Do you ever take mercy on an opponent and back off?

Oxford

Rookie
There are times when I am much better than my opponent and will feel bad for ripping hard shots to their backhands or slice drop-shots that will just make them look bad as they unsuccessfully attempt to return them.

I play this older guy with limited footwork and kinda hate to make him lose points as I jam his shoe laces when he comes into the court. He never minds (it appears) to lose time after time but I feel like I am beating up on him and his weak mobility.

I recently played this wonderful Japanese woman who was tuning up for a tournament for weeks and doing well and all excited. The first game was 6-0 and I could see she was almost in tears -- so I started working on some of my new low percentage Work-in-progress shots and kinda let her win the next set.

So do you ever take mercy on an opponent that is over-matched by you and back off your A game? Do you give up a game out of sympathy?

I guess the other question is, should you?

OX
 
There are times when I am much better than my opponent and will feel bad for ripping hard shots to their backhands or slice drop-shots that will just make them look bad as they unsuccessfully attempt to return them.

I play this older guy with limited footwork and kinda hate to make him lose points as I jam his shoe laces when he comes into the court. He never minds (it appears) to lose time after time but I feel like I am beating up on him and his weak mobility.

I recently played this wonderful Japanese woman who was tuning up for a tournament for weeks and doing well and all excited. The first game was 6-0 and I could see she was almost in tears -- so I started working on some of my new low percentage Work-in-progress shots and kinda let her win the next set.

So do you ever take mercy on an opponent that is over-matched by you and back off your A game? Do you give up a game out of sympathy?

If it's practice (or a social match), I usually just work on my game against a weaker opponent. I don't want to utterly destroy someone unless they say (or do things that say) they want to be pummeled. If they sign up for an Open tournament against me and are clearly out of level, they do get pummeled.

I guess the other question is, should you?

OX

Again, it depends on the scenario. If someone wants to play for lunch or dinner, they get pummeled. If they just want to practice or it's a social match, I ease up and just have fun while working on my drop and short angle shots. It's fun sometimes to see how many times someone can move side to side, front to back. Usually they enjoy getting the cardio work out.
 

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
It is very tough for me to maintain focus and intensity against someone I believe to be a lesser player than me.

So if that is the case I kind of revert to teaching mode, and play with them, rather than against them. Moving the ball around, changing speeds changing spins, get very lax with my footwork, serve at 60-70%, and let them make the errors.

It is a very very bad habit on my part, and something that I am going to strongly address in my 2008 goals.

Example. I struggle on clay, so last winter I signed up for the "A" league at this local club to get used to clay court play, and work on some stuff. One day I show up to play and they tell me that I would be playing a substitute from the "B" league. As it turns out the guy was someone who took lessons from a pro that is a good friend of mine, and I knew him, and his son. I had played king of the court and other drill games like that with them, and they struggled to win points off of me.

So we started to play, and I just jumped right back into how I would play with him if he were taking a lesson and I were the guest hitter. We had lots of good points, B.Sed on the changeovers, complained about the lousy court conditions, etc.

I won the first set 6-3, and we were at like 3 or 4 all in the 2nd set when we ran out of time, so we decided to play a tiebreaker for the 2nd set.

All of the sudden I realized what I had been doing, and was like "How in the heck are we tied?"

J
 

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
It is a bad idea to take it easy, because you get into the habit of thinking it is ok.

And from the other person's perspective, he doesn't want you to take it easy on him. It took me some time to realize this, but when you play obviously lesser players, they want you to be awesome.

How would you feel if you got the chance to play a match against Andy Roddick, and he just snapped his first serves in around 70mph so that you could get it back and play points? I don't know about the rest of you, but I would MUCH rather go down swinging against that 140+ bomb, than have him serve up meatballs so as not to injure my pride.

***Disclaimer*** All of this stuff goes out the window when you are playing against a woman in a social match who is obviously of a lesser standard in which case you should endevor to make it appear that you are trying your best when in fact you are taking it easy.

J
 

Oxford

Rookie
need to add

I have also yet to see better players go easy on me. They will hand out 0-6s all day. Even the sweet little ladies.

ox
 

JavierLW

Hall of Fame
There are times when I am much better than my opponent and will feel bad for ripping hard shots to their backhands or slice drop-shots that will just make them look bad as they unsuccessfully attempt to return them.

I play this older guy with limited footwork and kinda hate to make him lose points as I jam his shoe laces when he comes into the court. He never minds (it appears) to lose time after time but I feel like I am beating up on him and his weak mobility.

I recently played this wonderful Japanese woman who was tuning up for a tournament for weeks and doing well and all excited. The first game was 6-0 and I could see she was almost in tears -- so I started working on some of my new low percentage Work-in-progress shots and kinda let her win the next set.

So do you ever take mercy on an opponent that is over-matched by you and back off your A game? Do you give up a game out of sympathy?

I guess the other question is, should you?

OX

I never really ever did this in a real match (any match not counting the ones where I play my friends who are not tennis players) until a couple times this year.

One time I think it was more than justified and the second time it was actually a huge mistake.

The first time was this summer when I was in a recreation department tournament. The level was "3.5 and under" so they had some 3.5's like myself (a couple guys better than I was), and a bunch of guys from their rec lessons that were basically beginners.

I lost the first match which was pretty close, and then I had to play in the backdraw which was a 9 game pro set.

My opponent was a special needs guy who was about 21 years old but his mannerisms were pretty much those of a kid. His parents were there as well helping him out and they instructed me that they had to remind him to do things, etc...

At first I figured I was just going to have to go all out and win easily because I knew I was going to win and then I'd be in the Consolation finals against a much better opponent and I didnt want to get tired out.

But after I served my first serve (which was a burner that went right by him before he could blink), I just felt like a total tool. I even heard his dad groan in the stands.

So I decided that I was going to just use the continental grip for everything and would just keep "feeding" the ball back to him. But if I feel too far behind in a game, then I would turn it on when I needed too. (and it was pretty much that easy, I could win the point whenever I wanted)

He actually got a few points on his own which was cool. After the match was over, I won 9-0, and he said to his dad "I didnt get any games, but I played much better this time dad".

So I think I did the right thing there. He's in the tournament as well, so I think it's fair that he get something out of it.

The second time was a few weeks ago. I am in a sort of citywide singles challenge latter which features both men and women players from a low 4.0 level all the way down to old grannies who dont know how to play tennis.

You normally play people around your level though.

I was scheduled against a younger woman who was the only woman Ive played against this year. She was ranked as low as anyone probally possibly could be and still play me.

Im not sure why, but before the match we had a good conversation about tennis and I could tell she really enjoyed it. But then in the warmup, it seemed like she could barely get the ball back. (which was a dumb observation because that happens to anyone)

So once the match started, I decided I would just hit everything to her and see what happens and see if I can still win the match.

I went up 3-0 this way right away, mostly because she hit almost every shot out. Then all the sudden she kept edging me out on her serves, which meant I couldnt get more than 3 games away from her. I was still holding my own.

She just kept getting better and better as the match went on, and I played worse and worse. Eventually she even broke my serve, and by now she was coming to the net (I had been drawing here previously because she was missing shots there), making great volleys, hitting great angles, etc.... And I was struggling to just turn my game on without making too many errors.

She got within being down 8-7 but luckily I was able to win my serve and finally break her one last time to close it out at 10-8.

But I think in this case it was pretty dumb and Im not sure why I did it. Normally I wouldnt, I dont care if it's a man, woman, you are 90 years old, whatever, if you are on the court with me, you're getting the whole show. (Im not really good enough to screw around doing anything else)
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
I almost had this situation once. At a league match, one of the doubles opponents was very heavy. I can do drop shots off of weak second serves. I wondered to myself whether I would pull this against this heavy opponent, and I felt guilty even considering it.

Being really heavy probably sucks, big time. There but for the Grace of God go I. This opponent probably has to endure plenty to play tennis at all. It is wonderful that she loves the sport enough to put up with the problems her weight undoubtedly causes. My drop shots would probably make her feel even worse.

Fortunately, she wound up being the alternate for the match and didn't play, so I didn't have to decide.
 

Oxford

Rookie
I almost had this situation once. At a league match, one of the doubles opponents was very heavy. I can do drop shots off of weak second serves. I wondered to myself whether I would pull this against this heavy opponent, and I felt guilty even considering it.

Being really heavy probably sucks, big time. There but for the Grace of God go I. This opponent probably has to endure plenty to play tennis at all. It is wonderful that she loves the sport enough to put up with the problems her weight undoubtedly causes. My drop shots would probably make her feel even worse.

Fortunately, she wound up being the alternate for the match and didn't play, so I didn't have to decide.

Yeah, that's what I am talking about. There are folks trying their best to play tennis with physical limitations from age, movement and being over-weight which for many is VERY difficult to lose weight. You have to admire their determination.

And you know you can make them look and feel really bad with certain shots. Man, it breaks my heart to torture some people. I guess it is a case-by-case situation and doing what you think is best at the time.

ox
 

hrstrat57

Hall of Fame
If there is a shot in my repertoire that makes a weak opponent in a league doubles match look silly to the point of embarrassment or obvious frustration(ex hard, low slice backhand) I will put that particular shot in the bag or hit it only to the other member of the opposing team.....

This is rec league usta I am talking about now for this example, not a tourney or anything.....we are all out there to have fun in a rec league.

OTOH, I would never throw a set or even a game intentionally in any format....that is disrespectful to the game I think....

Despite leaving a particular shot in the bag I would still hit the ball with the intent of winning the point or gaining an advantage to put away the next shot.
 

YonexDude

Rookie
i've played a beginner and won the first set 6-0, and then eased off a bit and won the second 6-4. if the gap between you and the other player is THAT big, i see no reason why you shouldn't back off and let him/her get some practice too
 

Cruzer

Professional
As previously stated in league or tournament play no letting up under any circumstances. Social matches can vary. Sometimes your opponent(s) feel like they have something to prove and are playing like it is the finals at the USTA Nationals. If they want to play that way then I will play all out and never let up. If the skill level is that huge I won't bother playing a fridnely match. I would rather just hit and practice some shots.
 

raiden031

Legend
I always have mercy when I am blowing out an opponent, regardless of whether it is USTA tournaments, leagues, or just practice. My form of mercy is to simply go for shots that I need to work on, instead of playing with my higher percentage shots. Sometimes they still won't win a game even when I play like this, but I won't ever lose points on purpose though. My reasoning is that since my goal is to eventually play a high level of tennis, every match I play should have some purpose and I should learn something to improve my game. If any match is so easy that I can't learn anything, then its worthless.

I used to attend these group hitting sessions for "intermediate players" but I stopped going there because the players were so bad. It sucks when you have to be the one to show people that they aren't as good as they thought they were (unless of course they like to run their mouth, but I haven't encountered any like that yet).
 

Loco4Tennis

Hall of Fame
i read somewhere on how to play a weaker opponent and make it challenging for yourself,
find out what is their key weapon and keep hitting to it,
if they have a good forhand, play the forhand the entire match, you'll loose points becuse of it but it wil make you work for the ones you get.
when hitting with weaker opponets informaly, don't play for score, just go and hit arround, don't keep score,
i play with an older guy every weekend, and he and i have yet to play for points in the 3 months we've been playing,
we both hate to run and playing for points would make us do just that, we instead just practice all the shoots, serves, returns, back hand volleys, until we get a doubles game going with people we don't know and we take it out on them
 
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tbini87

Hall of Fame
sometimes i take it easy on people that are obviously way below my level, which is not very often! but i still go for shots and make sure i am having fun. but for example i might not blast serves at them over and over, or use any drop shots or come to the net very often. but i never let someone win. i might not play my hardest but they have to earn it from me.
 

cak

Professional
I'd never chose to go easy on an opponent before I see them hit. Some one mentioned their possible opponent looked "heavy". Heck, I've seen players that looked morbidly obese somehow take over the court and power away their opponents. I saw a lady with a CAST on her broken arm just kill her opponents. I'm not even going to cast aspersions on the wheel chair players, as they wouldn't be out there if they weren't there to play. I have seen many a player underestimate opponents because of how they look. And seldom does that work out for them.

On the other hand, if I am playing socially with a player with some sort of weakness that takes the thrill out of it, I don't play to the weakness. There are some older ladies I play with that just don't have the reaction time they used to. I don't hit at them at net. I can save that for other days with quicker opponents.
 

thehustler

Semi-Pro
I never let up

Most of the guys I play aren't rated as high as I am. But we still love to play. We know walking onto the court that I'm going to win, but we're never certain about the score. I play my best and in turn it makes them play their best as well. Some of them are getting ready for tournaments and league play and I help them out. They may get frustrated losing 6-0, 6-1, but I remind them that their opponents at their level will not serve, return or hit like me. A lot of times they do pretty good getting shots back and it makes them feel good going into that league match or tournament.

Now when I play someone who's at my level I really show no mercy. Even if I'm up a set and 4-0 I'm going to keep pressuring them. I wouldn't expect anything less from them. Sometimes I've been down by a score like that and they've asked me if I wanted to stop. I always tell them "No, I want to figure out how to get back into this" and leave it at that. Most of the time I figure out how to get back into it, but occasionally I don't and that's ok. I've told everyone that I've played that I'll never tank, because that leads to bad habits that can cost you in a league or tournament match. They respect that and we continue to have fun on the court.
 

JRstriker12

Hall of Fame
I have also yet to see better players go easy on me. They will hand out 0-6s all day. Even the sweet little ladies.

ox

Especially the sweet little ladies.

We had a woman play on the men's ladder in Reston this year. She started out our match by saying, "Take it easy on me." I say okay. Then she says, "Good, cause I won't take it easy on you."

She played a good game and she was no joke. I beat her but it wasn't easy. I think the first set was 7-5, and the second set something like 6-4.

In a social match, play your best, but don't try to kill (read physically harm) the other player. Beating them 6-0, 6-0 is okay as long as you don't try to tag them with the ball or something like that.
 

Geezer Guy

Hall of Fame
I won't ever intentionally lose a game - or even a point. But, in the few cases where I'm significantly better than my opponent I'll use that to work on parts of my game that I'm weak. I'd rather play a close match full out than to win a match easily.
 

EricW

Professional
Playing at a lower level is an insult to your opponent unless you are their teacher... the only acceptable thing to do would be to play a style you are weaker at, thus making the practice better for you, and that means S&V or somehting, not 1 handers when your a 2 hander
 

thundaga

Rookie
this would have to be one of the best threads online right now, i usually never read through everyone's replies.

i had social hit with a guy i'd just met last month. i took the first set 6-1 and by the closing stages of it im surprised his racquet was still in one piece. he'd told me he hadn't played for a few weeks so im not sure if he expected to come out and blast me off the court or quite what.

we would've only had 5 or 6 decent rallies in the first set, so it wasn't really fun for either of us. i backed off in the 2nd so we could have some rallies and actually play some tennis. he got a little better and was starting to hit the ball really well but i still won 6-3. i was ready to head off but he seemed keen for another so i agreed. it was a pretty good set in the end, it was on serve until 4-4 then i broke and won the set.

it was more enjoyable for both of us once i took it easier but i'd never do this in pennant or tournaments. u often play more than one person on the day so its smarter to mop the court with your opponent and save the energy.
 

Pete.Sampras.

Semi-Pro
In such a situation:

If it's an important match: No, not really.

If it's not so important: Yes, if I like my opponent I will give him at least one game each set.



But I hardly ever get into such a situation. My competition is usually very strong...
 

equinox

Hall of Fame
I left a social internal club comp 2 years ago because i refused to compromise my standard of play. There was maybe 2 guys who could hang with me, the rest were destroyed. Got to the stage were certain club members would berate me for taking the game so seriously and members would beg me to fill in for the finals..even after i left the club..

Just wasn't worth the hassles.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Yes, if it's just a social match for fun, it needs to be kept just that- social and fun.

It does neither person any good to crush the other. When one player is, obviously weaker- this gives the better player an opportunity to keep the ball in play and try out different things- that he/she might not attempt in a critical match against one's peers.

Then both players benefit. The weaker player gets to hit more balls and see what it's like to play a tough opponent (without the humiliation). The better player gets some practice and the feeling of doing the altruistic thing.

A serious match, on the other hand, should be kept serious.
 
I almost had this situation once. At a league match, one of the doubles opponents was very heavy. I can do drop shots off of weak second serves. I wondered to myself whether I would pull this against this heavy opponent, and I felt guilty even considering it.

Being really heavy probably sucks, big time. There but for the Grace of God go I. This opponent probably has to endure plenty to play tennis at all. It is wonderful that she loves the sport enough to put up with the problems her weight undoubtedly causes. My drop shots would probably make her feel even worse.

Fortunately, she wound up being the alternate for the match and didn't play, so I didn't have to decide.

You know ... doing the drop shot would have made her realize she needed to lose the weight. I know of many individuals that started tennis and began losing weight to get better. And the more they lost, the more balls they could get to. Being nice in tennis to overweight people only lets them have a false sense of achievement.
 

Geezer Guy

Hall of Fame
Fat people can play good tennis.

Several years ago (I hadn't been playing tennis THAT long, but long enough to feel fairly confident) I was in a tournament and came up against a pretty heavy guy in the first round. No problem, I said to myself - licking my chops, I'll just run him ragged and win this one fairly easily. Well, this guys game consisted of take up a position right in the middle of the court, and he was within a step or two of everything I could hit. He'd take stabs a my "passing" shots and block them back. He'd make half-volley's with ease on my dipping balls. He could advance forward for my drop shots and take a step or two back for my lobs. I ended up doing WAY more running than he did, and lost in straights. My wife knew who I was playing, and couldn't believe I lost to him.

Well, a year later we meet up again in the same tournament - this time in the third round. I'd improved a lot in that year. I took it to fat-boy this time, extending the match to 3 sets. After splitting sets, I figured I had the clear advantage in the 3rd. That was before the days of playing 10-point tiebreaks instead of a full third set. No way I'm losing this one!

I got home that night.
Me: Hi honey, I'm home!
Wife: Hi dear. How did you play.
Me: I played pretty well, actually.
Wife: Oh good. I'm so proud of you. How did you do?
Me: Well, I won the first to rounds, the the 3rd round was a close match.
Wife: Did you know the guy that beat you in the 3rd round?
Me: Well, yeah. It was the same guy from last year.
Wife: Umm... you mean that fat guy?
Me: Well, turns out he's a pretty good player.
Wife: That fat guy? You couldn't beat that fat guy?
Me: Yeah, well, you know. Pop me a beer, would you?
 
LOL ... great story Geezer Guy.

I've noticed that many overweight players usually develop good anticipation in order to compensate for their reduced mobility. So seeing someone overweight and taking it easy is never a good idea.

Everyone should always go full out if it's a league or tournament match. If it's social, then go ahead and be relaxed.
 

PimpMyGame

Hall of Fame
I can only dream of having the luxury of backing off an opponent. However, I when it comes to tennis I only have one gear and also I don't command enough respect to have "lesser" players queueing up to play me.:-(
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
Yes, fat people can play good tennis.

Yes, fat people can beat you.

Yes, I'd still feel terrible about exploiting her weight. It's not logical, I admit. It's just the way I am.

Funny. If someone turned their ankle, I feel free to drop shot them to death. They should retire if they can't play, right? For some reason, I wouldn't do the same with an overweight player.

As far as "helping" her realize she needs to slim down . . . I've been heavy. I didn't need any reminders that I was heavy or incentives to drop the weight. Being heavy was all I thought about.
 

wally

Rookie
My $.02

I tell the high school players I work with "when faced with a lesser opponent the best thing to do is get them off the court. Never embarrass an opponent but do not carry one either." What I've found has been echoed above. Most players know when they are being carried and don't like it.

When I play my brother-in-law who is a definite 5.0+ player he shows no mercy and I don't expect any.

Now when I play in a tennis mixer at my wife's work or my own and I am unsure of the level of my opponents I'm darn careful. You don't want to make a CLM
 

vandre

Hall of Fame
i've read alot of these replies, and it seems like there's another question here: do you want to play or do you want to win? that determines how you play an opponent.

my first tournament in 12 yrs starts this weekend, so since i've been playing "pickup" matches with ppl i've met on the court and other places, most of the tennis i've been playing is of the non-competative sort. in this kind of tennis, i don't think there's anything wrong with working on parts of your game that aren't necessarily your A game against a "lesser" (sic)[for lack of a better word] opponent. i've found there's no substitute for matchplay, and you working on your serve and volley game in practice or just "messing around" isn't the same as doing it in a match when you're keeping score.

your response to this question comes down to what the payoff is for you. do you like to play or do you like to win? i play tennis because i need exercise and i have found i enjoy hitting tennis balls. the outcome of the match to me is secondary. i get down on myself for playing poorly, not losing points. if you play to win at all costs, then altering your game in any way that might give your opponent a chance to play better is probably incomprehensible.

i'm in a situation where i hardly play the same folks more than a few times, so they wouldn't know if i "played down" (i can't play much lower than i already do!) and i wouldn't know if they did it either, so i'm not that worried about offending anyone because they will probably never see my "real" game; and let's be honest, even my a game doesn't blow many ppl off the court. i play alot of ppl older than me, and yes some of them can really put the hammer down on me and i feel bad drop shotting the guy who needs knee surgery and i feel bad about having long rallies with the guy who's had bipass surgery. and since i'm out there to hit rallies and have fun, if i'm playing with someone who can handle the pace of my groundstrokes in a "pickup" match, i'll back off and try to work on hitting more consistent strokes (never a bad idea cos there'll be times when hitting hard is stupid).

i've played a legion of ppl who were better than me, and not once did i think they were taking it easy on me. knowing most of them pretty well, they weren't. i'm glad they didn't because it made me change my game to make it more effective. at the same time, i probably won't be taking it easy on anyone in this tournament because i want to know what i can do.
 

Geezer Guy

Hall of Fame
Kudo's to you vandre, and good luck in the tournament. I think that's a great point of view. In a tournament, though, you want to get on and off the court as quickly as possible. If you can win a match 6-0, 6-0, then by all means do so. Your NEXT match will almost certainly NOT be as easy. (Until you get to the Consolation Rounds, anyway.)
 

rasajadad

Hall of Fame
In non-tournament or non-league matches, sometimes I try to work on strokes or strategies because no one wants to drill or practice. Only to play matches. So I'll serve and volley every point for example, even though I wouldn't do that in a match.

I wouldn't let up though.
 

burosky

Professional
If you are playing against someone you can dominate without even trying, I'm assuming you are not playing an official match. If it was an official match, someone is not playing at the right level. If it isn't, it all depends on the situation. If it was meant to be played as a serious pick up game, by all means, play seriously. Maximum effort is optional but don't hold back. It could be disrespectful to the player across the net. If it was meant to be played as a casual, fun match, play accordingly.
 
unfortunately... yes.

i let off a little bit on my opponent who was leg problems and looked like he was having trouble standing let alone walking to the service line to serve. Instead, when a point started, he became this athletic guy where nothing could slow him down and he continued to cycle back and forth. Unfortunately, he came back from 5-3 and we had to play a tiebreak and he won. i couldn't have been anymore angry...
 

equinox

Hall of Fame
unfortunately... yes.

i let off a little bit on my opponent who was leg problems and looked like he was having trouble standing let alone walking to the service line to serve. Instead, when a point started, he became this athletic guy where nothing could slow him down and he continued to cycle back and forth. Unfortunately, he came back from 5-3 and we had to play a tiebreak and he won. i couldn't have been anymore angry...
Lol, happened to me today. But i was the injured guy. Rolled ankle at 2-3 down, down 3-5, come back to win 7-5..
 

timeisonmyside

Semi-Pro
When I used to play is high school, I was once up 5-1, 40-LOVE and eventually lost 7-5. So I try never to let up, even for fun/social matches. The habits you learn in practice can carry over to real matches.
 

35ft6

Legend
When you're just hitting with somebody, I think it's only basic consideration to back off a bit when your partner is having difficulty with your shots. In a match, though, I will gladly steamroll somebody.
 
D

Deleted member 21996

Guest
So do you ever take mercy on an opponent that is over-matched by you and back off your A game? Do you give up a game out of sympathy?

I guess the other question is, should you?

OX

Not really because i usually trash my oponets in the first set or 2 with my vigorous curved wide aces (my best shot) and by the 3rd set i already lost my concentration, and im throwing away perfect winners with moon bals or neted drop shots. so he ends up winning a few game sor sets on his own merit (or my demerit). i also end up with a broken arm unable to continue the serve show... im weak minded and my forehand is not so good...
 

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
When you're just hitting with somebody, I think it's only basic consideration to back off a bit when your partner is having difficulty with your shots. In a match, though, I will gladly steamroll somebody.

Hey 35, in the same vein. I dont have a problem backing off when practicing against lesser players (not fun for anyone if I just hit them off the court) but my problem lies when people have trouble keeping my ball deep. When this happens I feel like I have 3 options.

1. Take the balls on 2 bounces (breeding lazyness and poor footwork)
2. Run up hit the ball back to him, and run back to the baseline (Practicing something you would never do in a match)
3. Work on my attacking/transition game (which cant be fun for him getting tattoed with winners and makes me come off being showoffish and makes him try to hit winners from poor court position and kill whatever consistiency he had)

None of these options are good, and ideally I would like something that helps my game but keeps practice fun for all.

Talking about practice session/hitting. If we were playing I would just smoke him.

Suggestions?

J
 

35ft6

Legend
1. Take the balls on 2 bounces (breeding lazyness and poor footwork)
2. Run up hit the ball back to him, and run back to the baseline (Practicing something you would never do in a match)
3. Work on my attacking/transition game (which cant be fun for him getting tattoed with winners and makes me come off being showoffish and makes him try to hit winners from poor court position and kill whatever consistiency he had)
I try number 2. I try pretty hard to hit all balls on the first bounce. I used to hit with this guy who would stand 7 feet behind the baseline and let some of my slices bounce two times before he'd hit it. It's true that what you do in practice becomes habit and tends to affect your match play because if we played points, this guy could NOT move up to the ball. He never practiced it. I don't know but at least with number 2 you practice keeping your feet moving and moving forwards and backwards.
 
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