This month I want to talk about running your opponent. Yes, that's right! Test his/her physical conditioning. This is one of the differences between tennis and a lot of other sports. You have to be in some kind of good physical condition. If your not and you play a worthy opponent, he will exploit it and beat you with it. Trust me, I've done it and have had it done to me.

First, lets talk about running the other player. Well, its pretty cut and dried. You must hit corner to corner or when he comes to the net, you lob him, or when he's at the base line, you hit drop shots. Now after he's run up or back to get several of these and he's not breathing hard, I'd say you better dig in for a long match . But if you run your opponent like I'm suggesting, he should be sucking air and then that takes away from his concentration. Soon fatigue sets in, then you will be the victor. HA! You could say easier said than done. Well, yes, but if you have the stroke production and can make the shots, running your opponent and taking charge of the match is a great game plan.

Now for the other side of the coin. What do you do to counter being the one thats getting run? Lets say your opponent is lobbing you a lot. Don't try to run down lobs that you have no chance of getting. All you are doing is wasting energy and the same with drop shots. I swear to you, if its close and your the one doing all of the running, your going to lose the match. So use some good tennis sense on whether to spend your energy on makeable shots or shots that will pay off. Another good strategy is to slow down the pace when your on the receiving end of being run. Take your take getting the ball. Let it roll a little further. Walk to get it. Tie your shoes. Just slow the pace down and last but not least, is breathe deep. Yes, thats right. Take in a lot of air. I know when I start sucking air, I tend to hold back. Then about a year ago, I said, hey, your body is telling you it needs more oxygen. So I started taking deeper breaths and it really did work!

So there ya go, run some one and what to do when your being run. I hope it helps your game and remember, tennis is a game. So have fun playing it.

Tommie Ray

If you have any questions or comments please email me :-)