In this video, i would like to talk a little bit about defense and how to develop defensive skills while keeping your practice fun and competitive. 0:00 Drill Introduction 1:29 1:29 Defense examples 2:06 2:06 10-point tiebreak
i am a big fan of ZONES vs targets. I am glad you pointed this out in your video. To many players will focus on trying to hit a "target" or a specific point on the court. Its much easier to look for a zone to hit the ball through. nice explanation and example
Really glad you liked it! When i was playing on lower level, i used to just try to hit the ball very hard somewhere back but what would happen is that because of the speed of my ball i would have less time to get to the next one. Learning this shot, really took me to the next level
So glad I came across your videos, they're great! This is so helpful for me, as a person who's first instinct when a ball comes hard is to hit even harder haha
Great drill! That is so important to learn how to get back into a point after your opponent hits a nice shot. The best players in the world are able to do this a lot which is why they stay in points as long as they do. Getting the ball back deep especially to the weaker side or down the middle doesn't leave the attacking player with many options to reply as aggressively like you explained! Now to find someone I can do this drill with 😅
Should be an interesting drill to do with your partner :) I bet in the beginning it will not go the way you want but once you get a hang of it and start applying it in matches you will see a big difference
Great stuff, thanks for sharing. When you check to see if the opponent comes to the net do you actually look away from the ball and at the opponent or do you try to see him in your peripheral vision?
It depends on the situation. When playing against good players i already anticipate that they are coming to the net if they hit a really good ball so i act accordingly right away without looking at them. Sometimes when i have extra time, i might see a person with peripheral vision for example when they come to the next after a slice. But other than that, its mostly anticipation
awesome video! do you mind explaining the benefits of going high and deep down the line other than the fact that it's to the bh wing? i've always been told this is the lower percentage shot because of less time to recover due to shorter distance, it opens up the angles for the opponent, and there's less margin for error. i always thought it was deep & high down the middle to minimize angles or deep & high cc to maximize recovery time. just looking for some help understanding the perspective of a higher level player. thanks!
Deep cross court might give you a little extra time to recover when compared to deep middle but it opens up some dangerous angles if your opponents forehand is strong so in my opinion unless playing lefty, i would not use it too much but again, depends on opponent. Deep middle is very universal. You were told down the line is lower percentage and time to recover is less when you hitting the ball very strong. When you doing highish ball with lots of topspin, it actually matters less if you hit the down the line or middle or cross because ball is flying up and does not have much pace, thats where you gaining the time from. I like deep topsping to backhand because it moves my opponent and bounces high so my opponent has to hit above shoulder level on backhand which is hard to create a very offensive shot from, and usually i actually get somewhat short ball which then allows me to use my backhand to attack. Hope this helps
Where would be a good spot to aim if your opponent approaches the net after the very first crosscourt forehand? I guess that would be a different drill, on the run passing shot 😅
It depends where they hit that cross court forehand from. If they are able to hit it being close to the baseline or inside of baseline then they definitely will have enough time to come to the net and at that point you kind of screwed. In tennis you usually lose the point 1-3 balls before you actually lose it :) But yeah, a lop or on the run passing shot is your only option but you should not let it get to that point.
