‘No hit’ zone in middle - avoid this target in singles

[socallefty]

I see a lot of players posting on here that they are unable to outhit their consistent opponents whom they call ‘pushers’ and end up losing matches due to missing earlier than their opponent. A big reason that players lose matches is because if you hit to the middle of the court at a middle depth, the opponent is not troubled in any way as they don’t have to move and even if you hit harder, they will get it back. The drill above talks of the ‘no-hit’ zone that you should avoid - I call it the ‘suicide zone‘ against good players as they can put away a ball hit there with a winner or trouble you with attacking shots.

The circle marked here is good for lower levels, but needs to be made bigger for higher levels and you can also make the no-hit zone a square. The tennis court is 27 feet wide - put target markers on the outside 9 feet near the sidelines and do drills to avoid the middle third (9 feet in the middle) of the court. The tennis court is 39 feet long on each side with 21 feet inside the service line - put markers about 9 feet from the baseline and about 10 feet from the net so that you have marked out a middle no-hit zone that is 20 feet long. Avoid hitting into this 20 feet long zone in the middle third of the court - so, no-hit zone is a square 20 feet long and 9 feet wide in the middle of the court. If you consistently avoid this middle-middle zone and hit closer to the sidelines, hit deep to the baseline or short at dropshot length (where you are bringing the opponent to the net on your terms), you will win a lot of matches.

The opponents who trouble good players a lot are the ones who hit serves near the lines and shots avoiding the no-hit zone. Especially if you hit with good spin and have some action to the ball, you are going to force a lot of mishits and short balls from the opponent as they will be hitting on the run and they won’t be able to avoid the no-hit zone on your side of the court. You can hit crosscourt mostly following Wardlaw directionals on neutral balls, but try to get your shots hitting targets closer to the opposite sidelines avoiding the no-hit middle zone. If you hit the middle third, you have to hit very deep or very short again avoiding the no-hit zone of middle depth in the middle.

Drill 1 is to avoid hitting the no-hit zone on the other side of the net and hit shots very short, very deep or close to the sidelines.
Drill 2 is to practice hitting forcing shots, approach shots and/or winners when you get opponent‘s shots landing in the no-hit zone on your side of the court.

If you get good at this, you will win a lot of matches even if your shot speed is only average for your level and you can maintain high shot tolerance without trying to hit too hard. Accuracy is a hallmark of winning players in tennis.

The next step is to learn to hit first serves in particular within three feet of the sidelines and four feet of the deep service box line - if you can do that at a high % in addition to becoming good at avoiding the no-hit zone plus hitting forcing shots/winners/approaches off balls hit to your no-hit zone, you will win at such a high rate that your only problem will be finding singles opponents who want to play you regularly!

 

[ouch_my_shoulder]

This is great advice and something I've been focusing on lately. It's very true that most rallies at my level (3.5-4.0) are going middle-middle. Getting the opponent on the run is way more likely to lead to errors or at least short balls, even if I don't put a lot of pace on them. My first instinct is to try and overpower the opponent, but going for the corners really works better.

 

[3loudboys]

Good advice

 

[Dragy]

Smart targets is another concept which is even more practical from actual on-court perspective (black triangles):

Those are target lines to aim groundstrokes to from most spots on the court.

 

[Fintft]

On the other hand if you want to change something, sending some hard shots DTM is recommended, due to the lower risk, right?

 

[socallefty]

On the other hand if you want to change something, sending some hard shots DTM is recommended, due to the lower risk, right?

If it is deep or short beyond the no-hit zone, it can be effective. If you just send it in the middle-middle, you need a tremendous amount of pace or spin beyond what is typical at a level to bother an opponent. For instance Nadal used to bother opponents with his higher FH RPM and could spin balls down the middle without getting hurt in a way that other players with less spin couldn’t.

Of course if your shot tolerance and movement is better than your opponent, it is good strategy to be conservative, hit to the middle and wait for an error. This works well against opponents who hit flat as they invariably have low shot tolerance.

 

[Fintft]

amount of pace beyond what is typical at a level to bother an opponent.

This

 

[Curious]

My coach used to say hitting in the middle is not a problem if you’re in the middle as well. Hitting from a corner to the middle is suicide, he said.
Another thing is you shouldn’t forget another rule while trying to avoid this middle zone: hitting to big targets.

 

[Dragy]

My coach used to say hitting in the middle is not a problem if you’re in the middle as well. Hitting from a corner to the middle is suicide, he said.
Another thing is you shouldn’t forget another rule while trying to avoid this middle zone: hitting to big targets.

First part is reasonable, particularly when you receive decent shot which you cannot be very sure to put into corner without missing.

Big targets and no-hit zone: yes, that "deep" middle area is actually displayed as rather narrow and easy to miss long. I personally find it ok to hit DTM in some exact situations:
- fast exchange without angles - I can punch it back, and it's more or less calibrated to go deep, yet in; and even if it lands a bit shorter, the tempo of exchange protects from being attacked easily
- returning DTM - again, I can kind of calibrate my return against the serve and land it deep

Other from that I would rather go to bigger CC (including I/O) targets, as I can use power and height more safely, I create angle, I make him move, etc. If I have time from the middle, including being farther back, I'll be looking to create either of CC patterns, which favors me more.

 

[socallefty]

Assuming the opponent is unable to hit forcing shots off no-hit zone balls, the decision to hit to the middle often or not should be based on determining whether you have more or less shot tolerance than your opponent on neutral balls which should be spotted within the first couple of games.

If your opponent has far more shot tolerance than you and you both stand in the middle and trade middle-middle shots, you will miss sooner and lose the match easily. If you have better shot tolerance, you can do that tactic and the opponent will lose.

At advanced levels, the players hurt you with offensive shots if you hit in the no-hit zone and so it applies even more.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

My coach used to say hitting in the middle is not a problem if you’re in the middle as well. Hitting from a corner to the middle is suicide, he said.
Another thing is you shouldn’t forget another rule while trying to avoid this middle zone: hitting to big targets.

Was he referring to hitting to the middle T area? Or hitting deep middle (in NML)?

 

[Curious]

Was he referring to hitting to the middle T area? Or hitting deep middle (in NML)?

He said you can maybe get away with it if it’s really deep but it’s very important that a cross court shot should be cross court enough. When we played points he’d demonstrate by punishing it immediately whenever my supposedly cross court shot wasn’t good enough. It’s still a big problem of mine btw.

 

[Bagumbawalla]

When I was first starting to play, I was told to think of the opposite court as if it was divided like a
tic-tac-toe game and to avoid the very center square and the center square closest to the net.

 

[tendency]

I see a lot of players posting on here that they are unable to outhit their consistent opponents whom they call ‘pushers’ and end up losing matches due to missing earlier than their opponent. A big reason that players lose matches is because if you hit to the middle of the court at a middle depth, the opponent is not troubled in any way as they don’t have to move and even if you hit harder, they will get it back. The drill above talks of the ‘no-hit’ zone that you should avoid - I call it the ‘suicide zone‘ against good players as they can put away a ball hit there with a winner or trouble you with attacking shots.

The circle marked here is good for lower levels, but needs to be made bigger for higher levels and you can also make the no-hit zone a square. The tennis court is 27 feet wide - put target markers on the outside 9 feet near the sidelines and do drills to avoid the middle third (9 feet in the middle) of the court. The tennis court is 39 feet long on each side with 21 feet inside the service line - put markers about 9 feet from the baseline and about 10 feet from the net so that you have marked out a middle no-hit zone that is 20 feet long. Avoid hitting into this 20 feet long zone in the middle third of the court - so, no-hit zone is a square 20 feet long and 9 feet wide in the middle of the court. If you consistently avoid this middle-middle zone and hit closer to the sidelines, hit deep to the baseline or short at dropshot length (where you are bringing the opponent to the net on your terms), you will win a lot of matches.

The opponents who trouble good players a lot are the ones who hit serves near the lines and shots avoiding the no-hit zone. Especially if you hit with good spin and have some action to the ball, you are going to force a lot of mishits and short balls from the opponent as they will be hitting on the run and they won’t be able to avoid the no-hit zone on your side of the court. You can hit crosscourt mostly following Wardlaw directionals on neutral balls, but try to get your shots hitting targets closer to the opposite sidelines avoiding the no-hit middle zone. If you hit the middle third, you have to hit very deep or very short again avoiding the no-hit zone of middle depth in the middle.

Drill 1 is to avoid hitting the no-hit zone on the other side of the net and hit shots very short, very deep or close to the sidelines.
Drill 2 is to practice hitting forcing shots, approach shots and/or winners when you get opponent‘s shots landing in the no-hit zone on your side of the court.

If you get good at this, you will win a lot of matches even if your shot speed is only average for your level and you can maintain high shot tolerance without trying to hit too hard. Accuracy is a hallmark of winning players in tennis.

The next step is to learn to hit first serves in particular within three feet of the sidelines and four feet of the deep service box line - if you can do that at a high % in addition to becoming good at avoiding the no-hit zone plus hitting forcing shots/winners/approaches off balls hit to your no-hit zone, you will win at such a high rate that your only problem will be finding singles opponents who want to play you regularly!

TLDR: develop consistent, good directional control WITH some pace.

 

[socallefty]

When I was first starting to play, I was told to think of the opposite court as if it was divided like a
tic-tac-toe game and to avoid the very center square and the center square closest to the net.

That is pretty much similar to the No-hit zone I described except that if it is a good drop shot or your opponent is weak at net and you want to draw him in, it is Ok to hit to the middle close to the net.

 

[5263]

Smart targets is another concept which is even more practical from actual on-court perspective (black triangles):

Those are target lines to aim groundstrokes to from most spots on the court.

Here is the full pic of Smart Target Hitting Lanes that includes the "Avoid Zone", published over a decade ago.

Smart Targets for Consistent Placement

Chuck Tomlin, CTM Founder and Inventor of the "Congruent Tennis Model" has studied and tested different methods of charting tennis performance. In the mid-late 2000s he developed the "Smart Targets" targeting system for tennis players which has gone in to become an integral component of the...

www.congruenttennis.com

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSCHWyf8C6tgo3gsCrkuujk2FXJqgs6taNarg&usqp=CAU

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[Dragy]

Here is the full pic of Smart Target Hitting Lanes that includes the "Avoid Zone", published over a decade ago.

Smart Targets for Consistent Placement

Chuck Tomlin, CTM Founder and Inventor of the "Congruent Tennis Model" has studied and tested different methods of charting tennis performance. In the mid-late 2000s he developed the "Smart Targets" targeting system for tennis players which has gone in to become an integral component of the...

www.congruenttennis.com

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSCHWyf8C6tgo3gsCrkuujk2FXJqgs6taNarg&usqp=CAU

Facebook

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Image from your article:

 

[5263]

If it is deep or short beyond the no-hit zone, it can be effective. If you just send it in the middle-middle, you need a tremendous amount of pace or spin beyond what is typical at a level to bother an opponent. For instance Nadal used to bother opponents with his higher FH RPM and could spin balls down the middle without getting hurt in a way that other players with less spin couldn’t.

Of course if your shot tolerance and movement is better than your opponent, it is good strategy to be conservative, hit to the middle and wait for an error. This works well against opponents who hit flat as they invariably have low shot tolerance.

I like the overall idea here, which is evident by my "Avoid Zone" in the Smart Target Lanes concept, but I feel it is better to focus on what you intend to do more than what you want to avoid. Just like driving, people tend to go where there attention is and it is likely no different with hitting tennis balls.

For this reason, I put more focus on the 2 never changing hitting lanes along with the Jammer as the moving 3rd target option.

Remember, getting great depth is never a significant issue if you have solid power and direction for your shots.

 

[Thiemster]

Great Tip! You are on a roll with good advice

 

[TheSlicer]

I always hit there when i tank matches, why i tank matches if i dont get any money you would ask yourself, well, i just like to play like the goat, like Bernard goatomic

 

[Roforot]

This is related to shot placement / aiming. Rather than looking at the where the ball bounces, I wonder if there is any such map of shots at the net. The reason is that we're usually only seeing the ball land through the net, but you have a clear view of the ball crossing the net? So perhaps having a target 2' to the right and 3' above the centerstrap for a crosscourt FH (lefty). Does anyone know if there are maps of these for pros?

Obviously also if using a wall it can help w/ setting up a target/goal to practice. I think there may also be target sticks you can put into the net to practice this aiming?

 

[LuckyR]

I see a lot of players posting on here that they are unable to outhit their consistent opponents whom they call ‘pushers’ and end up losing matches due to missing earlier than their opponent. A big reason that players lose matches is because if you hit to the middle of the court at a middle depth, the opponent is not troubled in any way as they don’t have to move and even if you hit harder, they will get it back. The drill above talks of the ‘no-hit’ zone that you should avoid - I call it the ‘suicide zone‘ against good players as they can put away a ball hit there with a winner or trouble you with attacking shots.

The circle marked here is good for lower levels, but needs to be made bigger for higher levels and you can also make the no-hit zone a square. The tennis court is 27 feet wide - put target markers on the outside 9 feet near the sidelines and do drills to avoid the middle third (9 feet in the middle) of the court. The tennis court is 39 feet long on each side with 21 feet inside the service line - put markers about 9 feet from the baseline and about 10 feet from the net so that you have marked out a middle no-hit zone that is 20 feet long. Avoid hitting into this 20 feet long zone in the middle third of the court - so, no-hit zone is a square 20 feet long and 9 feet wide in the middle of the court. If you consistently avoid this middle-middle zone and hit closer to the sidelines, hit deep to the baseline or short at dropshot length (where you are bringing the opponent to the net on your terms), you will win a lot of matches.

The opponents who trouble good players a lot are the ones who hit serves near the lines and shots avoiding the no-hit zone. Especially if you hit with good spin and have some action to the ball, you are going to force a lot of mishits and short balls from the opponent as they will be hitting on the run and they won’t be able to avoid the no-hit zone on your side of the court. You can hit crosscourt mostly following Wardlaw directionals on neutral balls, but try to get your shots hitting targets closer to the opposite sidelines avoiding the no-hit middle zone. If you hit the middle third, you have to hit very deep or very short again avoiding the no-hit zone of middle depth in the middle.

Drill 1 is to avoid hitting the no-hit zone on the other side of the net and hit shots very short, very deep or close to the sidelines.
Drill 2 is to practice hitting forcing shots, approach shots and/or winners when you get opponent‘s shots landing in the no-hit zone on your side of the court.

If you get good at this, you will win a lot of matches even if your shot speed is only average for your level and you can maintain high shot tolerance without trying to hit too hard. Accuracy is a hallmark of winning players in tennis.

The next step is to learn to hit first serves in particular within three feet of the sidelines and four feet of the deep service box line - if you can do that at a high % in addition to becoming good at avoiding the no-hit zone plus hitting forcing shots/winners/approaches off balls hit to your no-hit zone, you will win at such a high rate that your only problem will be finding singles opponents who want to play you regularly!

True, though is implied by the Directional.

 

[socallefty]

If you don’t coil your body and uncoil properly, it is going to be harder to hit crosscourt near the sidelines. So, if you arm the ball a lot, it is going to be harder to avoid the no-hit zone. When I see opponents who mostly arm the ball, I go to net a lot covering the DTL pass a bit more as I know that they are going to struggle to hit sharp crosscourt angles.

 

[Fintft]

Today I was trying to hit hard DTM and my coach was right, as I was often missing long. I had higher percentages going I/O, plus those were putways...Maybe I'm just used to them.

 

[Fintft]

@socallefty Just now, I've switched to hitting hard DTM (in your zone, but deep) against a weaker player, after 30 min of trying in vain to rally with him.
a) He is a very good friend, outside of tennis
b) I've been trying to teach him for years, racquet prep, meaning early. So today, by turning him into a ball machine (he couldn't return almost any ball), maybe he'll get the memo(plus verbal reminders), be it at 3.5

 

[Daniel Andrade]

I see a lot of players posting on here that they are unable to outhit their consistent opponents whom they call ‘pushers’ and end up losing matches due to missing earlier than their opponent. A big reason that players lose matches is because if you hit to the middle of the court at a middle depth, the opponent is not troubled in any way as they don’t have to move and even if you hit harder, they will get it back. The drill above talks of the ‘no-hit’ zone that you should avoid - I call it the ‘suicide zone‘ against good players as they can put away a ball hit there with a winner or trouble you with attacking shots.

The circle marked here is good for lower levels, but needs to be made bigger for higher levels and you can also make the no-hit zone a square. The tennis court is 27 feet wide - put target markers on the outside 9 feet near the sidelines and do drills to avoid the middle third (9 feet in the middle) of the court. The tennis court is 39 feet long on each side with 21 feet inside the service line - put markers about 9 feet from the baseline and about 10 feet from the net so that you have marked out a middle no-hit zone that is 20 feet long. Avoid hitting into this 20 feet long zone in the middle third of the court - so, no-hit zone is a square 20 feet long and 9 feet wide in the middle of the court. If you consistently avoid this middle-middle zone and hit closer to the sidelines, hit deep to the baseline or short at dropshot length (where you are bringing the opponent to the net on your terms), you will win a lot of matches.

The opponents who trouble good players a lot are the ones who hit serves near the lines and shots avoiding the no-hit zone. Especially if you hit with good spin and have some action to the ball, you are going to force a lot of mishits and short balls from the opponent as they will be hitting on the run and they won’t be able to avoid the no-hit zone on your side of the court. You can hit crosscourt mostly following Wardlaw directionals on neutral balls, but try to get your shots hitting targets closer to the opposite sidelines avoiding the no-hit middle zone. If you hit the middle third, you have to hit very deep or very short again avoiding the no-hit zone of middle depth in the middle.

Drill 1 is to avoid hitting the no-hit zone on the other side of the net and hit shots very short, very deep or close to the sidelines.
Drill 2 is to practice hitting forcing shots, approach shots and/or winners when you get opponent‘s shots landing in the no-hit zone on your side of the court.

If you get good at this, you will win a lot of matches even if your shot speed is only average for your level and you can maintain high shot tolerance without trying to hit too hard. Accuracy is a hallmark of winning players in tennis.

The next step is to learn to hit first serves in particular within three feet of the sidelines and four feet of the deep service box line - if you can do that at a high % in addition to becoming good at avoiding the no-hit zone plus hitting forcing shots/winners/approaches off balls hit to your no-hit zone, you will win at such a high rate that your only problem will be finding singles opponents who want to play you regularly!

5.0 tennis.

Will practice this a lot!

 

[Daniel Andrade]

I see a lot of players posting on here that they are unable to outhit their consistent opponents whom they call ‘pushers’ and end up losing matches due to missing earlier than their opponent. A big reason that players lose matches is because if you hit to the middle of the court at a middle depth, the opponent is not troubled in any way as they don’t have to move and even if you hit harder, they will get it back. The drill above talks of the ‘no-hit’ zone that you should avoid - I call it the ‘suicide zone‘ against good players as they can put away a ball hit there with a winner or trouble you with attacking shots.

The circle marked here is good for lower levels, but needs to be made bigger for higher levels and you can also make the no-hit zone a square. The tennis court is 27 feet wide - put target markers on the outside 9 feet near the sidelines and do drills to avoid the middle third (9 feet in the middle) of the court. The tennis court is 39 feet long on each side with 21 feet inside the service line - put markers about 9 feet from the baseline and about 10 feet from the net so that you have marked out a middle no-hit zone that is 20 feet long. Avoid hitting into this 20 feet long zone in the middle third of the court - so, no-hit zone is a square 20 feet long and 9 feet wide in the middle of the court. If you consistently avoid this middle-middle zone and hit closer to the sidelines, hit deep to the baseline or short at dropshot length (where you are bringing the opponent to the net on your terms), you will win a lot of matches.

The opponents who trouble good players a lot are the ones who hit serves near the lines and shots avoiding the no-hit zone. Especially if you hit with good spin and have some action to the ball, you are going to force a lot of mishits and short balls from the opponent as they will be hitting on the run and they won’t be able to avoid the no-hit zone on your side of the court. You can hit crosscourt mostly following Wardlaw directionals on neutral balls, but try to get your shots hitting targets closer to the opposite sidelines avoiding the no-hit middle zone. If you hit the middle third, you have to hit very deep or very short again avoiding the no-hit zone of middle depth in the middle.

Drill 1 is to avoid hitting the no-hit zone on the other side of the net and hit shots very short, very deep or close to the sidelines.
Drill 2 is to practice hitting forcing shots, approach shots and/or winners when you get opponent‘s shots landing in the no-hit zone on your side of the court.

If you get good at this, you will win a lot of matches even if your shot speed is only average for your level and you can maintain high shot tolerance without trying to hit too hard. Accuracy is a hallmark of winning players in tennis.

The next step is to learn to hit first serves in particular within three feet of the sidelines and four feet of the deep service box line - if you can do that at a high % in addition to becoming good at avoiding the no-hit zone plus hitting forcing shots/winners/approaches off balls hit to your no-hit zone, you will win at such a high rate that your only problem will be finding singles opponents who want to play you regularly!

Do you often practice this drill?

 

[socallefty]

Do you often practice this drill?

I don’t as it is already ingrained in me to never hit balls into the no-hit zone unless I’m forced to. But I do the drill when my wife practices with me to improve her game. We bought some plastic tennis court markers on AmazXn for this purpose. I think it is a must during the first 3-5 years of learning tennis. I did the drill when I was a kid.

 

[socallefty]

Wondering if any of you guys do this drill or hit less to the center-middle in singles matches?

 

[Curious]

Wondering if any of you guys do this drill or hit less to the center-middle in singles matches?

My game plan is very simple these days and no hit zone is a major part of it.
-don’t miss easily
-cross court unless there’s a good reason to hit dtl
-don’t hit short middle
That’s all my game plan for every player I play. I know you want me to go deeper and analyse my opponent, their weaknesses etc but I simply can’t do it for now.

 

[socallefty]

My game plan is very simple these days and no hit zone is a major part of it.
-don’t miss easily
-cross court unless there’s a good reason to hit dtl
-don’t hit short middle
That’s all my game plan for every player I play. I know you want me to go deeper and analyse my opponent, their weaknesses etc but I simply can’t do it for now.

If you keep your unforced error rate below 15% of all points played in a singles match, you will likely win more than 2/3rds of them. That is the stat for the pros, but at least on the ATP tour they keep the error rate low while not hitting much to the No-hit zone.

 

[ProStaffFanatic]

I see a lot of players posting on here that they are unable to outhit their consistent opponents whom they call ‘pushers’ and end up losing matches due to missing earlier than their opponent. A big reason that players lose matches is because if you hit to the middle of the court at a middle depth, the opponent is not troubled in any way as they don’t have to move and even if you hit harder, they will get it back. The drill above talks of the ‘no-hit’ zone that you should avoid - I call it the ‘suicide zone‘ against good players as they can put away a ball hit there with a winner or trouble you with attacking shots.

The circle marked here is good for lower levels, but needs to be made bigger for higher levels and you can also make the no-hit zone a square. The tennis court is 27 feet wide - put target markers on the outside 9 feet near the sidelines and do drills to avoid the middle third (9 feet in the middle) of the court. The tennis court is 39 feet long on each side with 21 feet inside the service line - put markers about 9 feet from the baseline and about 10 feet from the net so that you have marked out a middle no-hit zone that is 20 feet long. Avoid hitting into this 20 feet long zone in the middle third of the court - so, no-hit zone is a square 20 feet long and 9 feet wide in the middle of the court. If you consistently avoid this middle-middle zone and hit closer to the sidelines, hit deep to the baseline or short at dropshot length (where you are bringing the opponent to the net on your terms), you will win a lot of matches.

The opponents who trouble good players a lot are the ones who hit serves near the lines and shots avoiding the no-hit zone. Especially if you hit with good spin and have some action to the ball, you are going to force a lot of mishits and short balls from the opponent as they will be hitting on the run and they won’t be able to avoid the no-hit zone on your side of the court. You can hit crosscourt mostly following Wardlaw directionals on neutral balls, but try to get your shots hitting targets closer to the opposite sidelines avoiding the no-hit middle zone. If you hit the middle third, you have to hit very deep or very short again avoiding the no-hit zone of middle depth in the middle.

Drill 1 is to avoid hitting the no-hit zone on the other side of the net and hit shots very short, very deep or close to the sidelines.
Drill 2 is to practice hitting forcing shots, approach shots and/or winners when you get opponent‘s shots landing in the no-hit zone on your side of the court.

If you get good at this, you will win a lot of matches even if your shot speed is only average for your level and you can maintain high shot tolerance without trying to hit too hard. Accuracy is a hallmark of winning players in tennis.

The next step is to learn to hit first serves in particular within three feet of the sidelines and four feet of the deep service box line - if you can do that at a high % in addition to becoming good at avoiding the no-hit zone plus hitting forcing shots/winners/approaches off balls hit to your no-hit zone, you will win at such a high rate that your only problem will be finding singles opponents who want to play you regularly!

Perhaps I'm a bit conservative, but to my taste this no-hit circle seems kind of deep. Assuming neutral balls, I feel like hitting the bottom half of that circle is quite ok. I'd move the circle up so that it's center is on the T or just below it Tbh... Hitting below that circle as in the clip, seems like too small a target for my taste. As a drill though, totally fine off course... In actual match play.. Not so sure.

With 'neutral' balls I mean return of 1st serve or when you are in the middle yourself and don't really have an angle (yet)

 

[Curious]

Perhaps I'm a bit conservative, but to my taste this no-hit circle seems kind of deep. Assuming neutral balls, I feel like hitting the bottom half of that circle is quite ok. I'd move the circle up so that it's center is on the T or just below it Tbh... Hitting below that circle as in the clip, seems like too small a target for my taste. As a drill though, totally fine off course... In actual match play.. Not so sure.

With 'neutral' balls I mean return of 1st serve or when you are in the middle yourself and don't really have an angle (yet)

Fair point, I reckon. There are other factors as well like the pace, spin and shape of the ball. Nadal's forehand exploding just past the service line would be much more dangerous than my forehand landing 2m past it.

 

[ProStaffFanatic]

Fair point, I reckon. There are other factors as well like the pace, spin and shape of the ball. Nadal's forehand exploding just past the service line would be much more dangerous than my forehand landing 2m past it.

A good general rule might be that after the bounce, the ball is still rising when crossing the baseline. Or at least is at its heighest point.

If it's already falling again when it crosses the baseline, then it will get attacked as the opponent would be hitting it inside the court (or should be, at least )

 

[ProStaffFanatic]

Wondering if any of you guys do this drill or hit less to the center-middle in singles matches?

I've done enough drills in my younger life so now my practice is really geared to improve overall stamina. Strategy wise I notice my brain is very much on auto-pilot. That's why I like high pace players.. No time to think and just go by instinct.

Played a match yesterday and thinking back, I notice I have no problem at all just playing center when I'm center also and am not 'feeling it' to go into offense. Instead of risking myself, i'ld rather give my opponent initiative and have him take the risk. I am totally fine with that. Off course I'll try to go deep / pace / height with spin as to make it as neutral a ball as possible... But it certainly happens it ends up a bit short etc.. Nonetheless, it requires quite a high level opponent to be able to consistently put such away or make it really hard for me. It happens once or twice but not a lot.

When I'm off center though and not on mega defense, I'll never go middle (with first serve return being the single exception). It will always go cross court unless dtl court is open.

My game plan is generally pretty straightforward that way.... Neutral on neutral, cross when off center, dtl when in the court and dtl is open, attack and approach short balls. And safe targets at all times. Also big first serve for free points is possible. That's pretty much it

 

[socallefty]

It also depends on what courts you play on. On clay the bounce is higher and as someone mentioned, heavy topspin balls might be OK if they are not too deep and in the middle. On fast hard courts like where I play in California, it is easier to punish middle-middle balls unless they have a lot of venom/action. Heavier topspin players always have more margin for error in terms of targets compared to others who hit a less heavy ball on all surfaces.

Also it might not be an issue at lower levels where opponents might not play offensive tennis and the premium is on just not missing. So this is not a drill for everyone unless you’ve played a few years of structured tennis already.

 

[Smecz]

I see a lot of players posting on here that they are unable to outhit their consistent opponents whom they call ‘pushers’ and end up losing matches due to missing earlier than their opponent. A big reason that players lose matches is because if you hit to the middle of the court at a middle depth, the opponent is not troubled in any way as they don’t have to move and even if you hit harder, they will get it back. The drill above talks of the ‘no-hit’ zone that you should avoid - I call it the ‘suicide zone‘ against good players as they can put away a ball hit there with a winner or trouble you with attacking shots.

The circle marked here is good for lower levels, but needs to be made bigger for higher levels and you can also make the no-hit zone a square. The tennis court is 27 feet wide - put target markers on the outside 9 feet near the sidelines and do drills to avoid the middle third (9 feet in the middle) of the court. The tennis court is 39 feet long on each side with 21 feet inside the service line - put markers about 9 feet from the baseline and about 10 feet from the net so that you have marked out a middle no-hit zone that is 20 feet long. Avoid hitting into this 20 feet long zone in the middle third of the court - so, no-hit zone is a square 20 feet long and 9 feet wide in the middle of the court. If you consistently avoid this middle-middle zone and hit closer to the sidelines, hit deep to the baseline or short at dropshot length (where you are bringing the opponent to the net on your terms), you will win a lot of matches.

The opponents who trouble good players a lot are the ones who hit serves near the lines and shots avoiding the no-hit zone. Especially if you hit with good spin and have some action to the ball, you are going to force a lot of mishits and short balls from the opponent as they will be hitting on the run and they won’t be able to avoid the no-hit zone on your side of the court. You can hit crosscourt mostly following Wardlaw directionals on neutral balls, but try to get your shots hitting targets closer to the opposite sidelines avoiding the no-hit middle zone. If you hit the middle third, you have to hit very deep or very short again avoiding the no-hit zone of middle depth in the middle.

Drill 1 is to avoid hitting the no-hit zone on the other side of the net and hit shots very short, very deep or close to the sidelines.
Drill 2 is to practice hitting forcing shots, approach shots and/or winners when you get opponent‘s shots landing in the no-hit zone on your side of the court.

If you get good at this, you will win a lot of matches even if your shot speed is only average for your level and you can maintain high shot tolerance without trying to hit too hard. Accuracy is a hallmark of winning players in tennis.

The next step is to learn to hit first serves in particular within three feet of the sidelines and four feet of the deep service box line - if you can do that at a high % in addition to becoming good at avoiding the no-hit zone plus hitting forcing shots/winners/approaches off balls hit to your no-hit zone, you will win at such a high rate that your only problem will be finding singles opponents who want to play you regularly!

Good advices and add to you shots huge speed and agressive top spin.!!