Winning Tennis Strategies for Handling High Lobs and Overheads

Involving opponents at the net significantly increases winning chances in tennis matches.

### Mastering Tennis: Strategies to Win More Matches
* 🎾 "Most players when they take tennis lessons, they're not learning how to **handle really high lobs with an overhead**."
* 🏆 Involving your opponent at the net can **significantly increase your chances of winning**, so aim to hit the ball **directly at them** rather than avoiding them.
* 📈 Using strategies like serving to the body can produce **weak responses from your opponent**, allowing you to **take control of the point**.
* 🌀 When returning serve, aim **deep down the middle** to force your opponent to volley, **increasing your chances of breaking their serve**.
* ⚡ Always have an **air target in mind** for how high you want to hit the ball over the net, which helps maintain **consistency during rallies**.
* 🚀 After hitting an approach shot, take a few steps and then **split step** to improve your ability to **respond to your opponent's next shot effectively**.
* 📏 Vary the height of your shots based on your position on the court; **aim higher when pushed back** and **lower when closer to the net** to maintain **depth and pressure**.
* 💪 By implementing these strategies, you will **gain confidence**, **win more matches**, and **enhance your overall tennis performance**.

Here are five really great single strategies that will absolutely help you win more matches. Tip number one: serve to the body more often. It's not used enough in recreational tennis. We tend to think, I'm going to serve to the tee or hit an ace out wide, and we're going for small targets. Our serve percentage drops, then we kind of have to push a second serve in. If you've got a strong first serve, hit a strong serve right at their belly button. Nobody likes serves coming right at their belly button. Who likes that? It usually produces a weak response that you get to come in and attack. Serve more often to the body, and the chances of holding serve go way up. Tip number two: return deep down the middle. I've got these two lines here in your mind when you're returning serve. This is you. The ball comes in. You're trying to pin the ball deep between those two lines. Oftentimes, when your opponent serves, they fall forward into the court. You know, just think about good serve technique. They toss forward, they lean in. Well, now

they're inside the Baseline when they're done, and not everyone knows to step back and to split step back behind the Baseline. So, if you can hit nice deep down the middle, you kind of catch them right at their feet, and they kind of do a short hop little half volley from inside the Baseline, again producing a weak ball that you get to come in and then Attack. Start returning serve deep down the middle more often, and the chances of breaking serve will increase. Tip number three: always have an air Target when you are rallying back and forth with your opponent. You need to always in your mind know exactly how high over the net you're trying to make the ball pass. See, what ends up happening is when Players, let's say, move back, let's say you get pushed back near The Back Fence, in my experience of 27 years of coaching, players say, Well, I need the ball to go a farther distance. So, what do they do? They hit harder. Or if they get pulled inside the Baseline slightly, they hit the ball a little softer instead of

varying the speed you hit the ball. What you really want to vary is the height that you're aiming over the net. So let's go over those scenarios again. You get pushed back behind the Baseline. You want to aim higher over the net to account for the farther distance you need that ball to travel. The most common mistake players make when rallying is hitting the net because, I mean, gravity is going to pull the ball down into the net. So you have to fight Gravity by hitting it higher over the net. Don't be afraid the ball's going to go out, right? Like the way you get depth is by hitting it higher over the net, but people are afraid to hit higher because they think the ball is going to go out. And I see that in the comment section all the time in my videos. If I aim higher, the ball's going to go out. Well, there has to be a way to get the ball near the Baseline, and you don't hit it near the Baseline by hitting it one inch over the net. So

you do have to aim higher. Higher is a relative statement. I'm not saying hit Moon balls 50 feet over the net, but when you move back and you hit the ball eight feet over the net, you were going to hit this incredible. It's not even doesn't even have to have a ton of Top Spin, but you were going to hit this incredible deep shot that's well within the Baseline, so you don't run the risk of missing, but it's deep, keeping them back, and actually forcing errors. And then the same thing is true when you're inside the Baseline. When you're inside the Baseline, you need to vary the height, meaning you now have to hit lower over the net and you skim the net. This is how when you watch the pros move inside the court slightly and they blast the ball. Why doesn't it go out? Because they're not hitting eight feet over the net. They're hitting the ball a foot over the net, and that's completely done on purpose. So as you move back, aim higher over the net. As you move inside the

court aim lower over the net. When you vary the height you aim over the net based on where you are on the court, the chances of being consistent during a rally go way up. Tip number four: make sure you split step after hitting an approach shot. I see it all the time. Recreation players get a short ball, they come inside the baseline, and they attack, and they just keep running and running and running, and they're still running as the opponent hits their ground stroke. If you're running forward while your opponent is hitting the ball, you will not be able to change direction very easily. And if they hit a lob and you're just running forward, making it easier for their lob to go over their head, over your head. If they hit a down-the-line passing shot, they hit a cross-court passing shot. If they hit the ball right at your feet, you're still running, and your ability to handle their shot goes way down. So it's very simple: after you hit the approach, take two or three steps, really three steps maximum, and then split step. Hit your

approach one, two, three, split step. If you really blast the approach shot, you might only get two steps in because you have to split step around the time they hit the ball. So, you were not Usain Bolt; we're not going to hit the shot and take nine steps to the net. By the time we split step to volley, it's not going to happen. So, after hitting an approach shot, take two or three steps and then split step. Your ability to handle whatever shot your opponent gives you at net will go way up. Tip number five: when your opponent comes to net, involve them in the point. Let me explain. When your opponent comes to the net on you, you have a decision to make. Are you going to avoid them or are you going to involve them? When you avoid your opponent, it's usually a down-the-line pass, a crosscourt pass, a topspin lob that you're trying to bounce right on the baseline and hope they don't call it out, right? That's avoiding your opponent; that's a lower winning percentage when

you're trying to avoid your opponent altogether. The chances of winning go way down. I would rather you involve them in the point. How do you do that? Hit right to them. Make them volley. You're not playing Naver Tova. You're not playing John Mro or Serena Williams. That's not who your opponent is, so they're probably not that comfortable coming to the net. I would say about 5% of tennis players are really confident at net, and if you are confident at net, good for you, because you are in the minority when it comes to tennis players. People coming to the net are going, Oh, I don't like this. I'd rather be back there. So force them to volley. So either hit it right to them, or if you want to hit a little lower, skim the net, right? Have air target. They're coming in, so you can think, I'm going to hit low over the net. Now they have a half volley. They probably didn't split step, so they're really going to struggle with it. Or go for a lob, but don't lob to

avoid them lob to involve them lob really high and let them screw up an overhead off of a ball that goes really high in the air. You know, most players when they take tennis lessons, they're not learning how to handle really high lobs with an overhead, whether letting it bounce or out of the air. And if people don't practice that, you can force them into going for that shot or attempting that shot, handling that shot in a live situation, and they get no practice on it. So when your opponent comes to the net, involve them in the point. Do not avoid them, just hit it right at them, hit it low to them, hit really high and let them screw up the overhead off of a rapidly descending ball. When you involve your opponent at the net in singles, the chances of winning go way up. If you want to learn the exact same strategies that the pros are using to help them win more matches, then check out the singles Playbook by fuzzy yellow balls. Over 50 pages of strategy after strategy, all based on the style of

opponent you play against. Simply put your phone or tablet up over the QR code and up pops a short video from Will Hamilton over Fola Balls showing you how to use each strategy to get it. Simply use my link. It's in the description. I'm also going to pin it in the first comment. And if you're looking for people in your local area to play matches against, to practice with, maybe you want to find a local league at your level, or you'd love to find a coach who's close to you who can help you with your game, then use my link for Play Your Court. And it's PlayYourCourt.com 2ut Tennis. When you use my link to sign up, you get 50% off. So click right there to check out the fuzzy yellow balls singles playbook and use these five tips I just gave you. And there's no doubt you're going to gain confidence, win more matches, and play much better tennis. This is Ryan Ry from 2MinuteTennis.net. You got this.

5 Awesome Singles Strategies (Win More Tennis Matches)

2MinuteTennis

Hitting deep down the middle can catch opponents off guard and produce weak returns.

It's important to have a clear target for the ball's height over the net, adjusting based on your position on the court.

After hitting an approach shot, take a few steps and then split step to be ready for your opponent's next move.

Aiming higher over the net while moving back can result in deep shots that keep opponents back and force errors.

When inside the baseline, varying the height by hitting lower over the net can create powerful shots without risking them going out.

The pros achieve this by intentionally hitting the ball just above the net, allowing for effective shot placement.

Effective Tennis Strategies for Winning Matches

Serving to the body more often can disrupt your opponent's rhythm and produce a weak response.

Returning deep down the middle increases the chances of pinning your opponent and taking control of the point.

After hitting an approach shot, taking two or three steps before split-stepping can improve your ability to handle your opponent's shot at the net.

To win against an opponent, it's effective to involve them in the point by hitting the ball directly to them and forcing them to volley.

Most tennis players are uncomfortable at the net, so aiming low over the net or varying the height of your shots can create difficult situations for them.

The key to gaining depth in your shots is to aim higher over the net, overcoming the common mistake of hitting the ball into the net.

Involve your opponent at the net by hitting the ball low or high, forcing them to handle difficult overheads.

Practicing high lobs and challenging shots can increase your chances of winning points.

For more in-depth strategies, check out the Singles Playbook by Fuzzy Yellow Balls and use Play Your Court to find local players and coaches.