Playing Styles Revisited

Is the power men's game the right model ?

Although there are many theories about playing style, when we observe high level tennis closely, how does theory compare with the reality of match play? And how can reality help the average player, who is striving to learn something from the pros? Let's look at some new distinctions about playing styles and see how they apply to the game at all levels.

In men's tennis, variety of game seems to be on the increase with players such as Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga joining the incomparable Roger Federer in the ability to hit any shot from anywhere on the court. But this variety remains largely situational--it happens in some points in some matches.

Men's tennis remains mainly a power game based on huge serves and huge forehands. Unfortunately, these are the highlight shots too many club players find mesmerizing. Women's tennis, however, offers a different and more flexible paradigm. Studying the women's game should inspire the average player and provide a realistic path to winning more matches.

Is women's tennis a better paradigm for improving?

Recently I had the privilege of traveling in Australia and observing the women's pro tour first hand, coaching a player competing in a series of $25,000 tournaments. This gave me the opportunity to watch dozens of matches involving players from all over the world, players with every combination of style, strengths, and weaknesses you could possibly imagine.

I learned not only from watching but by talking with other coaches, players, and knowledgeable observers of the game. This grass roots experience broadened my understanding of the game and reinforced some thoughts that challenge traditional beliefs about "playing style."

Older tennis literature describes players as baseliners, serve and volleyers, or all court players. More recently, the conventional wisdom has been that there were 4 styles: Serve and Volleyer, Aggressive Baseliner; Counter Puncher; and All Courter.

The reality is that some players fit neatly in these categories, but most do not. Yes, Arantxa Sanchez -Vicario and Michael Chang both won the French Open with a defensive, counter punching style. John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova were dominant as pure serve and volley players. But both those styles are virtually non-existent on the current tour.

One dimensional styles are disappearing in the pro game.

When we say Aggressive Baseliner, do we mean a player like Federer or Djokovic who stands in? Or do we mean a player like Fernando Gonzales who plays further back and takes huge swings?

Or compare Lindsay Davenport and Steffi Graf, both "aggressive baseliners." Graf played with a one-handed slice which she used to set up as many inside forehands as possible. Davenport plays in the center and can punish opponents off either side with her forehand or her great semi-flat two-hander.

Was Martina Hingis a counter puncher or an all court player? That depended on the circumstances. Rafael Nadal plays far behind the baseline, but his heavy spin is a weapon and he makes lightening transitions to offense, sometimes on the dead run.

You get the idea. The lines are blurry and vary with individual players. This corresponds perfectly with what I saw in my Australian sojourn. I saw players who in some cases were highly skilled in some areas but much less in others. Some of these players had "opponent dependent" games. Against a given player they would win easily. However, against someone with a similar or lower ranking but with a different style, they would lose badly.

The are many elements that can be integrated in a baseline style.

To help us create a more accurate understanding of playing style, let's introduce 2 distinctions. These are distinctions actually used by tour coaches and by the players themselves. They fit better with the realities of how the top women are playing the game today . They also give us a more flexible understanding of tactics and how to improve them at all levels. They apply really well for club players who want to win matches.

On the women's tour, the rest of the world talks about the "American Style." Players who utilize this style drive the ball hard and relatively flat through the back of the court. They try to take the ball early whenever possible, and look to dictate play. This game works best on moderate or fast hardcourts.

American Style: hard, flat hitting through the baseline.

A key point here is that the vast majority of the balls hit with the American style cross the baseline before they cross the sideline. Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic all play this style, as did Jennifer Capriati. Often these players are better ball strikers than they are "movers." Because movement is often not their strength, they tend to play what is known as "first strike" tennis.

In much of the world, however, players learn their tennis on clay. We can contrast the American Style with the Clay Court Style. Clay court players use a greater variety of spins and angles. But a major difference is that clay court players hit far more balls that go through the side of the court first, as opposed to strictly pounding the ball through the baseline.

In the past, many of these players just ran balls down and got them back, neutralizing opponents as much as possible, and trying to win every point by T.K.O. But in today's game, the sideline angles are also used as both as building blocks and finishing shots. This is true on hardcourts as well as clay. In fact we could also call this the short angle style.

Clay Court Style players attack with angles.

The way these short angle players set up their attack is different. Players are using angles to create openings for winners, instead of relying on pure power and early contact. Francesca Sciavone, for example, hits with lots of spin and angle. Then she tries to finish when she gets short balls and the open court. Patty Schnyder does much the same thing with her heavily spun lefty forehand.

Monica Seles was one of the first and most successful short angle players to hitting a lot of balls through the sidelines on both sides with her two-handed style. Interestingly the short angle was also a building block of Andre Agassi's game.

A few women of these clay courters also play defense by trying to hit balls above or below the power zone of their opponent. Because more and more women can really punish balls at a given height, this is an attempt to buy time, move the opponent, and/or get a shorter weaker reply that can potentially be attacked. Patty Schnyder does this, as does Nadia Petrova. This is an even more effective tactic at the club level.

The other basic distinction is between Forehand Players and Backhand Players. "Forehand Players" utilize inside forehands to open up the court and try to hit as many forehands as possible. Steffi Graf's coach, Heinz Gunthardt, said that Steffi's goal was to hit 70% of her shots with her forehand. They both felt that if she was able to do this, she would beat anyone.

Forehand Players get around the ball to play inside.

You still see a lot of this on the women's tour. Eleni Daniilidou, another one hander, is a modern forehand player. Ana Ivanovic is also a player who is always looking for opportunities to step around the ball and attack.

Forehand Players dominate on the men's side. But for many women it's the opposite. Rather than running around to play inside forehands, many women take as many balls as possible on their backhands because it is their stronger side. These are "Backhand Players." The inside out backhand is hit almost exclusively on the women's side.

Players like Jelena Jankovic (who is thought of as not having a lot of firepower) utilize big down the line backhands, and one could argue that most women are far more dangerous and consistent off of the backhand wing.

Svetlana Kuznetsova is far stronger of the backhand side. Sharapova attacks with her forehand, but her backhand is very consistent and less likely to break down. Probably at least 60% of women pros have better backhands than forehands.

These two distinctions help us look at the game in a different way. But they are only part of the story. The reality is that in today's game most every player is some type of baseliner, but there are other factors to consider in categorizing a players game:

Backhand Players attack down the line.

1. There are different baseline attacking styles.

2. There are variations in the way players defend.

3. Players may play first strike in one match and be far more patient in another.

4. Sometimes players switch tactics in the same match.

5. More swing volleys are being employed, off both wings.

6. Players rarely serve and volley, but they volley opportunistically to finish points.

Players can plug these elements in and out of their games at will. They can be utilized within either the American Style or Short Angle Style. They can be incorporated by both Forehand and Backhand Players. This blurring and compounding of styles is what makes the old categories less applicable.

Can you hit an aggressive drop shot?

All types of players can, at least to some degree, use topspin to create angles or push an opponent back. Most can slice to change pace and get the ball down out of a power zone. Players hit swing volleys from 3/4 and midcourt, and occasionally from very close to the net. They hit aggressive drop shots for winners.

All these trends I believe are going to continue as the game evolves. The players of the next generation will not succeed merely as strike zone players who pound balls through the back of the court. Nor will they succeed by running everything down and spinning the ball deep. Women will continue to hit flatter than men, and as hard flat balls are easier to volley, you may see more volleys in the women's game than the men's.

I believe that most of the top woman players of the future will play an opportunistic type of attacking game. They will move extremely well both laterally and forwards and backwards. They will be proficient at hitting hard and flat and also hard with heavy topspin. They will be comfortable in all areas of the court and with slicing, swing volleying and volleying. They will have confident and effective drop shots.

Women who serve well have a huge advantage?

Because women already return so well (and the trend here is better and better), successful players will have to serve better to create offensive situations. Women who serve effectively already have a tremendous advantage.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova frequently serve well enough that they can take chances being even more aggressive with their returns. When she is playing her best, Justine Henin also serves with velocity, variety and consistency. Jelena Jankovic is a wonderful player, but in her first round Australian Open win (against Tamira Paszek) there were 15 service breaks in the final set which she won 12 - 10. The serve is a weapon that more and more players will develop.

As tennis continues to evolve, you will see women who take advantage of any minimal weakness an opponent may have. If you watch the top woman pros, you will already see a lot of what is being described. In fact what we are seeing are players who can play first strike, drive the ball fairly flat and take it early but also use spin and angle to create offense or neutralize like clay court players. As players become more skilled with more choices the distinctions between playing styles may become even more blurred.

If you watch the way a given player plays today and compare it with how they played two years ago, you will probably see a greater variety of shots and tactics. When Serena Williams is at her best you see a wonderfully complete player. Ana Ivanovic and Justine Henin play very different styles, but each has a game that still seems to be evolving.

Variety is the key to the evolution of the game.

So what can the average club player learn from all this? The bottom line is that, if you can be opportunistic, you enhance your chance to win a given point at any level.

That has to start with knowing the actual strengths and weaknesses of your game. Where are you comfortable on the court?What is the relative strength of your forehand and backhand? Do you have the hands and eyes to play the ball early? Or is your timing geared to playing 8 or 10 feet back?

Have you worked hard to develop the ability and the confidence to open the court by spinning shots with angle over the sidelines? Is your forehand big enough, and especially, consistent enough, to play inside? Or do you prefer to play from a more balanced center position?

What type of ball can you approach on? Can you control the diagonals on your volleys well enough to hit into the open court? How do your opponents respond when you attack, and what level of shot difficulty must you hit to be successful against most of them?

Do you really have a drop shot? I mean a drop shot hit with significant underspin that you can bounce two, or even three times inside the service box? If so it is usually deadly at the club level. This is because almost all club players are slow recognizing short balls and do not move forward nearly as well as they move laterally.

Most club players don't ask themselves these basic questions. Even if you do not have huge weapons, if you have variety, you will probably be able to create opportunities for yourself and pressure most opponents. As with the pros, not all opponents can be attacked in the same way. Opportunities will vary by opponent, and may be quite frequent or quite rare. Can you recognize, capitalize on and create these opportunities? A good first step is understanding the complex realities of playing styles. This is what the pro players do and if you understand them as well, it can be huge advantage.

Playing Styles Revisited

Dave Hagler