First Time Playing a Singles Match – Advice Needed!

[Ace | Yang]

I've been practicing tennis for five years, but I’ve never played an official singles match before. I’m finally planning to enter my first tournament and would love to hear any advice from you guys.

I consider myself a fairly well-rounded player—my forehand, backhand, volleys, serve, and returns are pretty balanced, and I have decent footwork. However, I struggle a little with high balls above shoulder height and often hit into the net when dealing with slice shots.

What should I focus on in my preparation? Any mental or tactical tips for someone new to competition? I don't expect to perform great, but I'd like to perform not bad comparing with practice. I’d really appreciate any insights!

Thanks in advance!

 

[socallefty]

I’ve never played an official singles match before.

I assume this means you haven’t played a tournament before, but presumably you play a lot of practice matches or social matches with your friends and tennis school classmates, right? Whatever issues you need to fix in your practice matches are what you’ll likely have in your tournament matches also.

You will be more nervous in the tournament and might need to work harder to be in the optimal stimulation range always. I suggest reading ‘Smart Tennis’ by Dr. John Murray. All the best!

 

[Ace | Yang]

I assume this means you haven’t played a tournament before, but presumably you play a lot of practice matches or social matches with your friends and tennis school classmates, right? Whatever issues you need to fix in your practice matches are what you’ll likely have in your tournament matches also.

You will be more nervous in the tournament and might need to work harder to be in the optimal stimulation range always. I suggest reading ‘Smart Tennis’ by Dr. John Murray. All the best!

Thank you!! I'll try to find it and read.
I play some double practice match, but almost no single one. I'm afraid of my shot selection would not transfer to single.

 

[socallefty]

Thank you!! I'll try to find it and read.
I play some double practice match, but almost no single one. I'm afraid of my shot selection would not transfer to single.

In that case, I would suggest reading this book first -

Winning Tennis with the Tactical Point Control System: How to Win Tennis Points against Any Opponent - John Ruder​

 

[fuzz nation]

Thank you!! I'll try to find it and read.
I play some double practice match, but almost no single one. I'm afraid of my shot selection would not transfer to single.

It's good that you're anticipating a difference between playing doubles vs. singles. I've coached high school teams for many years and while the boys are often more eager to be aggressive compared with the girls, the boys usually need to be encouraged to play with more patience and keep more balls in the court when switching from doubles to a singles setting.

One way to simplify things when playing singles can be to mentally "check in" on a simple plan before most points, even if you're returning serve. This simple plan could be to hit every ball cross-court where you outlast the other guy with solid high percentage shots. Another plan could be as simple as hitting every shot into your opponent's backhand side if that opponent is weaker on that wing. If you're comfortable around the net (like me!!), you might decide to sustain a rally until you get a short ball that you can use to attack the net. You may want to use this or that plan from one point to the next, but you might want to do the same basic thing over and over if it's working for that opponent.

The idea with using a simple plan for many points is that once the action starts, you already know what to do with the ball. This can potentially free up your mind to play a little more relaxed and just watch the ball a little better. It also gives you a chance to control more of the action instead of just chasing whatever you opponent sends your way.

Doubles generally requires hitting an approach shot away from the opposing net player - that usually means approaching cross-court in that setting. But that's a bad option when playing singles. If you attack a short ball in a singles match, hit your approach shot straight ahead and place it deep. Bonus points if you can isolate that opponent in one corner or the other while you move in.

Serving - your first serves are useless if too many of them are faults. Aggressive boys can often throw away bundles of first serves when trying to ace an opponent. All that we accomplish when doing that is to give our opponents more looks at second serves. That gives away your initiative (control of the outset of the point) as the server and also gives you more chances to double fault. Land your first serves, even if you have to hit with extra spin instead of pace to get them in. Even if you're having a decent serving day and going for a little extra, whenever you miss two first serves in a row, throttle down for the next point and get your next first serve in.

This idea might also help: Don't try too hard. That just means that you don't have to try to hit your very best shot every time you swing the racquet. Too many errors will pile up for any of us when we do that when playing either singles or doubles. Remember that your opponents aren't immortal. Give them enough chances to miss and eventually they will oblige you. If many of your shots are placed beyond your opponent's service line so that you keep them pinned deep in their own end, much of your job is done.

 

[LuckyR]

Keep Unforced Errors as low as possible while still keeping your racquethead speed "normal".

 

[socallefty]

- Make sure you keep your fundamentals solid on serves and returns as they set up all the point patterns.
- Try to vary your serve spin and location especially if you have the accuracy for it on 1st serves.
- Vary your return position (left/right, up/back) if you are not putting pressure on the server.
- Think about which point patterns are working for you - for instance most players do well if they can hit a FH on their Serve+1 and Return+1 shots or if they can force the opponent to hit BH returns and BH S+1 shots. About 60%-65% of points will end by the R+1 shot.
- Remember that conditions change depending on the time of day that you play, wind and even when the balls get old - be aware and adjust.
- Use breathing (deep to slow down, shallow/fast to get pumped up) and jumping up/down between points to stay in optimal stimulation range, know when to calm yourself down and when to pump yourself up.
- Believe that you deserve to win and stay confident till the last point is finished in every match.

 

[dannyslicer]

#1 tip is to have fun !
Seriously

 

[eah123]

For your first tourney, just keep things simple. Serve with spin to keep it high percentage on both first and second serve. Hit everything cross court until you get a short ball, then hit the approach shot to the opponent's backhand. Put away the volley away from the opponent. And have fun!

 

[Ace | Yang]

It's good that you're anticipating a difference between playing doubles vs. singles. I've coached high school teams for many years and while the boys are often more eager to be aggressive compared with the girls, the boys usually need to be encouraged to play with more patience and keep more balls in the court when switching from doubles to a singles setting.

One way to simplify things when playing singles can be to mentally "check in" on a simple plan before most points, even if you're returning serve. This simple plan could be to hit every ball cross-court where you outlast the other guy with solid high percentage shots. Another plan could be as simple as hitting every shot into your opponent's backhand side if that opponent is weaker on that wing. If you're comfortable around the net (like me!!), you might decide to sustain a rally until you get a short ball that you can use to attack the net. You may want to use this or that plan from one point to the next, but you might want to do the same basic thing over and over if it's working for that opponent.

The idea with using a simple plan for many points is that once the action starts, you already know what to do with the ball. This can potentially free up your mind to play a little more relaxed and just watch the ball a little better. It also gives you a chance to control more of the action instead of just chasing whatever you opponent sends your way.

Doubles generally requires hitting an approach shot away from the opposing net player - that usually means approaching cross-court in that setting. But that's a bad option when playing singles. If you attack a short ball in a singles match, hit your approach shot straight ahead and place it deep. Bonus points if you can isolate that opponent in one corner or the other while you move in.

Serving - your first serves are useless if too many of them are faults. Aggressive boys can often throw away bundles of first serves when trying to ace an opponent. All that we accomplish when doing that is to give our opponents more looks at second serves. That gives away your initiative (control of the outset of the point) as the server and also gives you more chances to double fault. Land your first serves, even if you have to hit with extra spin instead of pace to get them in. Even if you're having a decent serving day and going for a little extra, whenever you miss two first serves in a row, throttle down for the next point and get your next first serve in.

This idea might also help: Don't try too hard. That just means that you don't have to try to hit your very best shot every time you swing the racquet. Too many errors will pile up for any of us when we do that when playing either singles or doubles. Remember that your opponents aren't immortal. Give them enough chances to miss and eventually they will oblige you. If many of your shots are placed beyond your opponent's service line so that you keep them pinned deep in their own end, much of your job is done.

Thank you! That's very helpful.
I remind myself to commit to the shot and be decisive. When I do, I actually miss less in practice.

Where do you think the line is between not trying too hard and being too passive?

 

[Ace | Yang]

Keep Unforced Errors as low as possible while still keeping your racquethead speed "normal".

Does it mean aiming for a bigger target, adding more topspin and net clearance, but still swinging fully

 

[Ace | Yang]

For your first tourney, just keep things simple. Serve with spin to keep it high percentage on both first and second serve. Hit everything cross court until you get a short ball, then hit the approach shot to the opponent's backhand. Put away the volley away from the opponent. And have fun!

Yes, I assume I will be overwhelm by new conditions, my brain just not get used to the single match yet. Follow simple things is good strategy.

 

[socallefty]

Channel your inner Watanuki! Just came back from Stadium 1 night session at Indian Wells where we watched him play very aggressively and superbly to beat Tiafoe in straight sets. He is such a fun guy who is always smiling that he got the initial pro-Tiafoe home crowd on his side by the end of the match.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

For both badminton matches and tennis matches, I found that doing 10-15 minutes of cardio prior to the match helped me a ton. It helped me to get my muscles warmed up & my HR up and helped me get over any butterflies (nervousness) I might have. By getting my HR up, it made it easier to get past any sluggishness I might experience at the beginning of a match. It helped me tap into my energy stores more readily.

If possible, I would try to get in a decent practice session a couple of hours prior to my match— cuz you normally only get a short time to warm up when you get called to your court for your match.

If you know exactly when your match will be called, try to get in the 10-15 mins of cardio, I had suggested, shortly before your match is called. If that is not practical, try to get in 5+ minutes of dynamic stretching (not static stretching) prior to your match being called. That dynamic warmup can include some rope skipping or footwork patterns and some shadow swinging.

 

[fuzz nation]

Thank you! That's very helpful.
I remind myself to commit to the shot and be decisive. When I do, I actually miss less in practice.

Where do you think the line is between not trying too hard and being too passive?

That deliberate mindset for your practice sessions will pay off for you big time on game day. Stick with it.

If I'm being too passive, I'm generally giving my opponent too many chances to put me on the run. All I'm doing there is sending the ball back across the net and then chasing the next ball that comes my way. Usually if I'm doing that, I'm just putting my shots into the middle of the court with a bit less pace than I can reasonably manage. I'm chasing down a lot more balls than my opponent.

If I'm successfully "not trying too hard", I'm hitting strong and steady. For me, that means solid shots - not pushing or dinking it - into relatively large targets. If I'm doing that and my opponent still comes up with something that I can't reach, that's okay. Translation: too good!! I just don't want to be gifting bundles of points to the other guy with my own errors. That's when I'm trying too hard. If he burns me with a big forehand, I'll try to hit more to his backhand or at least try to make him hit forehands on the run. That sort of thing.

It's easy to recognize when somebody produces either an error or a clean winner, but "not trying too hard" can also generate several forced errors from your opponents. Those forced errors can sometimes hide in plain sight because you simply play more steady and your opponent cracks by either missing a rally ball or losing patience, going for a hero shot, and missing. Another example of a forced error can come when you attack the net behind a nice deep approach shot and force your opponent to try a passing shot that ends up missing the mark.

 

[LuckyR]

Does it mean aiming for a bigger target, adding more topspin and net clearance, but still swinging fully

Yes, yes, yes and most importantly: yes. High consistency players are difficult to beat, but achieving the consistency through tapping shots in, gives away too much quality of shot and makes the job easier than it should.

 

[Troicki’sCat]

My best advice? Don’t be afraid.

 

[Ace | Yang]

For both badminton matches and tennis matches, I found that doing 10-15 minutes of cardio prior to the match helped me a ton. It helped me to get my muscles warmed up & my HR up and helped me get over any butterflies (nervousness) I might have. By getting my HR up, it made it easier to get past any sluggishness I might experience at the beginning of a match. It helped me tap into my energy stores more readily.

If possible, I would try to get in a decent practice session a couple of hours prior to my match— cuz you normally only get a short time to warm up when you get called to your court for your match.

If you know exactly when your match will be called, try to get in the 10-15 mins of cardio, I had suggested, shortly before your match is called. If that is not practical, try to get in 5+ minutes of dynamic stretching (not static stretching) prior to your match being called. That dynamic warmup can include some rope skipping or footwork patterns and some shadow swinging.

That's very helpful, thank you!

 

[Ace | Yang]

Thank you guys!! I won the champion, although it's not high level match, but I was very happy.
I followed most of your suggestions, try to be more consitent.
Sometime I found myself a little passive, that's something I'll work on next match.


Share some match videos:

Always gald to hear any suggestion!

 

[LuckyR]

Thank you guys!! I won the champion, although it's not high level match, but I was very happy.
I followed most of your suggestions, try to be more consitent.
Sometime I found myself a little passive, that's something I'll work on next match.


Share some match videos:

Always gald to hear any suggestion!

Good for you! Yes, now that you're convinced you can win frequently with a high consistency game, using the Directionals to apply more pressure is the next step.

 

[user92626]

Thank you guys!! I won the champion, although it's not high level match, but I was very happy.
I followed most of your suggestions, try to be more consitent.
Sometime I found myself a little passive, that's something I'll work on next match.


Share some match videos:

Always gald to hear any suggestion!

Damnn... you're good and inspiring. I'm gonna play consistence like that too.

 

[Ace | Yang]

Damnn... you're good and inspiring. I'm gonna play consistence like that too.

I found this youtube channel is very good

StokkeTennis

I post daily tips and lessons designed to improve your game as QUICKLY as possible. I also post full episodes and shorts of my podcast "Baseline Intelligence" so you can learn from the top pros and coaches in the game today.

www.youtube.com

 

[Mahboob Khan]

I've been practicing tennis for five years, but I’ve never played an official singles match before. I’m finally planning to enter my first tournament and would love to hear any advice from you guys.

I consider myself a fairly well-rounded player—my forehand, backhand, volleys, serve, and returns are pretty balanced, and I have decent footwork. However, I struggle a little with high balls above shoulder height and often hit into the net when dealing with slice shots.

What should I focus on in my preparation? Any mental or tactical tips for someone new to competition? I don't expect to perform great, but I'd like to perform not bad comparing with practice. I’d really appreciate any insights!

Thanks in advance!

Find out Tournaments matching your ability level and just play. Win or lose do the following:

Work on your best shots to enforce positively.
And then work on your weaker areas, one stroke at a time.

With many Tournaments you will see your competitive edge rising.

Good luck.

 

[Ace | Yang]

Find out Tournaments matching your ability level and just play. Win or lose do the following:

Work on your best shots to enforce positively.
And then work on your weaker areas, one stroke at a time.

With many Tournaments you will see your competitive edge rising.

Good luck.

Thank you!
Maybe this is not a practical question, which one do you think is more important, enforcing best shot or working on weak area

 

[johnmccabe]

Thank you!
Maybe this is not a practical question, which one do you think is more important, enforcing best shot or working on weak area

Your best shot may not do much at all to higher level players. Weak areas may not get exposed by players at your level. All depends on what you want to achieve. I work on both.

 

[Mahboob Khan]

Great players work on their best shots first and weaker shots followed by. However, depending on the situation (less court time, expensive lesson) you may address the weaker area first.

 

[LuckyR]

Thank you!
Maybe this is not a practical question, which one do you think is more important, enforcing best shot or working on weak area

Do you have more UEs or winners?

 

[socallefty]

Thank you!
Maybe this is not a practical question, which one do you think is more important, enforcing best shot or working on weak area

It depends. If you have a big weakness or two that gets exploited relentlessly by opponents, you should fix those first. But if you have minor weapons and minor weaknesses, I would develop at least two big weapons first - serve and FH are most obvious.

 

[Ace | Yang]

Do you have more UEs or winners?

I've only played in one match. I had few unforced errors and few winners.

My winners mainly came in two ways: either using court depth with drop shots and lobs, or coming to the net (though my approach shots weren't great quality).
My UEs mainly came from my backhand hitting the net.

I tried to be more consistent and get more balls back, so I didn't really go for risky shots from the baseline.

 

[Ace | Yang]

It depends. If you have a big weakness or two that gets exploited relentlessly by opponents, you should fix those first. But if you have minor weapons and minor weaknesses, I would develop at least two big weapons first - serve and FH are most obvious.

I don't think I have a big weakness that gets exploited, but I definitely don't have any big weapons either, I got almost zero free points from my serve.

In practice, both my forehand and backhand have more power, but for some reason I couldn't show that during the match.

One thing now I'm trying to work on is be more aggressive on short balls.

 

[Youngheart]

Many years ago, I lived in Roppongi in Tokyo, because my Dad worked there.
I never saw a tennis court anywhere, but I did a lot of skiing, going to places by train.

My small advice is not to use tennis shoes that are old and worn down on the outer edge,
because that gives a risk of a sprained ankle, when the foot rolls over to the outside.
Mabe you never had a sprained ankle, but it can happen in the fast paced tension of a match.
------ So Be It ------

 

[Ace | Yang]

Many years ago, I lived in Roppongi in Tokyo, because my Dad worked there.
I never saw a tennis court anywhere, but I did a lot of skiing, going to places by train.

My small advice is not to use tennis shoes that are old and worn down on the outer edge,
because that gives a risk of a sprained ankle, when the foot rolls over to the outside.
Mabe you never had a sprained ankle, but it can happen in the fast paced tension of a match.
------ So Be It ------

Thanks.
Recent days, there are many tennis court in Japan, you can easily find one in any city.

 

[LuckyR]

I've only played in one match. I had few unforced errors and few winners.

My winners mainly came in two ways: either using court depth with drop shots and lobs, or coming to the net (though my approach shots weren't great quality).
My UEs mainly came from my backhand hitting the net.

I tried to be more consistent and get more balls back, so I didn't really go for risky shots from the baseline.

Based on that, your strengths are currently better than your competition, so you'll get more value working on your weaknesses, such as your BH.

 

[socallefty]

Based on that, your strengths are currently better than your competition, so you'll get more value working on your weaknesses, such as your BH.

Did you see the part where he said he made few winners and few UFEs? Based on that I came to the exact opposite conclusion that he should prioritize making his weapons bigger if he wants to keep progressing. If you can hit a lot of winners on serves and FHs, your ceiling will be much higher. Of course if you make a lot of UFEs, your ceiling will be very low, but it looks like this is not a problem for him.

 

[LuckyR]

Did you see the part where he said he made few winners and few UFEs? Based on that I came to the exact opposite conclusion that he should prioritize making his weapons bigger if he wants to keep progressing. If you can hit a lot of winners on serves and FHs, your ceiling will be much higher. Of course if you make a lot of UFEs, your ceiling will be very low, but it looks like this is not a problem for him.

Yup I did. If a guy is winning while hitting almost no winners, then either he has enough consistancy for the other guy to hit UEs or he's hitting hard enough to cause forced errors, or both (unlikely, but possible). You're right, to play at advanced levels he'll benefit greatly from possessing a weapon. But he's played ONE match in his life. There's nothing but time for him to use your advice, but right now having a BH that has a moderate chance of hitting the net, is IMO the first order of business.

 

[socallefty]

Yup I did. If a guy is winning while hitting almost no winners, then either he has enough consistancy for the other guy to hit UEs or he's hitting hard enough to cause forced errors, or both (unlikely, but possible). You're right, to play at advanced levels he'll benefit greatly from possessing a weapon. But he's played ONE match in his life. There's nothing but time for him to use your advice, but right now having a BH that has a moderate chance of hitting the net, is IMO the first order of business.

Did you see the video he posted above of the three matches he won to win the first tournament entered? He has a lot of spin/margin on his shots and is not making many UFEs even on the BH. It looks like he has gone through a lot of coaching for years before entering a tournament and so he doesn’t look like a self-taught player who leaks errors.

 

[LuckyR]

Did you see the video he posted above of the three matches he won to win the first tournament entered? He has a lot of spin/margin on his shots and is not making many UFEs even on the BH. It looks like he has gone through a lot of coaching for years before entering a tournament and so he doesn’t look like a self-taught player who leaks errors.

No, I don't click links from folks I don't know, so I'm going off of his verbal description. If the reality is very different, then the advice would be different.

 

[Ace | Yang]

Did you see the video he posted above of the three matches he won to win the first tournament entered? He has a lot of spin/margin on his shots and is not making many UFEs even on the BH. It looks like he has gone through a lot of coaching for years before entering a tournament and so he doesn’t look like a self-taught player who leaks errors.

Yes, I have played tennis regularly for more than 5 years. Though I didn't take any private lessons, I have taken group lessons for around 2 years. I'm very lucky to have joined some tennis communities and played with high-level players who have given me many valuable pieces of feedback and advice.

Maybe due to I always play with player better than me, I've adopted a defensive play style, I'm more comfortable to counter hitting than generating a lot of pace by myself.

 

[Ace | Yang]

Yup I did. If a guy is winning while hitting almost no winners, then either he has enough consistancy for the other guy to hit UEs or he's hitting hard enough to cause forced errors, or both (unlikely, but possible). You're right, to play at advanced levels he'll benefit greatly from possessing a weapon. But he's played ONE match in his life. There's nothing but time for him to use your advice, but right now having a BH that has a moderate chance of hitting the net, is IMO the first order of business.

Thank you! I understood that some UEs are inevitable, but definitely I'll work on handling slice ball and hitting less net.

 

[LuckyR]

Thank you! I understood that some UEs are inevitable, but definitely I'll work on handling slice ball and hitting less net.

Just out of curiosity, since you're apparently used to practicing with folks better than yourself, what did you think about the level of your tournament competition, who were obviously below yourself?

 

[Ace | Yang]

Just out of curiosity, since you're apparently used to practicing with folks better than yourself, what did you think about the level of your tournament competition, who were obviously below yourself?

I don't feel any player's level is obviously below to me. (And I was not sure my level at match as well).
I would say I felt most pressure in the semi-final, the opponent is very experienced with good backhand slice, he won 6:1, 6:1 before semi.

But I have some plan, if I play with player below my level, I'll try to be as consitent as possible. If higher, I'll wait for key point, and take some risk there.

 

[LuckyR]

I don't feel any player's level is obviously below to me. (And I was not sure my level at match as well).
I would say I felt most pressure in the semi-final, the opponent is very experienced with good backhand slice, he won 6:1, 6:1 before semi.

But I have some plan, if I play with player below my level, I'll try to be as consitent as possible. If higher, I'll wait for key point, and take some risk there.

That is an excellent game plan in my opinion.

 

[Username_]

drink enough alcohol so your nerves don't work