my practice partner is much worse than me

[tennisboy21]

hi,
ive got back to tennis recently after a long break and i use to be national standard at 14, now i am 21 and am playing at a level of around 5.0 to 5.5 rating.

the thing is my club hasnt got many good players and i am forced to practice with a guy in his thirties who is a lot worse than me just below a 3.0 player.
he talks a big game even though he is not that good and thinks he hits the ball very hard and says he can improve because he hasnt played long.

anyway when we are rallying i hit much better and rarely miss a shot and so i occasionally miss a shot on purpose to show im not that good because it becomes awkward, also im only hitiing at like 60 percent.

when we play a set i miss shots on purpose to keep the game score close and i usually give him a game or two.

im getting a bit annoyed because i want to play flat out against a better player but at the moment i have nobody to play singles with.
what should i do? should i play my best against this guy

[Bobo Lat]

...so i occasionally miss a shot on purpose to show im not that good because it becomes awkward, also im only hitiing at like 60 percent... when we play a set i miss shots on purpose to keep the game score close and i usually give him a game or two...what should i do? should i play my best against this guy

What are you talking about??? Kick his a$$!!!

[Blue Beluga]

Not playing your game and trying to improve is detrimental to your game. If you keep that up, your game will take a step backward. You need to play your game and try to improve everytime you play. Even if they are not that good, you can still improve on things like concentration, serve, footwork, techniques, shot selection, etc. If the guy doesn't appreciate playing with someone better and try to improve then he is probably not the type of player you want to be hitting with on a regular basis. He either doesn't have the abilities or he belongs with the recreational players.

[kevhen]

Join a league or go to a different club or find some college guys to hit against. Play some open tournaments or join the ATP if you have to find someone good enough to challenge you.

[Happyneige]

Don't compromise your integrity. Go with your game. It might embarrass your partner to lose 6-0, 6-0. But if he really thinks he can get better, this will give him the motivation to improve fast. You should also ask the pros at your club about other members at your level that you can hit with on a regular basis.

[kevhen]

Last night I hit with a guy almost 2 levels below me, so I told myself to play the match while working on my weaknesses that I want to improve. Since the guy liked playing up and not minding the pace I was hitting at, I continued to hit aggressive second serves (while taking some doublefaults) and going for flat forehand winners. I also tried to return his slice serve with flat forehands instead of slicing and made a few errors that way but got enough in to still win 6-0, 6-1. He had a good volley once he got to net but we only had a couple of long rallies so the match was sort of boring for me but he was starting to catch up to the pace and he enjoyed the challenge and I got to work on some things I want to use and feel more comfortable with in real matches.

He said he played a year or so of DIII tennis after being a baseball player, but he was a weak 3.5 player, but eager to learn and he didn't get frustrated so I am sure he will improve with more practice.

[Geezer Guy]

Try hard to find others to play against (as suggested). If you can't, play this guy full out a couple of times. If the scores are very lopsided, offer to "spot" him a certain number of games each set (or points each game). This will make you work harder (as well as giving him a bit of a chance) and maybe keep it competitive. If it's not competitive, you'll both lose interest.

[TENNIS_99]

I had a couple of games last weekend with maybe 3.0 players. I am 4.5 player. I won both sets 6-0. I actually felt benefit from the experience.

During the game, i keep telling myself - don't miss any shots, i took off some pace of my strokes, I did not hit big winner but i practice my foot work and concetration. I worked on tracking the ball and manipulating the ball. And I did not give away any points. Afterward I played with my regular hitting partner who is also a 4.5 and I played better than ever before. I think there is always more beneficial to play with someone better than you. but also there is always something to learn almost in any occasions. and the two 3.0 players seem to enjoy the experience too.

[LoveThisGame]

A couple of ideas:

Play to your opponent's strengths.

Invent games within the overall game (advice I have given to players in a one-sided match where you don't want them to lose focus). Such as see how many BH winners you can hit, see how many hits you can make without outballs and without babying the hit, see how many BH down the line winners you can make (and figure how to evolve the point to get the chance to hit them), see how many short wide balls you can make for winners, ...

[goober]

what kind of club doesn't have players better than 3.0? There must be better players at any club that are at least in the 4.0-4.5 range. Does the club have a teaching pro? These guys are usually 5.0-5.5. Go out and find these people. Ask around and advertise yourself that you are looking for high level players. Enter tournaments at the 5.0 or open level and try to make contacts there. Go to your local university and see if you can play against some of the players on the team. Playing against somebody 4-5 levels below you is ridiculous.

[tennisboy21]

what kind of club doesn't have players better than 3.0? There must be better players at any club that are at least in the 4.0-4.5 range. Does the club have a teaching pro? These guys are usually 5.0-5.5. Go out and find these people. Ask around and advertise yourself that you are looking for high level players. Enter tournaments at the 5.0 or open level and try to make contacts there. Go to your local university and see if you can play against some of the players on the team. Playing against somebody 4-5 levels below you is ridiculous.

thanks for the replies.

yeah my club has about 2 players who are at 4.5 level but they seem to never be there and only play a bit in the summer .
i live in england by the way.
my town has no good tennis players. thats the problem.

[Serve-And-Volley]

Don't do that man, half the fun would be killing him at least for me. I have to do the same thing some times because I live in a small town, so just test yourself and experiment is what I do in these situations.

[scotus]

If you can't find better players, you can at least work on your weaknesses. For example, if you are a baseliner, you can try S&V against your opponent all the time, and chip and charge on your return game. And just to let him know who the superior player is, wipe the court with him every once in a while.