Do you hit the majority of your winners. . .

Do you hit more winners. . .

  • Out the back of the court?

    Votes: 34 50.0%
  • Off the sides of the court?

    Votes: 34 50.0%

  • Total voters
    68

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
Out the back of the court, over the baseline, or out the sides of the court, over the sidelines?

This is something I got to thinking about lately, and just wanted to toss it around. Who did what, and what type of players do what.

I hit the majority of my winners out the back of the court, my down the line shots are my main weapons, DTL bh and FH and ISI FH.

My crosscourt FH is a bonecrusher but even with crosscourt winners I hit more to the FH corner than cute angles out the side.

My Inside-Out FH is a setup shot, to put you in a bad position, and get me something to hit on the next ball, or force an error. As opposed to a James Blake type winner shot.

I hit a decent amount of crosscourt angle BH winners out the side of the court, and I will whip a crosscourt forehand winner out the side of the court to keep you honest and stop you from cheating to the DTL shot.

If I had to put a percentage on it I would say any given match I hit 66-75% of my winners out the back of the court.

How about you guys?

Oh and yes I count volley winners aswell.

And what type/style of player do you think is more prone to what?

J
 

Swissv2

Hall of Fame
It depends on where the person is. I can do either but I usually aim for the corner.


That, and it depends on who the person is. If they are able to get to the ball easily, then I would have to work myself up to the net and hit a deep short angle. If they are unconditioned, then all I have to do is work their rally to wear them down, then move them side to side a little by hitting to the back court and the point is over once their groove is broken.
 

Noveson

Hall of Fame
Definitely out of the side for me. Even the winners I hit out the back of the court are usually to one side or another. Most times I hit winners either on heavy topspin forehands with a lot of angle, or hitting behind players as I come in.
 

Bagumbawalla

Talk Tennis Guru
Of course, there are all sorts of "winners" one might hit-- an overhead winner, a drop-shot winner, a groundstroke winner, a volley winner.

In each case, as mentioned above, it will depend, somewhat, on the situation where you place it. However, as a general rule of thumb, a winning placement must be set up by working the opponent around the court, feeding him/her a selection of shots and opening up the court or waiting for a weak/short response to come in on.

So, you have pulled the opponent wide, or you have a short "sitter" to come in on. Your first choice is to hit the ball into the wide-open court, and that might be cross-court or down the line, depending on the situation. The opponent my anticipate your move and hurry to cover the open area, then, you can wait a beat, until he/she commeit, and hit the ball behind them.

If you come to the net for your put-away you will want to hit deep (if you cannot hit a for-shure winner) or create a wide angle (if you are sure he/she will not get to the ball).

For overheads, angle the ball away from the opponent, and, if possible, right over the back fence.
 
Not counting drop shots (which sadly account for a good percentage of my winners), I usually use angle or deep shots to setup the point and down the line shots to finish it. I used to be pretty good at hitting crosscourt groundie winners but lately I find it more efficient to hit down the line. With volleys I just go to the open court until it's a winner or I lose the point :p

Interesting poll by the way...
 

dacrymn

Professional
Definitely a large majority of my winners are angles. Why? Because I don't have enough power to really get some behind the baseline winners, so I use good angles to compensate. Of course, it's all a combination, so i wouldn't say i try to set them up to hit an angle winner.
 

PimpMyGame

Hall of Fame
Definitely a large majority of my winners are angles. Why? Because I don't have enough power to really get some behind the baseline winners, so I use good angles to compensate. Of course, it's all a combination, so i wouldn't say i try to set them up to hit an angle winner.

Another reason why many winners are angled shots is because people in general are more sluggish moving side to side. Unfortunately I am one of these people.
 

tenniskid3119

Semi-Pro
Definitely out of the side for me. Even the winners I hit out the back of the court are usually to one side or another. Most times I hit winners either on heavy topspin forehands with a lot of angle, or hitting behind players as I come in.

me too.

10 chars.
 

mitchell_ota

New User
I rely on angles to hit more winners when I'm playing. I usually head to the net fairly often, so I try to get those angled volleys to hit. Most of my opponents are baseliners who really hate coming anywhere near the net, so my best hope against them is to hit angles and make them run like mad.
 
J,

As you know, most of my winners are mishit that goes 100 feet in the air and lands inside the court and bounces over the back fence.

It takes incredible coordination to accomplish this.

D
 

J011yroger

Talk Tennis Guru
J,

As you know, most of my winners are mishit that goes 100 feet in the air and lands inside the court and bounces over the back fence.

It takes incredible coordination to accomplish this.

D

I would think that you were bluffing if I hadn't seen it myself. . . repeatedly.

J
 
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