Tennis Shot Selection 101: When To Use Vs. When Not To Use – That Is The Question!

Cross-Court? Down the line? Drop shot? Lob? Volley? These are all great shots but knowing when to use them is the part that is the most critical.

How many times have you rushed to the net and it wasn’t the right time? I’m sure it wasn’t really a pleasant experience for you. I bet getting creamed is just not your cup of tea.

Or even worse, wasting your time and energy huffing and puffing to hit an inappropriate and otherwise damaging shot can really be frustrating. Not to mention, it’ll have you losing tons of matches.

If you don’t want this happening to you. You have to understand “why” your hitting those shots before you even think about raising up your racket. There’s a reason or purpose for each shot you hit. Trust me, I learned the hard way.

Here are a few shots for you to select from during a game along with reasons of when and why they can be effective:

Drop shot:

When To Use: If you notice that you’re opponent likes to camp out on the baseline, this is a great shot to use if you want to jerk him/her out of his rhythm. It’ll force your opponent to sprint forward and give you a ton of open court to send your next point-gaining shot.

When NOT To Use: This shot will kill you if used as a return of serve, or an approach shot when attempting to storm the net! Using the drop shot in these situations will be super setup and kill shots for your opponent. On the return of serve, you’re giving him exactly what he wants a weak-short return that he can come in and smash.

And when you’re charging the net, you want to pin him deep NOT bring him in. But hit a short ball with nothing on it, and you’ll be giving up the advantage that you worked so hard to gain. You never want to open up the door for your opponents to win the point, because believe me, they’ll run right through it every time.

Lob:

When To Use: If your opponent doesn’t have a reliable overhead, you want to use this shot as much as you can. Also, dropping the ball behind the player who is playing at the net or running full steam towards it will put your opponent on the defense. If he wants any hope of returning the ball, he’ll have to turn his back to you and retreat. As a result, this will allow you to come in and make the offensive approach, attack, and acquire the point .

When NOT To Use: Well, you don’t want to fall in love with this shot if it really isn’t one of your strengths. And you definitely don’t want to try these on short balls when you’re on the attack. That’s when you really want to drill it. You might say, wow, who would attempt such a move in that situation? Quite a few people unfortunately lol.

Selecting a shot is a nick-of-time decision which you will get better at over time. Practicing all shots to perfection will make you confident in choosing the right one without having to hesitate.

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Tagged as: cross-court, down the line, lob, shot selection, tennis, tennis strategy, volley