game plan development
This section explain how to prepare a match gameplan. Match gameplans should have 5 major components that should be taken into account when developing a match gameplan :
- Play Your Game - We have all heard this one before and while it may be such a cliche type of thing to say, it is truly good advice. We all play best when we play our game, so when playing a match or making a game plan you should always try to play your game and impose it on your opponent. You may want to make some tactical changes to it based on your opponents style, strengths and weaknesses. For more on your game style see the game style development section.
- What is your opponents game style ? - Your opponent has their own game style, what you want to try to do is identify what it is and do things that counter their game style. For ideas on how to counter certain game styles see the section under game style .
- Identification of Strengths and Weaknesses - What does your opponent like to do and do well? What patterns do they use? What do they not like to do? What are their weaknesses? Answering these questions are imperative to forming a great game plan. You want to play the match towards their weaknesses, defend against their patterns, and keep them as uncomfortable as possible on the court.
- Gamesmanship - What is your opponents mental game like? Do they take a lot of time between points? Do they make bad line calls? Are they loud or imposing on the court? I believe it is important to factor in your opponents attitudes and competitiveness because you can be ready for things they are going to do on the court and plan how to counter them.
- Match Play Conditions - What are the conditions that you find yourself playing in, what surface, wind, sun, slow, heavy, fast etc... As your level of tennis increases, being able to make adjustments to your game so that your game best suits the environment you find yourself in is very important. Click on the environmental factors heading to learn more about things you can do with your game when playing in different match play conditions.