Strategy Secrets Submitted from an Anonymous Senior Competitor
✓ Doubles is the Fine Art of Making your Partner Look Good. If your partner is angling off winners at the net, blasting volleys or smashing the ball it is probably because you’ve set her up. She may look good but you deserve the credit.
✓ When playing singles try this: Play to your opponent’s strength! If you can stay even or ahead doing this, you always have their weakness to attack.
✓ Don’t stall as a tactic to distract the opponent. It’s not good sportsmanship, but if you need time to catch your breath, or talk to your partner, or get a drink or….don’t hesitate to take the time you need.
✓ It can help to de-personalize your opponent. They are there for one reason and it’s to beat you. It can help to relate to them by a neutral name like the Pink hat one or the red sneakers. And if possible don’t let them engage you in conversation. Stay focused.
✓ If you’re not doing well and don’t know what to do – DO SOMETHING - Play Australian, both of you start on the baseline, or give signals, lob more, take the ball earlier or later, etc. Change the dynamic any way you can.
✓ Sometimes it works to serve to the same place providing you can handle the return. Mixing up the serve is often the mantra, but if you can get the returner to prepare for the usual ball, you have a chance to throw them off with a serve to the other side that they don’t expect, and you can do that when it’s an important point.
✓ If the returners haven’t tried to return the serve down your line, you are probably not bothering them enough at the net. Let them try it. It’s not a high percentage shot and if they make it they may have been lucky. You don’t have to cover it unless they make that shot twice.
✓ And you should try to return down their line at least once in the first few games, to make them worry about you.
✓ If you know the opponent likes to hit down the line shots from near the baseline you can encourage them by giving them some space near the alley and then moving into that area to intercept the ball.
✓ This is not easy to incorporate into your mindset, but try it. Don’t evaluate the shots, just observe them. For example: your partner hits a solid cross-court winner. Instead of saying nice shot, try recording in your mind what ball she got that allowed her to hit that shot and anything else about how she did it. In other words, focus on gathering information, not judging it.