Overly Simplistic Tennis Advice (Kind of a pet peeve)

RaulRamirez

Legend
Maybe, we can create a list.
This is less about advice you might get from your own tennis coach, but about what is consistently heard from pro tennis commentators.

I'll start with Play Closer to the Baseline.
Yes, sometimes it's good to see the video analysis of where, say, Aslan Karatsev's average court positioning was in a winning set versus a losing one.
But obviously, it's not as simple as, say, moving up or back in the batter's box in baseball/softball.
Much easier said than done.
 
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Cashman

Hall of Fame
It is not really a matter of being simplistic or not

All advice is contingent on ability to execute and the same piece of advice can be either useful or useless depending on a player’s capacity to implement it

‘He needs to mix up his serve more’ might be great advice for Federer, not so good for a 3.5 who is just trying to get the ball in play
 

RaulRamirez

Legend
It is not really a matter of being simplistic or not

All advice is contingent on ability to execute and the same piece of advice can be either useful or useless depending on a player’s capacity to implement it

e.g. saying Roger Federer needs to mix up his serve more is fine, not so much if it’s a 3.5 who is hard pressed to get it in the service box
Mostly agree.
But the one I cited -- standing/hitting closer to the baseline -- is not that simple even for a touring pro if they're getting pushed back consistently.
Whereas all pros can - pretty much - make their serves less predictable (if not to the extent of Roger).
 

accidental

Hall of Fame
‘Come to the net more’

This is the stock advice given by all Australian tennis commentators for every male player from 2000 onwards
 

DrPingu

New User
Mostly agree.
But the one I cited -- standing/hitting closer to the baseline -- is not that simple even for a touring pro if they're getting pushed back consistently.
Whereas all pros can - pretty much - make their serves less predictable (if not to the extent of Roger).
This very much resonates with me. It is not always a matter of just standing on the baseline and taking everything on the rise ala Agassi. Often more of a case of recognising the right shots to move further up on, working your way up. I think it was MytennisHQ did a nice explanation of this when breaking down Medvedev’s game, talking about how fluid his court position is. He may start off deep but works his way forward as appropriate and actually ends up spending quite a bit of time on the baseline but just adjusts his position very well as appropriate.
 

Thriller

Hall of Fame
You have to believe ... like players can just turn belief on and off like a tap. :rolleyes: Belief comes from evidence. Believing you are going to be a slam champion when you don't have the talent is just delusion. You'll start to believe when the results of your hard work start paying off and not a second before. Belief can't be forced or faked.
 

RaulRamirez

Legend
This very much resonates with me. It is not always a matter of just standing on the baseline and taking everything on the rise ala Agassi. Often more of a case of recognising the right shots to move further up on, working your way up. I think it was MytennisHQ did a nice explanation of this when breaking down Medvedev’s game, talking about how fluid his court position is. He may start off deep but works his way forward as appropriate and actually ends up spending quite a bit of time on the baseline but just adjusts his position very well as appropriate.
Yes, I agree with you - though haven't seen what you're referring to.
Combined with other analysis it may be a good starting point.
 

Aabye5

G.O.A.T.
Maybe, we can create a list.
This is less about advice you might get from your own tennis coach, but about what is consistently heard from pro tennis commentators.

I'll start with Play Closer to the Baseline.
Yes, sometimes it's good to see the video analysis of where, say, Aslan Karatsev's average court positioning was in a winning set versus a losing one.
But obviously, it's not as simple as, say, moving up or back in the batter's box in baseball/softball.
Much easier said than done.

Simplistic? Yes. But do-able.

Take a look at Med's match against Martinez. Pedro isn't the best server, but he was taking advantage of Med's court positioning and running away with it.

Edit: also Rafa moves in all the time, mid-match. If he played that way all the time he might have another AO.
 

Cashman

Hall of Fame
Mostly agree.
But the one I cited -- standing/hitting closer to the baseline -- is not that simple even for a touring pro if they're getting pushed back consistently.
That’s not true - there’s tons of situations where pros (especially dirt rats) choose to sit back a long way to hit balls on the drop because that’s what they’re comfortable with

They are capable of coming forward and accepting more errors in exchange for better court position and more attacking opportunities - it is just a matter of risk appetite

There are of course situations where a player is just being flat out bullied into a bad court position and there is nothing they can do about it. In that case the advice is pointless. But that doesn’t mean the advice is simplistic/bad - just contextual
 

RaulRamirez

Legend
That’s not true - there’s tons of situations where pros (especially dirt rats) choose to sit back a long way to hit balls on the drop because that’s what they’re comfortable with

They are capable of coming forward and accepting more errors in exchange for better court position and more attacking opportunities - it is just a matter of risk appetite

There are of course situations where a player is just being flat out bullied into a bad court position and there is nothing they can do about it. In that case the advice is pointless. But that doesn’t mean the advice is simplistic/bad - just contextual
I don't think we're far apart here - and yes, when it's parroted by commentators without regard to context (strengths of that player and what the opponent brings) it's overly simplistic. I agree with you on risk/reward.
 

RaulRamirez

Legend
Simplistic? Yes. But do-able.

Take a look at Med's match against Martinez. Pedro isn't the best server, but he was taking advantage of Med's court positioning and running away with it.

Edit: also Rafa moves in all the time, mid-match. If he played that way all the time he might have another AO.
Yes, sometimes, it does apply - good example. although I didn't see Med-Martinez, seeing Med enough times, I can picture that.
It's just that the advice is often parroted indiscriminately - and sometimes, without additional insight.
...
But there must be others.
 

Aabye5

G.O.A.T.
Yes, sometimes, it does apply - good example. although I didn't see Med-Martinez, seeing Med enough times, I can picture that.
It's just that the advice is often parroted indiscriminately - and sometimes, without additional insight.
...
But there must be others.

Yes, if you mean the commentators, it's used too often.

‘Come to the net more’

This is the stock advice given by all Australian tennis commentators for every male player from 2000 onwards

Yep, this is another one. It depends a lot on net skills. Not everyone is Nick.

On the other hand, maybe that's why some of the new kids on the block are so eager to give it a try.
 

RaulRamirez

Legend
Yes, if you mean the commentators, it's used too often.



Yep, this is another one. It depends a lot on net skills. Not everyone is Nick.

On the other hand, maybe that's why some of the new kids on the block are so eager to give it a try.
Yes, really, the OP was geared toward what is heard from the commentators.
And I like most of the tennis analysts, but just think they collectively lean on court positioning (always advising player closer to the baseline) as all-purpose advice, possibly because they have the technology readily available to illustrate that point.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
Move your feet and take those adjustment steps before striking the ball. Footwork is key. You hear commentators say this when you 1st start watching the game and you don't know how important it really is until you really start playing. You even notice it right away when watching a match when a player is lazy with their footwork. Of course, this takes a lot of practice to perfect it so yea easier said than done.
 

RaulRamirez

Legend
Delete Instagram and Twitter:

As if the world #13 will suddenly be able to go toe to toe with Djokovic and Nadal if he stops liking pictures on his phone when he’s resting after practice.
I read that all the time here, but from the tennis commentators?
 

NeutralFan

G.O.A.T.
You have to believe ... like players can just turn belief on and off like a tap. :rolleyes: Belief comes from evidence. Believing you are going to be a slam champion when you don't have the talent is just delusion. You'll start to believe when the results of your hard work start paying off and not a second before. Belief can't be forced or faked.

Just be confident bro!
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
hit aggressive shots to safe targets ... how can a safe target be aggressive? :unsure:

fyi ... I kid ... I think Paul Annacone is one of the smartest commentators/coaches out there. (y)
 

PMChambers

Hall of Fame
Get more returns in play: This is probably very doable for most players, but no one does it anyway. Which is why we're stuck with 5th set tiebreaks in Slams
I don't mind this if it's intent is pure, IE: just get the ball in play and see what happens. However, when a player starts chipping in centre court and getting dictated too and then the response is, get more returns but deeper and heavier, then its stupid. It's no different to saying, just win more points.
 

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
I don't mind this if it's intent is pure, IE: just get the ball in play and see what happens. However, when a player starts chipping in centre court and getting dictated too and then the response is, get more returns but deeper and heavier, then its stupid. It's no different to saying, just win more points.
I do think cliche advice like that is important - "get more aggressive returns in play" really means "put more mental energy/effort into that return because it's important"
 

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
hit aggressive shots to safe targets ... how can a safe target be aggressive? :unsure:

fyi ... I kid ... I think Paul Annacone is one of the smartest commentators/coaches out there. (y)
It means finding the right balance between aggression and percentage. Find your opponent's weak wing, work the point until they're out of position instead of trying to win the point from a neutral position (which means going for low-percentage winners). The more balls you play and the more you run your opponent around, the smaller your margins need to be.
 
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