Holding the Line
by: Mark Winship @ In Touch Tennis

Basic common sense tells us that we can make life difficult for our opponents by running them side to side by alternating cross-court and down-the-line shots.

However, if you take the time to watch a pro-level game you will notice that this rarely actually happens. When involved in a baseline exchange you shouldn't go down-the-line unless you have a really good reason. The good reason you are looking for would be a shorter ball that hasn't put you under too much pressure in terms of angle and depth.

So what happens if you go down-the-line without a good reason? Well, if you change the angle and hit down-the-line without putting your opponent under pressure you present them with a massive angle back across the court that will have you on the run for the rest of the rally.

So you have 2 tactical options when trading cross-court. One is to hold the angle until your opponent gets impatient and goes down-the-line on an inappropriate ball- giving you the chance to hit into the open court. Option 2 is to drive the ball deep and wide cross-court, forcing your opponent to reply with a short ball. Then you have the green light to attack down-the-line. This can be an extremely effective shot if played off the right ball.

As always there are exceptions to this tactical rule, for example if your opponent is much weaker playing off one side than the other. But this should be a good formula on which to base your baseline game.