If we were to survey all of the high school tennis teams around the world, we would find an enormous range of levels of play, from NTRP 2.5 (advanced beginner) to 6.0 (national competitor). Here, we will focus on the average singles player on a boys' high school tennis team, who is probably around NTRP 3.5. Some of what we see in such a player would also apply to an adult at the same NTRP level, but high school boys have certain tennis tendencies distinct from most adult players and very different from girls, whom we will discuss in a separate article.
Among average high school boys, two major varieties occur: the boomer and the retriever.
The boomer loves to go for the big, powerful shot, most commonly on forehands and first serves. At this level, he gets just enough in to encourage him to keep trying them. A lot of boomers go for the huge shot on the first ball of almost every point, but the smarter ones might wait until a second or third ball that looks easier to attack. Two or three balls is usually the limit of a boomer's patience.
Here are some of the best ways to handle a boomer:
- Out-steady him. For any 3.5 player, errors vastly outnumber winners, so getting a boomer to miss usually takes just getting the ball back reasonably deep a few times. Hitting your shots fairly high over the net is the safest bet, because you'll be sure to get the ball over and you'll also get more depth. Hitting down the middle will help you avoid missing wide, and it will give him less angle to use against you.
- Disrupt his timing. If you have any ability to mix the pace and spin of your shots, you'll probably make a big hitter miss more than he's used to, and his frustration will just make him miss more. Backspins are particularly effective, because when the ball slows more than usual on the bounce, your opponent will often have started his swing too early. Being early will make him meet the ball too far forward, resulting in a tilt that will make his hard shots sail long.
- Attack his second serve. A lot of boomers like to go for the big, flat first serve. When it goes in, it's tough, but its lack of spin keeps its consistency down, usually way under 50 percent. At this level, his second serve will also be flat, and thus quite slow and easy to punish. Practice attacking these slow, flat serves, because you will get good at it pretty quickly, and once you do, you'll put tremendous pressure on anyone who uses them. Attack them with whatever you have: hard shots to the deep corners, side pocket shots, drop shots, or approach shots. Once you've put a few away, the server will start to try a better second serve than he knows how to hit, and his resulting double-faults will frustrate him enough to disrupt his whole game.
- Test his versatility. Chances are, your opponent has one or two big shots and a whole lot of weak ones. Send him every kind of ball on every part of the court and see what he does. You might quickly discover that he can't hit a high backhand, for example, or that he's completely disoriented at the net. Once you find weaknesses, make him hit those shots on key points.
