Change It Up (July 2009)
Trying to overpower the opposition is the first plan for most players. But
what do you do when your strategy isn’t working? Throwing in a change-up may
be your best answer.
- Assess the Opposition: Some players are more vulnerable to variety than
others. For example, players who hit with power usually feed on their opponent’s
pace. Because of this, they prefer to receive the same hard shots over and
over again. Slowing down the pace of your shots forces your opponent to create
their own pace, and altering trajectory and depth keeps the ball out of her
strike zone, often leading her to get impatient and go for too much.
- Know Your Options: Even if you don’t have a lot of variety in your strokes,
there are still ways to send the ball over the net differently to keep your
opponent from getting into a rhythm. You can hit the ball higher, shorter,
wider, slower, or with more spin to give your opponent a mix of shots without
altering your technique or learning new strokes. Regardless of the way you
choose to change things up, be careful not to overdo it or your opponent will
get used to it. Be unpredictably smart.
- Look For Clues: Most players have some weakness in their games that can
be exploited by changing things up. If your opponent has a western forehand,
they’re not going to like hitting low, short balls on that side. If they have
a flat eastern stroke they’re probably not comfortable returning shots that
bounce at their shoulders. If they hit a two-handed backhand, wide short balls
are not likely to among their favorite shots to return.
- Hit High: Lofting the ball high over the net is one of the basic ways to
vary the pace of a point. Not only do many players dislike returning high
balls, particularly if they are struck with plenty of topspin, but high shots
offer advantages to you as well. If you’re getting beat up you can slow things
down and buy time by sending the ball back higher than you normally would.
Of course, you have to hit the ball deep. A high ball that lands in the middle
of the court is just asking to be smacked down.
- Keep It Low: If you have a slice backhand, sliding a low shot across the
net is the other basic way to take your opponent out of their comfort zone.
Having to bend down low to return underspin shots can get tiring. Impatient
players, often hit errors trying to do too much with the ball. Underspin also
slows down the ball, which forces your opponent to produce their own power
if they want to hit the ball hard.
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