The 12 shots you need to know

[jakeytennis]

file:///home/chronos/user/Downloads/tennis%20drawing%20(1).jpg

please use this link to check out a visual aid i created to help show the 12 most common shots in tennis.
(red line is the opponent's shot, the black line is your shot)

notes:
this is assuming both players are right handed and are hitting topspin shots from the baseline, these are 12 common type of shots you can hit.
by down the line, i dont mean aiming for the actual line. i mean hitting a shot from the duece court to the add court and vice verse.
This does not include shots aiming towards the middle of the court, just to the duece or add side.

1) forehand to forehand cross court
2) down the line to cross court forehand
3) cross court to down the line forehand
4) down the line to down the line forehand
5) backhand to backhand cross court
6) down the line to cross court backhand
7) cross court to down the line backhand
8 ) down the line to down the line backhand
9) cross court to cross court inside out forehand
10) cross court to down the line inside out forehand
11) down the line to cross court inside out forehand
12) down the line to down the line inside out forehand

this is important, because knowing which type of shot is the most safe or effective can improve your shot selection.
Also by knowing this, u might practice all 12 shots, not just a few

for example:
the easiest, most high percentage shots are when you are hitting crosscourt and not changing the direction of the ball, like a forehand to forehand.
everyone knows why crosscourt is safer than down the line.
but hitting a ball back where it came from is easier than changing the direction of the ball because you dont have to worry about angle reflections

the next easiest shot is when you do 1 of the 2 things stated above.
an example is hitting an opponent's down the line shot cross court. like #2

the most difficult shot is when you hit the ball down the line and change the direction of the ball, like #3 and #7.
These shots are high risk, high reward.

a lot of winner in the pros come from hitting shots like number 2,3,6,7,10,11

how many times have you seen Djokovic hit a backhand down the line winner like #7
or Nadal hit a inside out forehand winner

The best players can hit ALL these shots, and they hit them at the right time.

obviously, different players think different shots are easier or more effective, but i think these are just some basic guidelines.

sorry if this is confusing. and let me know if u think im forgetting anything or explaining something wrong

[sureshs]

jakey, how common are 11 and 12? I picture them as rightie opponent hit a DTL forehand to your (rightie) backhand, and you run around and hit an inside out. Is there enough time?

[jakeytennis]

suresh, i know 11 and 12 are not the most common they still happen.

they are still situations that can happen in matches, u never know.

thats why its good to practice all the shots

[sureshs]

If you have ever watched two high-level table tennis players practicing, your situations are what they will go through, in a certain order. Sometimes they can do hundreds of iterations without missing.

[jakeytennis]

thats cool
i heard that Federer practices kinda like that too

heres a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_llARUJls9M