Florida resident Joel Match, MD, serves as the director of medical practice for Addiction Care and Treatment Centers in Manassas, Virginia, and works as an adjunct faculty member for several medical schools, including George Mason University, George Washington University, and Johns Hopkins University. Outside his professional responsibilities, Dr. Joel Match keeps fit by working out at the gym, sailing, and playing tennis.
Although tennis can be played and enjoyed by people of all skill levels, your chances of winning a match can be enhanced by learning some basic strategies. One strategy that’s easy to remember but hard to put into practice is to identify and attack the opponent’s weakness. To identify a weak part of a player’s game, test them with a variety of shots. Hit to their forehand, hit to their backhand, lob the ball over their head when possible, and so on, until it becomes clear where the opponent struggles.
Once the opponent’s weakness has been identified, try to attack it with your own strength. For instance, if your best shot is the forehand and the opponent’s weakness is the backhand, target that backhand with a forehand to maximize the attack’s effectiveness.
Another good strategy is to focus on depth by hitting the ball deep into the opponent’s court. This puts your opponent on their back foot and reduces the angle of return. The more the opponent can be kept off balance chasing deeply hit balls, the more vulnerable they’ll be to a drop shot just over the net.
