing short and deep angle shots to get an easy ball to make the winning shot. 

Next time you go play with your kids, practice some of these tactics and soon you will be making the winning shot.