Singles Strategy for HS Players

Nicholas Bennett, USPTA Elite Professional

During the Indiana High School Coaches Conference, Nicholas Bennett presented several singles strategies to help high school tennis players These drills can be some of the most effective drills players can use to help them perform their best on the court.

In drills 1 and 2, Bennett discussed the importance of depth. By hitting the ball deep to your opponent, it gives them less opportunity to attack you, and often times gives you a shorter ball to attack. He focused on the “Percentage Posts” These posts are the target areas where players should aim most of their balls too. They give players the most margin for error and also will help players hit with depth. He continued to focus on depth using Oncourt Offcourt’s Airzone System. The Airzone system is an additional net above the normal net for tennis Players practiced not only hitting higher over the net but also continued to try to hit each ball to the Percentage Post that Bennett asked them to. An additional option would be tying a helium balloon to the net

Drill 3 continued with groundstrokes and the Wardlaw Directionals. These are patterns of play that players can follow which are the highest percentage shots in tennis He discussed the difference between outside versus inside shots and when players should change direction. He also discussed the importance of where to position yourself to bisect the shot and the possibility of your opponent.

In his last drill, Bennett discussed the importance of practicing hitting the return deep down the middle of the court. Especially against a fast serve. By hitting the return deep down the middle, players can either be early or late, but still have a chance to make the ball in the court due to the location you are trying to hit. With slower serves, he recommends following the directional patterns from above (outside vs inside)

For video explanations, a link to the presentation or conference material, please reach out to Nick at nick@matchpoint10s com