Women's Tennis Tactics

232 Pages·2007·1.05 MB·English

by  Rob Antoun

Women’s
TennIs
TACTICs
This page intentionally left blank.
Women’s
TennIs
TACTICs
Rob Antoun
HumAn Kinetics
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Antoun, Rob, 1968-
Women’s tennis tactics / Rob Antoun.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-6572-6 (soft cover)
ISBN-10: 0-7360-6572-5 (soft cover)
1. Tennis--Training. 2. Tennis--Singles. 3. Tennis--Doubles. 4. Women tennis players. I. Title.
GV1002.9.T7A58 2007
796.342082--dc22
2006039394
ISBN-10: 0-7360-6572-5 (print) ISBN-10: 0-7360-8914-4 (Adobe PDF)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-6572-6 (print) ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8914-2 (Adobe PDF)
Copyright © 2007 by Rob Antoun
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Description of ‘touch and feel’ on page 93 reprinted, by permission, from P. Roetert and J. Groppel, 2001,
World-class tennis technique (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 233.
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to my wife catherine and son Jake. Without your
love and support this wouldn’t have been possible.
to my first coach Derrick Haines for helping me fall in
love with the game, and to charles Bailey, Bill Knight,
and Keith sohl for giving me such great coaching
opportunities.
Contents
Drill Finder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .viii
Key to Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
1
tactical serving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Dominating First Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Effective Second Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Serving Percentages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2
tactical Returning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The Neutralising First Serve Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Aggressive Second Serve Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Returning Percentages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3
Playing the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Building From the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Attacking From the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Defending From the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Assessing Baseline Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
vi
4
Playing the net. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
Instinctual Net Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Planned Net Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Standing Ground at the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Using Anticipation at the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
5
Opposing the net Player . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Two-Ball Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Lob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Defending With the Double Bluff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Assessing Net Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
6
Developing a Game style. . . . . . . . . . . .175
Stages of Tactical Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Developing Winning Patterns of Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Personal Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
vii
Drill FinDer
First serve Drills
Drill 1 .1 Hitting the Attacking Forehand After a First Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Drill 1 .2 Dominating With the First Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Drill 1 .3 Holding Serve Even When the Opponent Knows the Tactic . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Drill 1 .4 Using Only Three First Serves per Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Drill 1 .5 Using the First Serve to Create an Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Drill 1 .6 Maintaining Control After the First Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Drill 1 .7 Using the Drive Volley After the First Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Drill 1 .8 Using the Sneak After the First Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Drill 1 .9 Practicing the Serve and Volley Tactic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
second serve Drills
Drill 1 .11 Developing Accuracy of the Second Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Drill 1 .12 Constructing a Second Serve Pattern by Visualising
the Returner’s Court Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Drill 1 .13 Neutralising the Point Using a Second Serve Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Drill 1 .14 Disguising the Direction of the Second Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Drill 1 .15 Serving With Accuracy and Variety of Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Drill 1 .16 Moving the Returner Out of Position to Maintain Second
Serve Dominance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Drill 1 .17 Improving Variety of Spin, Direction, and Power When Serving . . . . . . .42
First serve return Drills
Drill 2 .1 Developing the Middle Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Drill 2 .2 Neutralising With the Inside-Out Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Drill 2 .3 Using the Inside-In Return to Move the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Drill 2 .4 Using the Blocked Return to Turn Defence Into Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
second serve return Drills
Drill 2 .5 Returning From an Aggressive Court Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Drill 2 .6 Dominating With the Second Serve Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Drill 2 .7 Maintaining Baseline Control After the Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Drill 2 .8 Using the Drive Volley After the Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Drill 2 .9 Using the Sneak After the Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Drill 2 .10 Using the Return and Planned Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Baseline Accuracy and Consistency Drills
Drill 3 .1 Counting the Quality Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Drill 3 .2 Scoring Only With Unforced Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Drill 3 .4 Changing the Direction of the Ball From the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Drill 3 .6 Baseline Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Drill 3 .7 Counting the Target Hits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
viii
Drill Finder ix
early Court Position and Movement Drills
Drill 3 .3 Playing to a Higher Tempo From the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Drill 3 .5 Running Drives From the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Drill 3 .14 Improving Movement Around the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Drill 3 .15 Hitting at the Top of the Bounce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Drill 3 .16 Encouraging an Aggressive Court Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Drill 3 .17 Finishing the Point With the Shoulder-High Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Drills to Develop Variety
Drill 3 .8 Avoiding the Diamond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Drill 3 .9 The Forbidden Square . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Drill 3 .10 Developing the Aggressive Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Drill 3 .11 Playing With ‘Space, Not Pace’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Drill 3 .12 Disguising the Drop Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Defending Drills
Drill 3 .18 Developing the Counterpunch Tactic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Drill 3 .19 Defending With Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Drill 3 .20 Defending Against the Switch Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Drill 3 .21 Using the Two-Ball Defence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Drill 3 .23 Defending Against the Drop Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Approach and net Play Drills
Drill 4 .1 Using the Drive Volley to Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Drill 4 .2 Developing the Sneak Volley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Drill 4 .3 Developing a Planned Approach Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Drill 4 .4 Developing the Short Angle and Deep-Down-the-Line Volley . . . . . .151
Drill 4 .5 Developing Power and Direction of the Smash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Drill 4 .6 Winning With the Smash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Drill 4 .7 Combining the Volley and Smash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Drill 4 .8 Playing the Volley and Smash With Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Drill 4 .11 Standing Ground When Under Pressure at the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Passing shot and lob Drills
Drill 5 .1 Using the Two-Ball Pass Tactic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Drill 5 .2 Using the Aggressive and Defensive Lob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Drill 5 .3 Improving the Running Passing Shot and Lob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172
Drill 5 .4 Defending With the Double Bluff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Perception and Anticipation Drills
Drill 3 .13 Developing Perception Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Drill 4 .13 Developing Tactical and Technical Anticipation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
Doubles Drills
Drill 1 .10 Dominating the Net as a Serving Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Drill 2 .11 Developing the Return and Planned Approach in Doubles . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Drill 3 .22 Defending as a Team in Doubles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Drill 4 .9 Using the Intercept Volley in Doubles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Drill 4 .10 Working as a Doubles Team at the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Drill 4 .12 Defending the Net as a Doubles Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Drill 5 .5 Playing Against a Doubles Team at the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Key to DiAgrAMs
S Server
SP Server’s partner
R Returner
RP Returner’s partner
P Player
O Opponent
F Feeder
CO Coach
T Target
Path of player
Path of ball
x