Tennis Singles Strategy: 9+ Top Tactics to Win More Matches

Why the Right Tennis Singles Strategies Will Win You More Matches

The vast majority of your matches will be decided by tiny details.

When you’re on court, you don’t have time to upgrade your technique or talent level, but you can play smarter – if you understand singles tactics.

There’s a reason why you lose to players who aren’t as good as you!

They understand exactly what’s needed to win the match and they’re willing to do what it takes. Can you say the same?

When people take the time to study tennis singles strategies, they often realize that they weren’t equipped with the knowledge they needed to turn things around on court.

But, that’s great news for you!

Because we’re going to show you the singles strategies that matter so you can take advantage of the players that don’t know how to leverage their tactics.

Let’s dig deeper!

The Top Tennis Singles Strategies You Need to Know

Your strategy can be the difference between winning and losing a match, so we’re going to show you the 10 most important ones you need to know. 

Here’s what you will learn:

•  The Ultimate Singles Tactics Course – win matches using vital singles tactics
•  Your Forehand is Your Best Shot – Even if you don’t think so …
•  Your Opponent’s Backhand is Their Weakness – Expose their insecurities …
•  There are Three Ways to Win a Point – It’s not all about the winners …
•  Recognize the Importance of the Serve – Grab control as soon as you can …
•  Don’t Be Afraid to Lose the Point – Know how to outwit the opposition …
•  If Things Aren’t Going Well Then Change Them – Positive tips to turn the match around
• Baseline Mastery – Become the dominant force
• Conquer Your Nerves – Relax, and get the job done!
• Proper Preparation – Prevent poor performance with a go-getting game-plan

Check them out, and make an immediate improvement to your game.

Tennis Singles Strategy 1:  Check Out the Ultimate Singles Tactics Course

TheTennisBros.com gives you the ultimate singles tactics course!

It’s been carefully planned with former pro, Dave Ireland, to maximize your match results in double-quick time. In fact, it can improve your match play in just a couple of hours.

Tennis matches are won and lost on extremely fine margins, and knowing the right tactics can turn those margins in your favor.

You could spend thousands of dollars on coaching to get your technique right, but this is going to take time. If you want to cut the time it takes to win more matches, then the tennis tactics course is going to help you do exactly that.

There are lots of hidden gems in this ultimate singles tactics guide and they’re going help you win the points that really matter.

Check out the Ultimate Singles Tactics Guide!

Tennis Singles Strategy 2:  Your Forehand is Your Best Shot

I can hear people saying “but my backhand is my best shot” from through the computer screen now!

The thing is, it’s very rare that someone has a better backhand than they do forehand.

The way the shots work, it’s extremely difficult to have a better backhand than forehand. Many people think they have a better backhand, but in reality, it doesn’t have the same capabilities as their forehand.

Take Djokovic – unbelievable backhand, but if you look at the stats, they just don’t stack up against his forehand.

For virtually every player, it’s going to be a huge advantage to get their forehand involved as an attacking weapon.

The extra spin and power potential (here’s a guide to help you hit the topspin forehand) give you the ability to take over the point and ramp up the pressure on your opponent.

This is something we see so often from every pro, but especially Nadal.

He’s absolutely desperate to get the ball on his forehand side because he knows that greatly increases his chance of winning the point.

If your forehand is your best-attacking weapon, which is going to be the case for most people, then you need to be just as eager to get play on this side as Nadal.

Look for opportunities to run around your backhand, and plan your patterns of play to get the ball on your forehand side.

Tennis Singles Strategy 3:  Your Opponent’s Backhand is Their Weakness

If we turn the strategy of getting play on your forehand around and focus it on the opponent, then it makes sense that we’re going to target their backhand.

One of the best match-ups you can possibly have in singles is when your forehand is matched up against your opponents backhand.

This is one of the reasons lefties have so much success, they’re used to isolating their opponent’s backhand with their cross-court forehand.

This shouldn’t be limited to lefties though and you can easily employ this tactic without taking any big risks – you’ve got to move your feet though.

You see this a lot with the Federer forehand, using his feet so he can open up the inside-out forehand.

When he does this, he opens up so much angle and makes it a low risk shot to hit his forehand into a right hander’s backhand.

He still maintains the option to hit down the line without taking too much risk, which means his opponent can’t cheat and cover one side over the other. But more often than not he uses it to take control of the point by pinning his opponent on the backhand side, and you can easily do the same if you show the desire to get around the ball.

Sometimes you’re going to come across players with a really strong backhand and you’ve got to be alert to this, but for the majority of players, it pays to pin them in on the backhand side because they simply can’t get out.

Tennis Singles Strategy 4:  There are Three Ways to Win a Point

At its most simple, tennis boils down to one fact: if you put one more ball in the court than your opponent than you’re going to win the point.

There are three ways you can do this:

• Hitting a winner
• Forcing an error from your opponent
• Your opponent hits an unforced error

We tend to be very focused on winners and unforced errors – you’ll always see these stats talked about during pro games, but in reality, there are a lot of points that end because you’ve forced your opponent into an error.

Instead of thinking about winners, or just hanging in there and hoping your opponent misses, focus more of your attention on how you can force your opponent into missing.

Some options include:

• Moving them side to side
• Taking time away from them through your positioning
• Varying your pace
• Using spin to make them play uncomfortable shots
• Pushing them deep behind the baseline

Every opponent is different, so you’re going to employ different tactics to make them miss.

This is where it really helps to be paying attention to your opponent, rather than obsessing about your game and how you’re hitting the ball.

Tennis Singles Strategy 5:  Recognize the Importance of the Serve

The serve plays an oversized roll in tennis for three key reasons:

• You’re in complete control of the shot
• You get two shots at it
• It sets the precedent for the rest of the point

This is a huge advantage, but you’ve got to capitalize on it. Just walking up to the baseline and going through the motions and hitting the serve without thinking about it isn’t a strategy for winning.

Instead, you want to have a clear plan for every serve you hit.

Make sure you’re aiming for a target (remember, the backhand is often the best shot to target), and have an idea for what you want to do with the next shot after the serve.

The serve and the next shot after it, known as the serve plus one is a great opportunity to set yourself up with an attacking forehand that can really put you in charge of the point.

You have the ability to make these plans because you’re in complete control at this point.

Your opponent has no say over how you hit your serve, so make the most of the opportunity and make it work for you.

Remember that there’s a huge difference between your first serve and your second serve, which means your first serve percentage is vitally important.

It’s nice to hit powerful first serves and pick up free points, but when you’re getting a high percentage of first serves in, you start with the odds in your favor, so don’t be afraid to dial down the power and focus on making lots of first serves.

Tennis Singles Strategy 6:  Don’t Be Afraid to Lose the Point

This one isn’t strictly strategy, but we find it makes a huge difference to how you employ your tennis tactics.

 

Reality: You’re going to lose a lot of points, no matter what you do. 

Check out Dave’s tips on Why you should enjoy missing the ball in tennis!

 

Even in a 6-2 6-2 win, you lose plenty of points, so there’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

This means that you shouldn’t be afraid to be ambitious with your strategies, and play the kind of shots that are going to give you the best chance of winning the point.

The great thing about tennis is that until you lose the very last point, there’s always a route back into the match, so put the scoring system out of your mind, and play the strategies that are going to give you the best chance of winning the match.

Tennis Singles Strategy 7:   If Things Aren’t Going Well Then Change Them

Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

If you’re using a certain tactic and it’s getting you nowhere, then it’s time to try something different.

You might be doing what you’re comfortable doing and hoping that you’ll start playing a little better, but if it’s playing into your opponent’s strengths then it’s time to try something different.

Singles is a long game with lots of ups and downs, and you can make the most of this, but you’ve got to make a change to capitalize on it.

Sometimes all it takes is tiny changes to make a huge difference

If you’re going to lose doing what you’re comfortable doing, then you might as well give something you’re not as comfortable doing a try.

It doesn’t have to be for the whole match, but it just needs to put your opponent off their stride and change the momentum of the match.

That strategy might be serve volleying to give your opponent a completely different look, but whatever it is, it’s important that you try the options you have available to you.

There’s no point hoping that you start playing 10% better; you’ve got to find ways to change the balance of the match.

Tennis Singles Strategy 8: Baseline Mastery 

Modern tennis is a power game, you will meet very few opponents who have the inclination and indeed the ability to serve and volley, and just as few who indulge in drop-shots. The majority of tennis players today camp out on the baseline to attempt to pour on the power.

To compete against such players you will need to hone a certain set of skills and be equipped to fight fire with fire. Yes, playing a contradictory style of tennis can sometimes work, and can disrupt your opponent’s game, but it is no secret that aggressive baseliners have become the dominant force on tour.

Players such as Richard Gasquet and Adrian Mannarino, those who favor guile over muscle, have found wins harder to come by as tennis has evolved. By contrast, a glance at the world rankings shows that the top ten is peppered with the names of big hitters such as Rublev, Ruud, and Alacaraz – and of course, Novak is no slouch either.     

Our guide on becoming an aggressive baseliner equips you with the fundamentals required to more than hold your own in today’s tennis arena, essential reading for anyone, but more so if you find yourself outgunned on the court. Having the capacity to dish out as much punishment as you receive will make tennis a lot more fun!

Tennis Singles Strategy 9: Conquer Your Nerves 

How many times do you hear commentators remark that a player has ‘tightened up’, usually towards a pivotal moment within a match? This effectively means that nerves have started to affect that player and their natural game has become compromised. 

You see, even the game’s elite suffer from nerves so it is no surprise that we amateur players succumb to the same condition – there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Instead, accept nerves as an inevitable part of competitive sport and as we explain in detail, you can be equipped to embrace them and still play your best.

It is no surprise that allowing nerves to take control will seriously derail our game, our routines will become erratic and our shots become hurried. Everything happens in double-quick time and our bodies literally tighten up, our timing disappears and our natural game desserts us. 

For the unprepared, nerves will feel hellish but by following our guide you will have a strong contingency plan for when the inevitable happens. Expecting nerves and preparing for them gives you the ability to get right back on track when it matters most.

Tennis Singles Strategy 10: Proper Preparation 

There is a well-known adage used in business circles that says ‘proper preparation prevents poor performance’, and we can apply this exact same mantra when it comes to tennis. 

You only have to look at the inner circle of most professional players to appreciate that a huge amount of their work is done away from the court. We see physiotherapists, psychologists, and physical trainers, and more recently, we have seen the emergence of data analysts who study shot patterns, opponents, and key trends that underpin good and bad points. 

In short, for the best players in the world preparation is everything and as we discuss in our look into how amateur players can also be prepared, we find that it is possible to give ourselves a discernible edge long before a ball has been hit – even days before! 

Scrutinizing your own game will reveal where your strengths are and, just as importantly, where your weaknesses are. If you have a killer backhand slice why focus on trying to hit topspin rockets from your weaker wing? And if you know the game of your opponent, then so much the better, you can develop a game plan that focuses upon their frailties and avoids their strengths.   

With our help, there is no reason to approach a match just hoping it will go well. Instead, tap into our guidance, construct a strategy, and give yourself an early edge.  

Next, Improve Your Forehand to Make it the Weapon You Need

Now you’ve got the singles strategy mastered, let’s help you improve your forehand.  If you remember in strategy #2, we analyzed why your forehand is a mighty weapon, and why you need to mobilize it to outsmart your opponent. 

Why not take the next steps to revolutionize your forehand and be able to unlock vicious levels of topspin?  Couple that with crazy power (with minimal effort) and you’ll be able to develop a true, forehand weapon quickly and efficiently.

Check out TheTennisBros.com’s Forehand Domination Course

Win More Matches with Tennis Singles Strategy That Works

As you know, when you walk onto the match court, practice time is over.  You can’t make last-minute adjustments to your technique to improve your chances of winning.

Your forehand is your forehand, your serve is your serve and your backhand is your backhand – you’ve just got to hope that you execute them well.  What you do have complete power over though is your mentality and your tennis singles strategy.

By using the tennis strategies above you’ll be able to improve your game and enjoy winning more matches.

If you loved these tips and would like to learn more, why not take a look at How to Win Tennis Matches (Win More Matches Overnight) or take a more in-depth look at tennis singles strategy with the Singles Tactics course?

There’s always more to learn on the tennis court, and thetennisbros.com have all the resources you need:

• The Best Online Tennis Coaching
• How to Beat a Pusher in Tennis
• Tennis Doubles Strategy
• Using the Inside Out Forehand

Now there’s only one thing left to do …

Get started with TheTennisBros.com’s Forehand Domination course today!