Don't apologize too quickly.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by sportsfan1

Safety first, any overheads from opponents, I retreat backwards, beyond the baseline and try return from there. You have no idea if someone's gonna really connect with that overhead well, even if it's a fluke.

Very true.

I've returned a few overheads in doubles from being in poor position, but I definitely don't recommend it by any means. It's not a great position to be in.

-Fuji

[J_R_B]

Originally Posted by MrCLEAN

If he's pulling it off w/ regularity in every match, he's not seeing very high quality overheads. No offense meant to the OP, in all sincerety. An 80-100 mph overhead, hit from the service line or inside, cannot be read and picked off at ankle height from your own service line by an above average player on a regular basis.

LOL. No offense, but you're clearly just not very good at it. Sorry.

[LuckyR]

Originally Posted by MrCLEAN

If he's pulling it off w/ regularity in every match, he's not seeing very high quality overheads. No offense meant to the OP, in all sincerety. An 80-100 mph overhead, hit from the service line or inside, cannot be read and picked off at ankle height from your own service line by an above average player on a regular basis.

Sort of depends what you (and he) means by regularity. For example: If he avoids injury 100% of the time, gets his racquet on the ball 60% of the time and gets it back in play 15% of the time, I would call that "regularity". Why wouldn't you go for it with stats like that? Your post seems to assume he is saying that he gets the shot back 75% of the time. I never assumed that.

[J_R_B]

Originally Posted by LuckyR

Sort of depends what you (and he) means by regularity. For example: If he avoids injury 100% of the time, gets his racquet on the ball 60% of the time and gets it back in play 15% of the time, I would call that "regularity". Why wouldn't you go for it with stats like that? Your post seems to assume he is saying that he gets the shot back 75% of the time. I never assumed that.

That's probably fairly close to the truth. Back in play 15% of the time might be a little high. I probably get het 5% of the time, the ball misses me completely at least 50% of the time, I get a racquet on it the rest of the time and get it in maybe 1-in-10. Obviously, I don't keep actual stats, so that's just a guess. There are also plenty of overheads where I'm not in a position on the court to even attempt to get to it, although I always look to when I can. Again, it's overwhelmingly a point that I win when I do return it, and it's just not in my nature to give up on a point no matter what.

[NeverGassed1212]

I have a tendency to play up at the net with certain people whose tendencies I know very well and know physically can't "smash" an overhead and get a good amount of balls back. I realize the risk and I am always ready to turn and bail out, but when playing anyone new or with a real smash overhead I definitely retreat or cover up. I played a 7.5 match last season and the 3.5 would sit right on the net for every shot and point and was really putting himself in harms way and after the match I told him I could have really nailed him a couple of times accidentally and his partner even tried telling him that he needs to back off the net at times but he wasn't hearing it. That same night someone had taken one to the nose and bled for at least a 1/2 hour. Another night I was playing doubles against one of the top juniors in the area and he was 9 at the time and I hit a smash and caught him in the shoulder even though I was aiming for the alley. I apologized to the kid and his dad who was watching from the sideline and the dad said don't worry about it he shouldn't have been there. So it's really a calculated risk I mostly try to avoid.

[Rjtennis]

OP what level are you playing at? You must have some rockstar reflexes.

[J_R_B]

Originally Posted by Rjtennis

OP what level are you playing at? You must have some rockstar reflexes.

4.0, and it's anticipation more than reflexes. I've played tennis for almost 35 years. In that time, I've learned to read where a person is going to hit a ball and try to get a racquet to that spot. I'm not trying to read the shot off his racquet and react to it, I'm reading it long before it's hit.

[storypeddler]

Geez, people, let the guy play his game. He recognizes the inherent potential for getting hit. For crying out loud, you can turn an ankle walking out to get the paper! I don't charge toward a man preparing for an overhead either, but I often will refuse to give ground. I am quick enough to turn my head and groin away if need be, and I, too, have recovered more than a few balls by refusing to grant a net man a gimme on an overhead. If some of you prefer to bail out, that's fine. This guy doesn't. Good for him.