Scoring Shots By Lawrence Kleger

Scoring Shots

By Lawrence Kleger

Scoring Shots are shots hit when an opponent’s ball lands harmlessly somewhere around the service line or closer to the net. These can be easy groundstrokes, put away volleys or overheads. The goal when hitting any of these shots is to hit the ball so that it cannot be returned by your opponent. Scoring Shots differ from approach shots or set up shots by their intent.

As players progress in the effectiveness of their groundstrokes and baseline tactics, they will be spending more time playing shots in the midcourt. Improvement in midcourt shots (approach or set up shots) will yield more opportunities to finish points closer to the net, which are Scoring Shots. Since Scoring Shots generally decide the point, we want players to be extremely competent and confident in their execution. Missing an easy shot close to the net can turn a match around or least change momentum in favor of the opponent.

The way we create competency and confidence in Scoring Shots is to help our students determine their best shots from every spot in the scoring zone, i.e. service line to the net. Top players do not come up to a Scoring Shot chance and say to themselves, “Let’s try hitting an inside out backhand angle groundstroke because last time I had this shot, I hit a winning forehand cross court (my best shot!), and I don’t want to do the same thing twice in a row.” A top player will hit that cross court forehand virtually every time that same shot comes up unless one thing happens…can you guess what that is? Correct! The only time that a top player will go off his best shot is when the opponent has moved into a position to defend that shot. Now the player will go to Plan B which probably requires a lower level of execution given that the opponent is out of position. When a player has the confidence in knowing that he/she is about to hit their best shot, he moves to it a little quicker, positions in the right stance a little better and executes the shot A LOT BETTER!

When I ask my students, “what is your

best shot from this spot?” I give them that shot over and over again to see if they are correct in their assessment. Sometimes they are spot on, but many times they discover that, in fact, what they believe to be their best shot is anything but. That’s when I see real progress!

Lawrence Kleger is co-director of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. He is recognized as one of the top developmental coaches in the United States. He has trained more ranked juniors than anyone in the history of the USTA Eastern Section. His students have won numerous National and Regional Championships, and 20 USTA Eastern Year-End Sportsmanship Awards.