When playing Mixed against a lower rated female I prefer to aim right at the female

Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
Played a 9.5 mixed match tonight. I hit the girl a few times hard and I'm not sorry. I do say I'm sorry to make the team feel better, but actually I'm not at all sorry, as this is proper doubles IMO.

I will always pick on the weaker player, no matter if its a male or female, tonight it just happened to be a female. If I don't hit it hard at the female, and hit it at the other guy, then he will just go at my girl. Usually the team that goes at the other lower rated female the most wins. Watch any pro mixed doubles at the slams and the guys will pick on the female, because its just proper mixed to target the lower skilled player. Nothing macho here, its just proper tennis to target the weaker player. When you only have half the court to go to, its actually best to go right at the person IMO, because he/she has very little room to get off a good shot.

I try to go at the feet if I'm at the net, but if I hit the body, buck up and deal with it.

Call me a jerk and whatever you like, but I play proper doubles.
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
tennis tom said:
No date tonight huh, I wonder why?
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ok there is insult #1 without talking about the main topic. i knew it

The guys that play back and forth just to the other guy are ones that captains should not allow on the team unless you dont want a winning team

Its more about playing the proper chess match vs winning. Tennis is a chess match. If I have a chance for my queen to take a pawn I'm taking it vs exchanging pawns
 
N

NLBwell

Legend
Playing 9.5, where the woman should be able to take care of herself, is a lot different than hitting at a 3.0 or even 3.5 female.
 
darrinbaker00

darrinbaker00

Professional
Gut4Tennis said:
Played a 9.5 mixed match tonight. I hit the girl a few times hard and I'm not sorry. I do say I'm sorry to make the team feel better, but actually I'm not at all sorry, as this is proper doubles IMO.

I will always pick on the weaker player, no matter if its a male or female, tonight it just happened to be a female. If I don't hit it hard at the female, and hit it at the other guy, then he will just go at my girl. Usually the team that goes at the other lower rated female the most wins. Watch any pro mixed doubles at the slams and the guys will pick on the female, because its just proper mixed to target the lower skilled player. Nothing macho here, its just proper tennis to target the weaker player. When you only have half the court to go to, its actually best to go right at the person IMO, because he/she has very little room to get off a good shot.

I try to go at the feet if I'm at the net, but if I hit the body, buck up and deal with it.

Call me a jerk and whatever you like, but I play proper doubles.
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Your purpose for posting this is.....?
 
G

GuyClinch

Legend
Well if you can do it - more power to ya. Its hard for most people to handle a 5.0 serve and rip it back at the net person..
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
NLBwell said:
Playing 9.5, where the woman should be able to take care of herself, is a lot different than hitting at a 3.0 or even 3.5 female.
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True true

still when you have a sitter instead of trying to angle it off around the female, where I might miss, im going right at her
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
GuyClinch said:
Well if you can do it - more power to ya. Its hard for most people to handle a 5.0 serve and rip it back at the net person..
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I like to mix many plays when the other 5.0 is serving to me.

1. lob over the female at the net if she plays right on the net ( this will of course possibly allow the 5.0 to get another shot, but I will follow it in and have a clear advantage at this point

2. rip it at the female no matter what as I would rather take my chances with her hitting it then the 5.0 male attacking to my 4.5

3. second serves will always go right at the net female. never lob the second serve unless the male serves and volleys


Attila_the_gorilla said:
Nothing wrong with this at all.
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:cool:
 
A

asimple

Semi-Pro
Gut4Tennis said:
I like to mix many plays when the other 5.0 is serving to me.

1. lob over the female at the net if she plays right on the net ( this will of course possibly allow the 5.0 to get another shot, but I will follow it in and have a clear advantage at this point

2. rip it at the female no matter what as I would rather take my chances with her hitting it then the 5.0 male attacking to my 4.5

3. second serves will always go right at the net female. never lob the second serve unless the male serves and volleys
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I am new to mixed (playing 9.0) and have come to the same conclusion on strategy with the exception of your second point. In the matches I have played heavy spin shots to the feet are as effective as ripping it so I normally go with this. On first serve returns this is extremely tough though. It is very difficult to put heavy spin on a hard serve so I did end up ripping a few at the lady at net yesterday. The lady was a decent 4.5 but I gave up the strategy after a few near misses. I have had a few bad experiences at coed sports over the years, and even though you might be right in attacking the woman, you still look like (and are) a huge jerk when someone gets hurt.
 
B

brokenRPM

Rookie
Gut4Tennis said:
Played a 9.5 mixed match tonight. I hit the girl a few times hard and I'm not sorry. I do say I'm sorry to make the team feel better, but actually I'm not at all sorry, as this is proper doubles IMO.

I will always pick on the weaker player, no matter if its a male or female, tonight it just happened to be a female. If I don't hit it hard at the female, and hit it at the other guy, then he will just go at my girl. Usually the team that goes at the other lower rated female the most wins. Watch any pro mixed doubles at the slams and the guys will pick on the female, because its just proper mixed to target the lower skilled player. Nothing macho here, its just proper tennis to target the weaker player. When you only have half the court to go to, its actually best to go right at the person IMO, because he/she has very little room to get off a good shot.

I try to go at the feet if I'm at the net, but if I hit the body, buck up and deal with it.

Call me a jerk and whatever you like, but I play proper doubles.
Click to expand...

You are doing it right. Most females who play mixed are the "like men to be rough on them" type.
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
asimple said:
I am new to mixed (playing 9.0) and have come to the same conclusion on strategy with the exception of your second point. In the matches I have played heavy spin shots to the feet are as effective as ripping it so I normally go with this. On first serve returns this is extremely tough though. It is very difficult to put heavy spin on a hard serve so I did end up ripping a few at the lady at net yesterday. The lady was a decent 4.5 but I gave up the strategy after a few near misses. I have had a few bad experiences at coed sports over the years, and even though you might be right in attacking the woman, you still look like (and are) a huge jerk when someone gets hurt.
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good point. if you have good top ability then try the high top, almost like a lob, as they are near impossible for a mid 4.5 female to get a food shot from it, and being its a high top and not quite a lob its tougher for the male to cut across it get it if she misses. High top to the backhand side of her body is money
 
dcdoorknob

dcdoorknob

Hall of Fame
It appears you just posted this to pat yourself on the back for being such a great doubles player and not to have any sort of discussion with anyone about it...

so congrats I guess?
 
E

EP1998

Semi-Pro
In tennis there is a gender difference (a male 5.0 will beat a female 5.0) and in this situation there is also a level difference (5.0 man and 4.5 woman). A 5.0 would have enough skill and control to win the point without pegging a 4.5 female in 9.5 mixed. It is league tennis not the circuit. Sure everyone targets the female, that is expected but you shouldnt have to actually peg them, especially more than once in a match. Usually a spinny shot at the feet or to the middle will do the trick. Slice works well too. Female players hate those kinds of shots. It's also a better use of your court time because in "modern" (hate using that word) doubles, those are the shots you need against guys too. Curious as to what the reaction was in the match? If I read the post right there were multiple pegging incidents?
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
BridgetJones said:
In tennis there is a gender difference (a male 5.0 will beat a female 5.0) and in this situation there is also a level difference (5.0 man and 4.5 woman). A 5.0 would have enough skill and control to win the point without pegging a 4.5 female in 9.5 mixed. It is league tennis not the circuit. Sure everyone targets the female, that is expected but you shouldnt have to actually peg them, especially more than once in a match. Usually a spinny shot at the feet or to the middle will do the trick. Slice works well too. Female players hate those kinds of shots. It's also a better use of your court time because in "modern" (hate using that word) doubles, those are the shots you need against guys too. Curious as to what the reaction was in the match? If I read the post right there were multiple pegging incidents?
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I have missed plenty of times trying to be cute and hit the thin alley left open. I will make no excused for going right at someone. the female needs to stand her ground instead of turning away. I will peg a male or a female. I go at the body as its the way doubles should be played IMO.

I will still use spin and slice and lobs over the female, just making sure on big important points to not get cute and go for the feet, and if I hit the body by mistake I will never feel bad.

I understand your thought and appreciate your input.
 
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E

EP1998

Semi-Pro
Gut4Tennis said:
I have missed plenty of times trying to be cute and hit the thin alley left open. I will make no excused for going right at someone. the female needs to stand her ground instead of turning away. I will peg a male or a female. I go at the body as its the way doubles should be played IMO.

I will still use spin and slice and lobs over the female, just making sure on big important points to not get cute and go for the feet, and if I hit the body by mistake I will never feel bad.

I understand your thought and appreciate your input.
Click to expand...

This reminds me that recently I have had a problem of trying to do too much. I keep trying to hit by the person, versus making them work. It's almost like I respect my opponents too much, think I have to hit these amazing passes etc. when in reality, I could hit the ball at their feet with a decent amount of spin and either be done outright, or well in control. It is the controlled aggression thing and happens to me when I dont play enough matches. I forget that the good doubles players make it look easy. This could be happening to you a bit in that you dont need to do as much as you think you do to be in a good position in the point. Especially the guy factor as usually the spin from guys is very tough to handle.
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

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BridgetJones said:
This reminds me that recently I have had a problem of trying to do too much. I keep trying to hit by the person, versus making them work. It's almost like I respect my opponents too much, think I have to hit these amazing passes etc. when in reality, I could hit the ball at their feet with a decent amount of spin and either be done outright, or well in control. It is the controlled aggression thing and happens to me when I dont play enough matches. I forget that the good doubles players make it look easy. This could be happening to you a bit in that you dont need to do as much as you think you do to be in a good position in the point. Especially the guy factor as usually the spin from guys is very tough to handle.
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Thanks. It certainly appears that way. The main point is to attack the weaker player more then you normally would. I'm very capable of going at the feet of a female , but certain times I need to go right at the body.

Thank you for what you said as its very true
 
T

tennis tom

Legend
Gut4Tennis said:
thanks for your contribution and making a personal attack.

Bring it on baby
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That's hilarious, you start a thread about hitting babes deliberately in the body, then you invite people to call you a jerk, they fulfill your request, then you think that's a personal attack. Nice troll thread you've started. Thanks for educating us that aiming at the body is an option, we would have never known that, you should become a coach. Get back to your s&m and bondage videos. Play some open mx'ed tournaments, you might find out there's some women players who can whack your pee-pee too.
 
Bdarb

Bdarb

Hall of Fame
I just played my first league match which was actually 8.0 mixed. This is very true here. If I were to hit cross court to the guy we'd be rallying back and fourth for five minutes. And he came to net so if there are two players at net, a 4.5 guy and a 3.5 woman, who are you going to hit at if the goal is to win the point :confused: I honestly didn't like "going after the lady" but my partner told me to and she's been playing for years so that's what I did. They tried to do te same but my partner doesn't really give up ue, she just doesn't put anything away. So she could keep the point going until it would end up coming to me and I generally found somewhere to put it.
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
tennis tom said:
That's hilarious, you start a thread about hitting babes deliberately in the body, then you invite people to call you a jerk, they fulfill your request, then you think that's a personal attack. Nice troll thread you've started. Thanks for educating us that aiming at the body is an option, we would have never known that, you should become a coach. Get back to your s&m and bondage videos. Play some open mx'ed tournaments, you might find out there's some women players who can whack your pee-pee too.
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I love it when the female goes at me, then I know its game time

:)
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

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Bdarb said:
I just played my first league match which was actually 8.0 mixed. This is very true here. If I were to hit cross court to the guy we'd be rallying back and fourth for five minutes. And he came to net so if there are two players at net, a 4.5 guy and a 3.5 woman, who are you going to hit at if the goal is to win the point :confused: I honestly didn't like "going after the lady" but my partner told me to and she's been playing for years so that's what I did. They tried to do te same but my partner doesn't really give up ue, she just doesn't put anything away. So she could keep the point going until it would end up coming to me and I generally found somewhere to put it.
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yup

just keep going to the weaker player. Its kinda like 80% to the weaker, 20% to the better player. When the better player finally gets a ball it can be a miss since he/she has hit so few and tries to do too much

:)
 
eelhc

eelhc

Hall of Fame
The OP could have said it differently but I agree with him.

For socials/mixers it's bad etiquette but nothing wrong with going at the weaker player in competitive play. The sex of the player is not pertinent. I've been in plenty of mixed doubles matches where I was the weaker player.

  1. The weaker player can always play back. I've actually won doubles matches against big servers and strong hitters by playing both back.
  2. Flip the situation around. The player at the net is there to get an offensive advantage. So it's OK for that player to gain an advantage but not OK for their opponent to try to take it away? I don't think so...
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
eelhc said:
The OP could have said it differently but I agree with him.

For socials/mixers it's bad etiquette but nothing wrong with going at the weaker player in competitive play. The sex of the player is not pertinent. I've been in plenty of mixed doubles matches where I was the weaker player.

  1. The weaker player can always play back. I've actually won doubles matches against big servers and strong hitters by playing both back.
  2. Flip the situation around. The player at the net is there to get an offensive advantage. So it's OK for that player to gain an advantage but not OK for their opponent to try to take it away? I don't think so...
Click to expand...

well said wise one.

I would never hit or go hard at someone in a social setting

Great info you gave :)
 
R

RogueFLIP

Professional
In essence I totally agree with you to attack the weaker player regardless of gender.

I've found the practice however in my case to be a little difficult to execute.

I played my first ever organized mixed 7.0 last week and had a really difficult time hitting at the weaker woman in general. I slowed everything down so much, even my serves.

It was like on a conscious level I knew I needed to attack, but my body wouldn't let me. Partly it was nerves from being in a new situation, but I just couldn't hit hard. And the few time I did, I just wound up overhitting and making UE's.

I'm hoping when I make the foray into USTA mixed, since most of the time I won't know my opponents, I might shake this fear of well, I don't know what....

Just couldn't pull the trigger like when I play men's 7.0.

Interesting....
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
RogueFLIP said:
In essence I totally agree with you to attack the weaker player regardless of gender.

I've found the practice however in my case to be a little difficult to execute.

I played my first ever organized mixed 7.0 last week and had a really difficult time hitting at the weaker woman in general. I slowed everything down so much, even my serves.

It was like on a conscious level I knew I needed to attack, but my body wouldn't let me. Partly it was nerves from being in a new situation, but I just couldn't hit hard. And the few time I did, I just wound up overhitting and making UE's.

I'm hoping when I make the foray into USTA mixed, since most of the time I won't know my opponents, I might shake this fear of well, I don't know what....

Just couldn't pull the trigger like when I play men's 7.0.

Interesting....
Click to expand...

That is 100% mental. You might try and convince yourself that is a man dressed like a women. lol
 
R

RogueFLIP

Professional
Oh, totally mental, no doubt.

I just don't have the key to my sub-conscious to change the message just yet.

I'm hoping with a little more mixed experience it'll change.

Because all the guys on my team know I'm the headhunter if you come to net.

And the girls I play with at this "king of the hill" dubs game I play every week are college players (4.0+), so they can handle whatever I throw at them and spit it back to me with interest.
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
RogueFLIP said:
Oh, totally mental, no doubt.

I just don't have the key to my sub-conscious to change the message just yet.

I'm hoping with a little more mixed experience it'll change.

Because all the guys on my team know I'm the headhunter if you come to net.

And the girls I play with at this "king of the hill" dubs game I play every week are college players (4.0+), so they can handle whatever I throw at them and spit it back to me with interest.
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right at the chest is harder for for ladies because of the jugs
 
S

stever

New User
In general I agree with the OP now but didn't used to. Been playing USTA tennis about 4 years but mixed only a year. At first I would not hit to the ladies much at all. We got spanked. Now it is just go for the shot whatever player that wins the point or has the best chance to set up my partner to put away. My team is going to nationals now:)

Today's mixed match was fun and different in the fact that the lady was the better player. On our winning match point my partner smacked a volley and hit the guy with the ball on his arm. The ball went over the net. The lady though it was her point because we didn't return it. No, thanks for playing. :)
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
stever said:
In general I agree with the OP now but didn't used to. Been playing USTA tennis about 4 years but mixed only a year. At first I would not hit to the ladies much at all. We got spanked. Now it is just go for the shot whatever player that wins the point or has the best chance to set up my partner to put away. My team is going to nationals now:)

Today's mixed match was fun and different in the fact that the lady was the better player. On our winning match point my partner smacked a volley and hit the guy with the ball on his arm. The ball went over the net. The lady though it was her point because we didn't return it. No, thanks for playing. :)
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good luck at nationals. what location is your nationals?
 
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Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
VaththalKuzhambu said:
Wait, ....what???

If you are a 5.0, even if self-rated and by TT standards, you should have a ton of weaponry at your disposal rather than resorting to injure the female player.
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Who said anything about injuring?

Sorry I go at the weaker player, I don t injure them. I have plenty of choices, but sometimes too many choices and you get cute. If it was singles sure I would move the person, but when the weaker player moves more to the alley if i try and hit to the middle on the weaker players side then the other 5.0 can get the ball.

Many times the female could be a 5.0 but is just rated 4.5 for whatever reason
 
leroy_sunset

leroy_sunset

Rookie
xWA5RKm.gif
 
R

RetroSpin

Hall of Fame
There's a subtle difference between going at the weaker player and headhunting. At the OP's level, players are skilled enough not to cross that line. The females are expecting to be targeted. They shouldn't be playing higer level mixed if they aren't.

The problem in mixed comes with 3.5's trying to do this and ending up nailing some poor lady who is unable to defend herself.
 
J

J0EBL0W

New User
At 8.5 and above their should be no crying about hitting at anyone at anytime. People at those levels should have enough skill and knowledge to deal with these things. If you're a 4.5 girl who doesn't want a 5.0 hitting at you, don't play 9.5 mixed (or stay at the safe baseline).
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
RetroSpin said:
There's a subtle difference between going at the weaker player and headhunting. At the OP's level, players are skilled enough not to cross that line. The females are expecting to be targeted. They shouldn't be playing higer level mixed if they aren't.

The problem in mixed comes with 3.5's trying to do this and ending up nailing some poor lady who is unable to defend herself.
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They defend just fine with that huge stiff racquet :twisted:
 
Gut4Tennis

Gut4Tennis

Hall of Fame
J0EBL0W said:
At 8.5 and above their should be no crying about hitting at anyone at anytime. People at those levels should have enough skill and knowledge to deal with these things. If you're a 4.5 girl who doesn't want a 5.0 hitting at you, don't play 9.5 mixed (or stay at the safe baseline).
Click to expand...

I like your style
 
J

J0EBL0W

New User
But to be honest I struggle hitting right at the girl (unless she's really annoying or something). I've had several mixed team captains (who were all female) get upset with me for not hitting at the girl more.
 
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