Stop LOSING in singles (winning tennis strategy)

[@brianfurman9119]

I go over this with all my high school students so they know their best positions on court at all times. Now I have a visual of it to show them thank you. Recommend your Chanel all the time.

[@EssentialTennis]

Thanks so much for your support, Brian!

[@niveditsingh6063]

This data literally shows even at the top of tennis, 66 percent of points end in an error and that being more consistent than anything is paramount to success. proper shot selection plays a massive part here. Great video as always Ian.

[@EssentialTennis]

Exactly, Nivedit. Thanks for watching!

[@coilinnunan4058]

True, but a lot of the errors in professional tennis are forced errors. I think there is a big difference between a forced error, which is as a result of a good shot from your opponent, and an unforced error, which is as a result of your own poor shot. I suspect that in recreational tennis a much higher percentage of errors are unforced than for the pros. If unforced errors were to be reclassified as winners, and current winners as "clean winners", I think it would give a better idea of just how good the pros are.

[@periurban]

I haven't played tennis for forty years, but I'm an avid fan. This is the best explanation of the basic geometry that I've come across.

[@sarmhurts]

Brilliant! Simple, clear and obvious-and yet I hadn't heard anyone put it quite that way. Nice work, Ian!

[@EssentialTennis]

Glad it was helpful, Steve.

[@saugus2]

Ian, huge thank you for this advice. Watched the video early today, the whole hour version titled How to Get Sponsored, and your advice of going cross court has helped me win my first match against my huge league rival!!! I was 0-7 against this player, despite being up a set and even MPs multiple times but on the end he prevails and wins. Today I went with a plan, win of lose keep the ball cross court and try to be aggressive but consistent, and I got a win in match tiebreaker 10-8 Of course I mostly stayed with my strengths and usual aggressive tennis, but on few occasions I was patient and forced some cross court rallies and benefited slightly which may have pushed me over the edge to win !!! Thank you for your extremely beneficial and logical explanation!!!

[@winniek7583]

But I loooooooveeeee hitting down the line 😭😭😭😭 I’m literally that tempted person you’re describing! Also, would love if this was a series.. Please make a part 2/ plan b showing adjustments for GOOD reasons.

[@EssentialTennis]

More coming, Winnie!

[@winniek7583]

@@EssentialTennis Thanks Ian

[@Snookgamings]

Hey mate i played my first competitive singles match today and i won 6-2 6-3. This really really helped. I realised i never think about my positioning in depth throughout the points, and it kept me in so many rallies. I must havr hit about.. three or four winners 🤣 just kept making the other guy make mistakes and could see the pressure he started putting om himself and yeah thanks so much!

[@t_tekkz]

Well Done

[@garybatts5999]

Excellent!! More info on not volleying into open court please. This all makes tons of sense, but I may be a little slow on the open court volleying... Thanks a ton!

[@shibaaang]

very insightful video! Lots of good stuff. Only thing I struggle to agree with is hitting in front of you at the net. Very clearly explained how this will save energy, but saving energy isn't going to win the point. I think if you do that you're not thinking about what your opponent LEAST wants. If I think as the opponent and I hit a shot at someone at the net and they volley it back to me, I've had the whole of the time for the previous interaction with everyone in their same positions, AND this new interaction to decide what I want to do next, it's like a 'take 2' have another go. Whereas if I hit them at the net and then they volley cross court away from me, 1. I'm scrambling to get there and to be honest in most cases that should be the end of it, 2. If I do get there I've got to think about my shot whilst on the move and as the picture of the court is changing, overall a much harder thing to do in my opinion

[@n8james2]

Agree was thinking the same thing.

[@dillonscribner7428]

Thanks!

[@willkittwk]

Great advise. I think it's good to run around BH whenever it's feasible. It's hit harder especially if you hit 2 hand BH that's cause 2 hand BH doesn't have the power as dominant hand is choked up top hand on racket. Also FH can be held longer to direct as ball can get back on you and you still have power. If ball gets back on BH you're usually done. I love to see Fed take FH from past left sideline and hit cross court inside out to opponents BH and dare them to go down the line. If they don't make perfect shot he'll run over and snap it sharp angle cross court deuce FH for winner. Can you talk tactics of baiting like that?

[@gauravsharma5196]

That was really nicely explained. hopefully I’ll be able to get few extra points now. Going to try it on the next game. Thank you

[@EssentialTennis]

Use this and you'll absolutely win more points!

[@adambien808]

Simple enough to remember in the heat of match play! Thank you, Ian.

[@bobmead8184]

I agree absolutely with all said, but, in my opinion, the explanation of the court positioning is a bit confusing. Most of coaches that talk about the geometry of the court in terms "stay on the opposite side of the court at the base line, and stay on the same side when at the net". Speaking geometrically, this line in the middle is called bisector and this is all a player needs to know : in the beginning of a match stay on the bisector. Now, during the match start making adjustments and the simplest rule for that is this: start shifting to the side where you miss more balls (where your opponent scores more points). This is actually how you play the percentages. That is all there is to it. These adjustments you need to make because either you play much better/worse on one of the sides or your opponent plays better/worse on one of the sides. For example, if your opponent can't hit well down the line, you shift a little to the other side. But you don't event need to know that, just as I mentioned above, keep track of on which of your sides the opponent scores more points and shift to that side. And of course, always attack when you have a shot.

[@leonidgrinchak1253]

a lot of folks does not know "the theory of angles" by Koshe developed in the beginning of 20th century. Good you brought it.

[@EssentialTennis]

It's the only math I ever understood 😆

[@sach8906]

Old fine wine in a new bottle (double entendre)! Ian is rocking the new look 🙂

[@EssentialTennis]

You mean the content style or my face? 😆

[@jonk9680]

Thank you and hello from Scotland. A really good simple explanation. I look forward to using this.

[@thegreatsomes7058]

Quick question, when at the net, wouldnt a cross court shot be a winning shot?

[@alexandreharatsaris6380]

Valuable information as always. Thanks!

[@Dman9fp]

Thats just life tho, inevitably hitting more errors than winners if you must be technical. Maybe im at a different spot in life than most competitive tennis players, but what matters is Fun. Do you actually Enjoy tennis? Or just playing to apese your own or others' expectations?... life is too short doing something you hate, and i wish it were more obvious if i truly loved or hated tennis (probably fluctuates, is a grey area. Think I miss the comradery and "status" of being on a respectable undefeated singles streak in high school / having that automatic fighting spirit tho... but tennis is still Miles better way to stay in shape, barring injury risks, than most traditional ways to excercise tho lol

[@satgill830]

Such fantastic information here! How many of us have taken lessons or spent countless hours working on our games and never spent time on the fundamentals - where to hit the ball. I am a right handed player but have regular games against a lefty, would some of this change against a southpaw?

[@EssentialTennis]

That's a great question, Sat. Maybe I'll answer it in a future lesson. The very short answer is "don't change this unless you have to". If their cross court forehand is killing your backhand then, yes, change the pattern. That would be a GOOD reason to go down the line.

[@beeth1362]

Thank you for your enlightenment!!

[@lucasplds]

Thank you very much Ian.

[@EssentialTennis]

You are very welcome

[@VishnuRajam4x4]

Superb!!! Loved the video.

[@the1tfactor]

Based on this and other advice about bisecting the opponent's two options, would it follow that if your opponent shows zero ability to hit the short crosscourt angle pass off the down-the-line shot, it would make sense to adjust a bit more to the middle to bait the short angle?

[@colescalisthenics]

So can you only switch up directions on shots with your forehand (if right handed) only when on the ad side during the rally?

[@tvpraveenkumar]

Thanks for sharing this information

[@victoriashaw324]

That was great thank you

[@Javi_C]

Thank you

[@EssentialTennis]

You bet!

[@aaronrussell5047]

Ian, as a fellow leftie, my #1 strategy against my typically right handed opponent is to get the cross court action between my forehand and their backhand. It is almost always strength on weakness at 3.5. Is this a sufficient reason to chose not to go cross court, when I'm hitting backhand into their forehand? Often I don't go straight down the line; rather it may be up the middle first and working them over in two shots.

[@EssentialTennis]

Awesome question, Aaron. Yes, it absolutely can be a "good reason" to change the pattern to favor you instead of them.

[@rainsprinkle1965]

How does plan A work for against lefty?

[@franciscomanrique4979]

Gracias

[@lukaskraak9313]

idk i am confused by the geometry, looked like you were making the opponent run twice as much distance as you if you were to hit down the line. Or is his bad position one of the GOOD reasons.

[@kimmorrison9169]

So what if your very good at hitting fore or backhands down the line. The opponent can’t get there to return them.

[@ql3670]

One may think only beginners would not know this basic principle in tennis. But I actually have seen players who have played for many years and aren't aware of this.

[@EssentialTennis]

You're exactly right, QL

[@michaelboyko5024]

Well, it's interesting and solid, but all this is in any tennis textbook for children. And a tennis ball machine will definitely drive away the problems with proper placing and aiming really quick, I don't say in no time, but you're sure to see the first results in three days, the more you train with the ball machine the better the results are. Pros' spend 6-8 hours a day training, that's why they hit so precise. Make you goal as to hit back any ball from any place to any spot on the court, this will be the best.

[@jefroid661]

Honestly, I never make winners at all yet I keep trying to take such big risks. Thanks for the great strategy. Just going cross-court might really help me. I think I will write it down and take it with me on court. PS. When is the best time to approach the net?

[@CarlUsana-o3l]

When you get a short ball, hit a great approach shot usually down the line to opponent's BH side, when opponent is on the run with his/her back facing you, then come in and end the point with a volley or smash

[@jaykraft9523]

Can anyone comment on what level Ian plays ?

[@EssentialTennis]

You can see my results on the USTA website, last couple years I've played 4.5

[@jaykraft9523]

And is that the highest level you've played? 4.5 ? Bizarre

[@scottphommachanh9200]

High percentage tennis isn’t sexy, that why it’s not more used. I’m guilty of that. But I’m trying to turn the ship. Great video.

[@colinbyer3018]

0:10 “…point i go into college” Ian, “sounds like a college player” Me: yesssss the floor here seems very floor🧐🤔🤔🤯

[@TennisTrollChannel]

Someone should analyze MEP : ]

[@LifeIsGoodThankYouGod]

Your Best Vedio.

[@katelynns4887]

Do these placements apply to lefties?

[@EssentialTennis]

Yup, all the same principles!

[@transklutz]

It's not strategy that's causing me to lose, it's that the ball comes upon me before I'm completely ready to strike, causing me to hit weakly and without good aim. This happens in matches, but not in practice. I guess if you have stage fright, tennis is not a good sport for you.

[@EssentialTennis]

Keep training under pressure!

[@RandomZShorts15]

Question. I started playing tennis late, at 12. I have only ONE hour of training per week because its too expensive (20€ per hour of training). Is it possible for me to fullfill my dream of becoming pro, like Djokovic? Edit: thank you all for being nice and honest. I will never give up >:)

[@EssentialTennis]

I'll answer your question on a future video, Novak!

[@RandomZShorts15]

@@EssentialTennis thanks

[@transklutz]

I'm sorry to say, you have a great opportunity at 20 euro per hour. Here in the USA, it's closer to 80-100 euro per hour, and that's for average coaches. For myself, I have to make due with youtube instruction and self-observation for coaching. So from my perspective, practicing often while paying attention to good form (finding the stroke that feels "right", and attempting to repeat it) is more important.

[@ssenssel]

No.

[@colinbyer3018]

Heyo, that’s tough that you can’t really train too much. You definitely can’t be a pro by ONLY hitting an hour a week. BUT there are other ways to improve your game. Example do you have a wall that you can hit against? And also you can use KZbin to find technique and all you need is some open space to improve it. I’m not totally one to say you can or can’t but It’s not necessarily like you need 8 hours a day but you need more than just one hour per week. So do stuff like that, do shadow swings at home, try to find some open outdoor courts all you need is a racquet and a few balls, you don’t even need a partner, the best learning comes when you hit alone

[@Canada-q6y]

Good

[@skmuged]

When you aim to reduce your number of errors, you at the same time reduce the number of winners. So this alone doesn't mean you actually reduce the ratio errors to winners.

[@timefly4221]

This is the classic "always go cross court until you get a weak ball" strategy that is covered ad infinitum in KZbin tennis vids. The thing is, I watch a healthy amount of pro tennis and while sometimes I do see lengthy cross court rallies, especially when slicing and counter-slicing on the backhand, there are many matches where I see relatively few. Pros regularly hit down the line just to change up the pattern without going for a winner, and even hit up the middle quite a bit. I understand the basic "always hit cross court" tactic and the reason for it, but what's the next level of singles strategies that these pros are adding to it?

[@delipunch3694]

Very very very and.100 times ver y good

[@dgreenbee7]

You need to give some examples of how you keep the ball "in front of you" at the net.

[@andyhung424able]

I'd be surprised that a college level player not understanding this basic geometry principle of angle and space. Perhaps, he is asking for something a bit more sophisticated like: if my opponent uses a one-handed backhand which typically would have a harder time dealing with higher bouncing balls, so I should hit more top-spin loopier ball to his backhand; or if my opponent is super tall and able to crush del Potro- type groundstrokes all day, then I should hit more slices to keep the ball low. I would think Matthew, at his level, should probably look at something more strategically targeting against his specific opponent each match. Are there other "opponent specific strategy" that you can share? Like if my opponent is a grinder like Schwartzman, what should I do to increase my chances? Or if my opponent is like Andy Roddick with a great a serve+1 game, what should I do?

[@EssentialTennis]

So I should just guess what specific opponent he needs a strategy for and give him a random one? "College level player" can mean anything from ATP points to 4.0 NTRP (literally).

[@andyhung424able]

@@EssentialTennis Not sure if you feel offended by my question. If you do, my apologies. I'm just saying, hitting safer high % shot is the most basic concept to enhance winning chances, which I'm glad that you highlighted in this video, and you actually highlighted this in other videos as well like the one you did on "Wannabe Pro". I'm genuinely asking, do you have some "opponent specific strategies" that you can also share with your subscribers like myself. Like when you played MEP, you had a strategy going into the match knowing you need to take initiative to finish more points at the net. Can you make some videos sharing different strategies for different type of opponents?

[@willkittwk]

Good reason would be the guy can out rally me on easy balls and I hit a little harder and practice my down the line shot on my FH a lot. Gotta make him uncomfortable

[@domkelly1972]

Yeah but the point is to create space to hit a winner. I don't have to run anywhere if I hit a down the line winner . What's the point of endlessly hitting cross court? Surely you run way more than hitting a clean winner. The problem with this strategy is that you are not taking into account who is hitting. If you can't hit a clean winner down the line then no strategy will help as you will just get exhausted hitting cross court or your tennis becomes about the other player making errors. If you can hit a winner down the line then you must do it when the opportunity arises. So the idea is to hit an effective serve, plan for a forehand into space and go from there using the simple cross court or inside in method. If you can't do that then you won't have any control over what happens as your opponent will come into play more often. Lets be honest, most players can't do the above so it makes no difference to play cross court or down the line as the points are decided by errors not winners. Not an enjoyable way to play any game.

[@transklutz]

Haha, my 4.0 opponent kept beating me down the line. And he lost his second round match. Now what?

[@EssentialTennis]

.....sounds like a GOOD reason to try something different 😊

[@obsesivegamer]

While in general this court geometry is right, it is a little simplistic. The middle of the court is neglected way too much in Amateur play. I find for myself playing aggresive tennis using the middle to shift people over and then open up the cross court is key.

[@pontusschroder8361]

Thank you for the tip Jeremy, I will try that. Are you also trying that on return games, to return to the middle and then hitting cross court on the next shot? and when you are serving, are you usually hitting in the middle on the next shot after serving and then cross court on shot three? If yes, do you typically run to the net after your first cross court shot?

[@obsesivegamer]

@@pontusschroder8361 I Always aim for the middle on returns Especially first serve. If I am late or early, I miss into a good shot still. As for later shot selection It depends on you a little, I like to get warm by going to the middle and trying not to go too wide until I feel the ball.

[@pontusschroder8361]

@@obsesivegamer Ok, great, thanks for the answer 👍

[@conraywest]

Man if you’re at the net and the opponent is in the no way he’s getting to the ball crossing court

[@Ilegator]

This video only applys to non Wawrinka players

[@islandmerchandise3017]

No, because backhand is weaker. Just hit down the line to backhand

[@ThorD4602]

Please don't tell everybody all of this stuff. I enjoy the ignorance on the other side of the net. LOL

[@myviews469]

This is not clear look reading off a script is one thing but to really believe it is because you lived it and you know it to be true. You're not doing that and that's why it not clear go out and experience what you read then come back and redo this video. You will see the difference.

[@cheefussmith9380]

The irony of this post might be lost on you, but I for one have no clue what you’re saying.

[@sebastiandomagala9233]

I think that error/winner statistic is kinda misleading. When I put pressure on my opponent and force the error, then it is not his fault, it is my reward. But he gets the fault in his statistic and looks like risking more than me despite having played very cautiously. The cross/longline thing is however objectively right. But I have seen many opponents tending to the cross side in advance, keeping the longline side so far open that I can no longer reject the offer. Whenever human behaviour is included, pure logic cannot be applied to any success.

[@jonw7757]

We want more match videos.... not this filler stuff.

[@EssentialTennis]

Hopefully that's a joke, Jon 😆

[@EssentialTennis]

If not, please watch this announcement video you must have missed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZOnoXtrqM6Sd80

[@joed4027]

Thanks!