Here is a slightly different insight...
I play badminton quite a bit (state and inter-state tournament level and can/have won a few). Unfortunately most players are not on my level and I mostly play doubles so they stick me with the weaker one. Guess what happens during practice, EVERYTHING goes to the other guy. I can easily beat these people playing 2 on 1 but I rather involve more people on the game. Do I like playing this way? No. On shots where my partner is supposed to drop a killer bomb, he lobs it up so that puts my face in the line of fire. I set up an easy kill shot and he just dinks it back.
In the end I had to adapt to it by just practicing different shots or getting closer to the net on smash returns to make it harder for me in order to get my reaction time up to speed. I also start practicing more difficult shots and more deception shots and try to win games by aiming for the lines either with punch shots or with lobs. I am thinking you can do this with tennis too.
I am only 3.0 (playing tennis for about 6-7 months) but I already have faced a pusher as well as a big hitters. I find the pushers the easiest to beat because I am very comfortable at the net and I am still coping with ball spin and court spacing so I can't consistently hit back heavy. I do have a pretty good serve I think (same motion as badminton smash) so I get easy points that way. The pusher had beaten me 4-6 after I was up 4-0 because I started to try to hit big. At the end of the set I said to myself there was really nothing to lose so I changed tactics and starting slicing back to him and rushing the net. I won the next set 6-1 and he got only 3 points on the following tie breaker.
As for the big hitter? I kept the ball in play while moving him around with slices, flat shots, and drops (I looove drops
) He was so winded that in the 2nd set I started getting easy passing shots because he just couldn't run. Bring him in to one corner, he hits back 1/2 court, watch if he runs to middle, then slice to either his back foot or way in front depending on how fast he is running. Worked like a charm.
I play badminton quite a bit (state and inter-state tournament level and can/have won a few). Unfortunately most players are not on my level and I mostly play doubles so they stick me with the weaker one. Guess what happens during practice, EVERYTHING goes to the other guy. I can easily beat these people playing 2 on 1 but I rather involve more people on the game. Do I like playing this way? No. On shots where my partner is supposed to drop a killer bomb, he lobs it up so that puts my face in the line of fire. I set up an easy kill shot and he just dinks it back.
In the end I had to adapt to it by just practicing different shots or getting closer to the net on smash returns to make it harder for me in order to get my reaction time up to speed. I also start practicing more difficult shots and more deception shots and try to win games by aiming for the lines either with punch shots or with lobs. I am thinking you can do this with tennis too.
I am only 3.0 (playing tennis for about 6-7 months) but I already have faced a pusher as well as a big hitters. I find the pushers the easiest to beat because I am very comfortable at the net and I am still coping with ball spin and court spacing so I can't consistently hit back heavy. I do have a pretty good serve I think (same motion as badminton smash) so I get easy points that way. The pusher had beaten me 4-6 after I was up 4-0 because I started to try to hit big. At the end of the set I said to myself there was really nothing to lose so I changed tactics and starting slicing back to him and rushing the net. I won the next set 6-1 and he got only 3 points on the following tie breaker.
As for the big hitter? I kept the ball in play while moving him around with slices, flat shots, and drops (I looove drops
) He was so winded that in the 2nd set I started getting easy passing shots because he just couldn't run. Bring him in to one corner, he hits back 1/2 court, watch if he runs to middle, then slice to either his back foot or way in front depending on how fast he is running. Worked like a charm.
