Changing strategy when playing on different surfaces
12/21/2010 | Written by: uspta
Click Video Highlight:
Changing strategy when playing on different surfaces
Description:
In this video clip, the topic of court surfaces is addressed, and renowned USPTA coaches discuss how different surfaces can affect a player’s strategy. They each explain how the speed and conditions of a particular surface will often influence the use of one strategy over another and force a player to adapt accordingly. Depending on the player’s game style, one surface may give him or her an advantage when compared to other surfaces.
Tip:
Tennis is played on different surfaces such as clay, grass, hard and indoor. In general people grow up playing on a certain surface that is dominant in their country. But when players get to a higher level and begin to travel and compete worldwide, they start encountering different playing surfaces in their tournaments.
Each surface has its own unique qualities and they affect a player’s game and strategy.
Clay courts are the slowest surface, favoring the baseliner and counterpuncher. Grass courts are typically faster than the other surfaces and favor the attack or serve-and-volley style because of the faster, low-bouncing ball. Hard courts are not as fast as grass and can be characterized as medium-speed courts that favor the all-court, attack, counterpunch and aggressive baseline games almost equally. Pushers also have a measure of success on hard courts. In general, indoor courts are fast and the conditions are usually favorable to baseliners, all court-players and attackers.
Depending on their gamestyle, players may prefer and perform better on one surface over another, but it is critical for them to be able to adjust their styles and strategies as the surface changes. The key is for a player to gain more experience on each surface to learn how to adapt and perform at a high level.
If you would like to learn more about the various playing surfaces and the best strategy for a specific surface, visit TennisResources.com and enter the term “surfaces” into the Quick Search field. You can also choose to do an Advanced Search by clicking on the “Strategic” component under the “General Performance Components” category. Click on “Surfaces” and the search will bring up a wide number of videos explaining the topic. Each of these clips feature tips from some of the world’s top teaching professionals. Learn more!
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