In the Beginning...There Was Singles

Singles, what a magnificent game, the purest form of tennis play and guess what? Yup, we are all going to be playing more singles this summer, at least in the beginning! As of today, the USTA released formal guidelines stating that we will have two players on a court and we will play on every other court. While this news may make a doubles player cringe, please don’t worry, it doesn’t mean we will only be playing singles, it means there will be one player on each side of the net and there are tons of ways we can implement play that will work for everyone (one on one doubles, shadow and half court play, etc.).

Back to singles, the obvious is straight up singles, a direct one on one competition. A singles match tends to develop a rhythm between opponents that has a natural ebb and flow between attacking and defending. Singles is a game of strategy and execution. You and you alone own your victory or defeat.

There are many benefits to playing singles:

• What a workout! On average, a typical singles player burns 450 calories during a match

• Playing singles is a great way to stimulate, recognize and develop your mental acuity and stamina

• Singles is all about what game shows up across the net and what adjustments it will require for you to manage yourself and your strategy

• Playing singles will make you a better doubles player
  

Here is the simplest strategy for playing singles:

• Out rally your opponent by hitting the ball high and deep up the middle of the court. This keeps the ball out of your opponent’s strike zone and will make it difficult for them to create angle and pace

• If you’re playing a player as consistent as you are, the goal is for you to get a short ball return so you can end the point, this is your time to attack. The perfect responses to the coveted short ball return are hitting hard to the empty court, angling the ball off the court or hitting a drop shot

• Once your opponent is on the run, go to (or at least toward) the net, hit the ball out of the air to finish the point by taking away their time to get to the next ball

• Choose your moments to accelerate the pace and stay in charge of the match. Remember, the harder you hit the ball to your opponent, the faster the ball will come back to you

• Older, younger, fit, less fit, getting fit, fast, slow, love the baseline or love the net; everyone can be a singles player

………. and I have a secret to share, if you are playing singles correctly, you shouldn't be the one doing the running!

This weeks video is a timely and inspiring conversation with Andre Agassi