Previous: Statistics Going Inside Your Matches | 🏠 Strategy Home | Next: Suffering and Service Returns
Strategy and Statistics
Comprehensive unified tennis knowledge base — Fundamentals, Stroke Analysis, Reference Library, and more
Strategy and Statistics
Section Overview
John YandellEditor
Strategy is one of the most interesting categories on Tennisplayer, because it has such great potential for making immediate, dramatic improvements in your results.
Over the years, I eagerly embraced the work of coaches who have contributed to this section and found, gloriously, that they helped me win matches: Allen Fox, Frank Brennan, and in upcoming articles, an incredible series from top Southern California junior coach Craig Cignarelli. This also includes my own work here on understanding statistics.
The perspective I created for myself helped me beat players that I was losing to. It helped me beat players I wanted to beat (sometimes badly). It helped me beat players who considered themselves "better" than I wasand that many observers considered "better" as well.
So why is then that so many players would rather obsess over the details of their topspin backhand? What I've learned over the years, is that strategy is like the mental game. Powerful but scary. Many players would rather not really know how matches are won and lost. If they did, they might have to take more responsibility for the outcomeinstead of just think they need a little bit bigger first serve.
But if you fall into the category of players willing to take the riskthere is a huge payout for you here. I believe most matches aren't settled by firepower. It's the application of firepower that counts. More specifically, it means knowing what you really can and can't do, making similar assessments of your opponents, and then putting two and two together.
To give one example: in a high school tournament I showed up at the match of our #3 player to find her down 6-2, 1-0. "She's just too good. She keeps killing her forehand!" Caroline explained to me. I watched two games and on the changeover I told here one thing. "From now on you will hit every ball to her backhand, period." The girl did have a great forehand, but surprisingly, a one-handed backhand with an extreme grip that she absolutely could not keep in the court.
To her credit, Caroline took this simple piece of strategic advice to heart. She won the second two sets 6-3, 6-1. Afterwards she was elated. She was a real competitor, who was willing to put herself on the line to win matches even if that inevitably meant some painful losses.
So how about you? Do you care about your results as much as Caroline? If so dive in and get ready to get much happier with your results.
Craig O'Shannessy
Rediscovering the Forced Error
Winners and Errors: A New Definition
First Strike Tennis: All Levels
First Strike Tennis
The Magic Number One
The New Magic Numbers
Suffering and Service Returns: How Novak Won the 2012 Australian
How Djokovic Dominates Nadal
Nick Wheatley
Marginal Gains
Momentum - NEW
Risk Management
Live Match Play
The Cup
Preparing for Competition
Return of Serve Points
Winning Points on Serve
Enhancing Training and Practice
Determining your Game Style
Are You a Right Side or Left Side Player?
Top Shots and Set Up Shots
Andy Durham
Using Statistics in Coaching
Part 2 - NEW
Part 1
Jeremy Rosen
Net Approaches in Pro Tennis: A New Analysis
Brad Gilbert
The Set-up Game
The Set-up Point
Nick Bollettieri and Lance Luciani
The Strategy Zone: Introduction
The Strategy Zone: Rally Control
The Strategy Zone: Serve Control
The Strategy Zone: Return Control
The Strategy Zone Phase 2: "Hurt"
The Strategy Zone: The Groundstroke Finishes
The Strategy Zone: The Swinging Volley
The Transition and Net Finish
The Serve and Volley Finish
George Zink
Opening the Court
SUMMARY
Pattern 15
Pattern 14
Pattern 13
Pattern 12
Pattern 11
Pattern 10
Pattern 9
Pattern 8
Pattern 7
Pattern 6
Pattern 5
Pattern 4
Pattern 3
Pattern 2
Pattern 1
Chris Foy
Rally Length and Holding Serve in League Doubles
Ray Reppert
Playing The Challenge Zone
Kyle LaCroix
Serve and Volley: Summary
Serve and Volley: Implementation Drills: Part 2
Serve and Volley: Implementation Drills
Serve and Volley: Three Critical Shots
Serve and Volley: Tactical Components
The Serve and Volley Mentality
The Inspiration to Serve and Volley
Mark Hodgkinson
The Bryan Brothers: Principles of Winning Doubles
Geoff Williams
The Warrior Sport
Bill Previdi
Why Poaching is Overrated
Returning in the System
Serving in the System
Beating Lobbers
The Hunter and the Helper
Introduction to the System
Craig Cignarelli
Pro Patterns: Basic Diagonals
Pro Patterns: Switching the Rally
Pro Patterns: The Inside Out Diagonal
Pro Patterns: Playing The Angle
Pro Patterns: Serve and Return
Pro Patterns: Situational and Scenario Analysis: Part 1
Pro Patterns: Situational and Scenario Analysis: Part 2
Marcel Crok and Bart Theelen
Federer versus Nadal: Three Overlooked Factors
Jeff McCullough
The Favorite and the Underdog: Understanding Match Dynamics
Joel Drucker
Confessions of a Tennis Disruptor
Larry Jurovich
The Four Components of Match Play: Tactics and Patterns
The Four Components of Match Play: Strategy and Game Style
Paul Lockwood
Understanding the Service Box
Mahboob Khan
The Tactical Universe
Louis Cayer
Doubles Playing Styles
Dave Hagler
Women's Doubles and Your Doubles
Shot Selection: Foundation of Tactics
Playing Styles Revisited
Leo Giraldi
Defending the Lob
Dexter Godbey
Your Temperament and Your Tennis
Frank Brennan
Timeless Principles of Winning Strategy
Allen Fox
Winning Matches
The Transition Volley
Winning Baseline Exchanges
Winning at the Net
Game Plan
Tactics
Allen Fox
Doubles Strategy
Doubles Strategy Part 1: The Service Game
Doubles Strategy Part 2: The Return Game
John Yandell
Strategy
A Few Matches I Lost and How
Adapting Your Game to Win Matches
The Serve and Swinging Volley: Next Revolution?
Three Secrets for Destroying Pushers
John Yandell
Understanding Statistics
The Wimbledon Final 2008: Greatest Match Ever?
Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal: Round 3
How Roger Federer Won the US Open 2006
How Roger Federer Won Wimbledon 2006
How Rafael Nadal Won the 2006 French Open
The Unknown Statistic: The Forced Error
The Aggressive Margin and Your Game
Going Inside Your Matches
Source: tennisplayer.net archive — Strategy TOC.docx (John Yandell teaching library, 2002-2022). Extracted and rendered as HTML for Tennis Future Lab.