Marginal Gains:
Top Shots and Set Up Shots

Nick Wheatley

In 2018, Kyle Edmund finished ranked No.14 in the world--the 14th best player on the planet. Yet, he lost 48% of all the points that he played. That's right, being able to win 52% of his total points was enough to rank him that high, amongst the tennis elite, and with the ability to gain huge earnings from prize money and sponsorship.

As you move down the rankings, winning 50% of total points in ATP Tour level events is good enough to comfortably maintain your position in the Top 100, while winning 55% will usually be enough to make you the No.1 player in the world. (Click Here for more detail on that from Craig O'Shannessy.)

These numbers are not only true on the tour. They translate to every level of the game all the way down to your local club singles league. Whatever level you play at, being able to win an extra 1% or 2% or 5% of the total points you play can make a huge difference in your results.

Understanding

This series is about how to find those extra few points. How? By better understanding the game of tennis. By better understanding your own game. And then, based on this understanding, adopting some new practice and game strategies.

In this first article, we'll look at understanding your strengths and finding your top shot and a series of set up shots. In the next we will talk in detail about patterns and shot combinations.

From there we'll help you define and understand your own game style. Then, based on this improved understanding, we'll move on to how you can change your practice routines to develop the ability to make the marginal gains that change the outcomes of matches.

Understanding your tennis game is something that you may think you do already, but often when asked to go through the process outlined below, players are surprised to find they gain a deeper understanding that they had not previously uncovered.

Favourite Shots

The process begins with identifying your favourite shots off the ground. I am asking you to make 3 choices from the following 6 groundstrokes.

When choosing these shots, make the assumption that you are hitting these shots in a neutral or attacking capacity, not a defensive one. In other words, when you have sufficient time to play the shot on your terms. These are:

Players who favour their backhand side may also wish to include the backhand inside out and inside in shots, though this is not that common.

Once you have your 3 favourites, the next step is to narrow it down to a top shot. This should be the shot that is likely to be your strongest shot and/or the one you are most confident hitting. It should be the shot that often results in you winning the point, or setting you up in a very strong position.

Set Up

Once you pick your top shot, the next step is to work out a set up shot for your top shot. This is based on the assumption that the majority of all shots are played on crosscourt diagonals. This includes forehands inside out, hit on the same diagonal as backhand crosscourts.

Hitting on the crosscourt diagonal is the less risky and the higher percentage play. For this reason, if you hit your forehand down the line, you should expect your opponent to play the ball back crosscourt most of the time.

That can set you up for a backhand crosscourt, a backhand down the line or a forehand inside out or inside in. If you hit a backhand down the line returned crosscourt by the opponent, it can set you up to hit a forehand crosscourt, or a forehand down the line. Likewise, an inside out forehand can set you up to hit a forehand inside in.

Nadal quite often goes the other way, using his forehand inside in to a right hander's backhand to create pressure and set up another forehand.

If your top shot is a crosscourt shot, either a forehand or a backhand crosscourt or a forehand inside out, then it's likely the same shot will be the best set up shot for you as well. But, for the purpose of this exercise, I recommend choosing an alternative shot for your set up shot to generate more options.

So here are all the set up shot options for all the possible top shots. As you can see, the options are similar, depending which side you are hitting your top shot from.

When choosing your options for set up shots, you should also calculate how much movement you may have to do between the set up and the top shot.

For example, a Forehand Down the Line set up shot for a Forehand Inside In or Inside Out top shot involves the maximum distance, as you have to move from the forehand side all the way across to the backhand side and get around the ball to play the next shot.

It's still feasible, especially if your opponent's reply is weak, and you don't strike the Forehand Down the Line from too far wide. Another example of maximum distance is an Forehand Inside In setting up either a Forehand Crosscourt or a Forehand Down the Line.

A great way to see what works for you is to have a coach feed you the set up and then the top shot, with increasing amounts of distance between them, and then to do the same rallying with a partner.

This will give you a realistic feeling for how far you can really move in matches and execute the top shot with authority. By doing this repeatedly you may adjust your fav shots or even your top shot.

Next we will look at how the crosscourt diagonals figure into using your fav shots and your top shot. Stay Tuned.