Tactics. The word makes a lot of players nervous. They picture complicated game plans and pro-level adjustments. The reality is much simpler.
Tactics just means identifying what your opponent is not good at and using your strengths to attack their weakness. That's it. The rest is just execution.
Here are the four core tactics that work at every level and one bonus tip that can change how you approach key moments in matches.
Tactic 1: Make Your Opponent Move
This sounds obvious. Most players do not actually do it.
Watch your average club match. Players rally up the middle with no real purpose. One cross-court, one down the middle, one more cross-court. There's no plan.
Making your opponent move can be as simple as moving them up and back on a short ball or drop shot followed by a deep heavy ball. It can mean hitting wide to pull them off the court, then going behind them. It can mean targeting the side of the court where their weaker shot is.
The point: every ball you hit should have a reason. Where is your opponent? What do they not want to hit? Make them hit that shot.
Tactic 2: Consistency
People throw this term around a lot. At the lower levels, consistency literally means putting the ball back in the court more than your opponent. That's it. You would be shocked how many points you give away just by going for shots you don't need to go for.
At higher levels, consistency means something more targeted. If your opponent has a weak backhand, just keep hitting to their backhand. You don't need a winner, you just need them to keep hitting a shot they are uncomfortable with. The errors and short balls will come.
Grinding is the word I like to use. At key moments in matches, the player who commits to getting one more ball back usually wins the point.
Tactic 3: Take Time Away From Your Opponent
This is one of the highest-percentage ways to change a match.
The idea: reduce the time your opponent has to react.
The most obvious way is coming to the net. Approach behind a wide serve, a heavy deep ball, or a slice to their backhand. When you are at the net, they have to make a decision under pressure immediately.
You can also take time away by hitting the ball on the rise instead of waiting for it to drop. Even a fraction of a second matters, especially against players who like to reset and dictate from the baseline.
Against a pusher specifically: swing volley or volley the high moon ball out of the air and approach the net. Pushers hate this. It takes away the time they need to grind you down from the baseline.
Tactic 4: Buy Time
The opposite of tactic three and you cannot always use it. But when you're on the run, out of position, or in trouble, buying time keeps you in the point.
A high heavy topspin ball that lands deep. A lob. A high net clearance shot that gives you time to recover to the middle of the court. Andy Murray is one of the best in history at this and he has won countless points simply by getting back into position when he looked beaten.
Clay court players do this naturally. Even on faster surfaces, the ability to buy time at key moments, to reset the point when you are in trouble, can be the difference between a winner and a 15-30 hole.
Bonus Tip: Change Of Pace
Not a core tactic but one of the most disruptive things you can do in a match. Change of pace means disrupting your opponent's rhythm.
A drop shot after three deep heavy balls. A kick serve to the forehand when you have been attacking the backhand. A flat drive when you have been looping everything heavy. A slow slice that bounces low after playing fast balls.
The best players mix pace constantly. It makes you unpredictable and forces your opponent to reset their timing over and over.
How To Use These Tactics Before Your Next Match
Before your next match, pick one tactic and commit to it for the first four games. Not all four, but just one. If you are playing someone who likes to rally from the baseline, commit to making them move. If you tend to go for too much, commit to consistency for one set.
The Ace Tennis Coach tool was built exactly for this. Tell it who you are playing, what surface, what their tendencies are and it generates a specific match game plan based on your game. It takes about 30 seconds.
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The Match Mode in Ace Tennis Coach builds you a tactical plan based on your opponent before every match. Try it free at acetenniscoach.ca
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