The Importance Of The First Two Shots In Tennis

Something I have taken from my own personal tennis bible, and maybe this will help you in your singles game;

FACT:
Most unforced errors occur in the first 2 shots of the point i.e.
• Either the serve or the shot hit after the serve
• Or the return of serve or the shot hit after the return

Cut out these errors from your game and you will have already improved your game a level or two.

So what is the key to cutting out these errors?

Goals for the first 2 shots are the key.

Are you trying to serve an ace straight away or are you trying to hit a winner off the return immediately? We are not saying this can’t be done but more often than not these goals tend to lead to unforced errors.

4 Questions you must ask yourself as it all depends on how you feel you are playing.

1. Have you got the measure of your opponent yet?

2. Can you read and time your returns against their serve?

3. Is your serve going exactly where you want it to go?

4. Where are their weaknesses?

One of the best ways to play yourself into a match is to play the centre theory.

On the return of serve… …and the next shot… aim the ball with topspin or slice down the middle of the court, trying to keep the ball deep to your opponent, then do exactly the same thing with the next shot.
You will find that you are now in the point and finding your timing and rhythm. This will lead you to gain more confidence and be able to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses or be able to move them about more.
Most importantly you are competing in the point and usually the points are then won through good play… rather than lost through unforced errors.

Once you are through the first 2 shots you can then start to become more attacking and go for your shots.

When hitting your serve… …try the same tactic again at first. Aim your serves down the centre of the service box giving yourself a wide margin for error. Do the same with second serve. (This all depends on the state of your serve… if you have an accurate confident serve then you may want to aim at the weaknesses or spaces straight away?)

With the next shot play it deep down the middle of the court with topspin or slice.
After this you can try exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses or make them move around the court.
The longer the match goes on; you will feel more confident as you are reading their game and timing the ball better. You will feel that you are in the match and are competing.
As your confidence rises you may start to go for better quality targets than the middle of the court. e.g. Aim your return into your opponents backhand side of the court and then again with the second shot. (You will have many options but try to keep it simple and focused)

If the errors return you simply revert back to the 2 shot rule down the middle of the court and build again.

In conclusion
Many people see matches run away from them without really competing in them because they give away too many unforced errors within their first 2 shots of a point. If you can stick to the 2 shot rule in your matches with definite goals for both of them… you will eradicate unforced errors from your game and give yourself the best chance to truly compete with your opponent.