Tennis Strategy

To win a point, there are many different strategies in tennis. Three types of players are baseliners, volleyers and all-court players. A baseliner plays from the back of the tennis court, around the baseline, preferring to trade groundstrokes rather than to come up to the net (except in certain situations). A volleyer loves to approach the net and hit volleys, putting pressure on the opponent. All-court players are somewhere in-between.

Aggressive baseliner

An aggressive baseliner tries to win the point by hitting winners from the back of the court, attacking with fast balls that the opponent can not reach or return properly. He may not try to win the point outright with one shot, but instead may hit the ball from side to side until he spots an opening. Aggressive baseliners normally have at least one great groundstroke (often the forehand).

An aggressive baseliner can overpower and overwhelm any opposition. However, when going for winners, he can produce many errors.

Some all-time great aggressive baseliners are Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. Most active players today are aggresive baseliner; a few notable ones are Marat Safin, Andy Roddick, Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport.

Defensive baseliner

A defensive baseliner, or counterpuncher or retriever, returns every ball and relies on the opponent making mistakes. He has consistent shots, makes few errors of his own while making it difficult for opponents to hit winners. A counterpuncher must have speed and agility to cover the court. He is a fighter, and has to have willingness to chase down every ball to frustrate opponents. Usually he also has great passing shots to score points when the opponent is at the net.

Counterpunchers often excel on slow courts, such as clay courts. The court gives them extra time to chase down shots and it is harder for opponents to create winners.

Great counterpunchers of all time include Michael Chang and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Active players are Lleyton Hewitt, Rafael Nadal, Guillermo Coria and Anastasia Myskina.

Volleyer

A volleyer has a great net game; quick around the net and has great touch for volleys. Serve and volleyers come up to the net at every opportunity when serving. Volleyers are almost always attackers and can hit many winners with varieties of volleys and drop volleys.

Volleyers benefits from playing on fast courts, such as the grass courts. The quick bounce and faster pace of play give an advantage to volleyers. The number of serve and volley players are decreasing in today's professional tennis.

Some of the great ones in history are John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter, Jana Novotná and Martina Navratilova. Active players today include Tim Henman and Taylor Dent.

All-court player

All-court players lie somewhere in between baseliners and volleyers. They usually have an attacking game, mixing some groundstrokes and volleys to keep the opponent guessing. They are very versatile; when an all-court player's baseline game is not working, he may switch to a net game, and vice versa. A disadvantage is that usually an all-court player can not excel in one particular aspect; he may be good, but not great, on a variety of shots.

One of the best all-court players of all time is Pete Sampras. Great all-court players today include Roger Federer and Justine Henin-Hardenne.