The score says 30–30. You have hit four decent groundstrokes; your opponent has returned every one with another slow, high ball. You decide the next shot must be a winner. It lands beyond the baseline.
The difficulty is not that the other player does nothing. They control height, depth and time, then let you carry the risk. At club level, that can be an effective tactic. Here is a better response than simply swinging harder.
1. Recognise the ball, not the label
A genuinely defensive lob over someone at the net is different from a high, looping baseline shot. Some opponents use both. For tactics, the important questions are where the ball will land, how high it will bounce and where you can make comfortable contact.
Before you swing, classify the incoming shot:
- Deep and high: protect your position. Move back if needed, make space and send a controlled ball deep.
- High but short: step forward if your timing allows. Take it on the rise or at a comfortable height and aim with margin.
- Short and sitting up: this may be the ball to approach on, rather than trying to crush it from behind the baseline.
A ball that looks slow is not necessarily easy. Its height may put it outside your preferred hitting zone.
2. Build the point in three phases
Think neutralise → displace → finish. First return the awkward ball safely. Then use depth or width to make your opponent hit while moving. Finally, commit when you receive a shorter reply and have good balance.
If phase two fails and the ball comes back deep, restart the pattern. You have not lost the rally because you did not hit a winner immediately.
An illustration: deep crosscourt, controlled ball to the open space, then an approach only if the reply really sits up. Vary the direction based on the opponent's movement; do not run the pattern automatically.
3. Taking it early is an option, not an obligation
Stepping inside the baseline can deny the opponent recovery time. But hitting on the rise requires practiced timing and a reliable contact point. If you are reaching shoulder-high or falling backwards, retreating and resetting is often the intelligent choice.
Choose one manageable height and rehearse it in training. You do not need to turn every moonball into a half-volley.
4. Use the net without walking into the next lob
A good approach needs enough depth or angle to make a comfortable lob difficult. Follow it, split-step as your opponent hits, and be ready for either a passing shot or an overhead.
If the opponent lobs well, there is no shame in going back safely and starting again. An improvised overhead while retreating is not a compulsory part of the plan.
A drop shot can work against a player stationed far behind the baseline, but only when you are balanced and can disguise it. A desperate drop shot from deep in your own court usually gives away control.
5. Give frustration a job
The most expensive mistake is deciding that a rally has lasted too long and must end. Replace that thought with a specific task: play the next ball deep, recover, and wait for a usable opening.
After each point, make a short reset routine: turn away from the net, breathe normally, select a target, return to position. Judge the quality of your decisions, not the apparent elegance of the opponent's strokes.
6. Two drills for your next session
Depth-before-attack: Have a partner send high, deep balls. Return six in a row beyond the service line. Only attack when the partner deliberately sends a short ball. The goal is to tell neutral balls from attacking balls.
Approach-and-lob: Start with a controlled short ball, approach to a clear target, split-step and have your partner alternate a pass and a lob. Recover backwards with safe footwork rather than swinging blindly.
7. Record the useful evidence
After the match, ask: Did I make errors from deep high balls? Did I take short balls too late? Did approaching the net create opportunities, or did I rush it? Write down the answers while you remember them.
Tennis Log can preserve your match context and private performance notes. It cannot measure your shot selection automatically from a score alone; your observations make the record useful.
The lesson: you need not out-hit a player who sends everything back. You need to recognise the right ball, earn a better position and stay patient enough to use it.