We all know the value of getting depth on our ground strokes. The ability to hit the ball with good net clearance so it lands close to your opponent’s baseline is a necessity for any player’s game. Still, if you only focus on keeping your shots as deep as possible, you’re not utilizing the entire court. Mixing in balls that you purposely hit short can vary your attack and make things difficult for your opponents–and I’m not talking about drop shots. These are short angles and chips that are hit with some pace and force your opponents to come off the baseline and inside the court. This puts them in a precarious position (do they attack the net or retreat to the baseline?) and gives you more options on your next shot. Here are a couple of things to remember when trying this strategy:
Keep the ball low: Hitting short to your opponent generally becomes problematic when it’s a nice, juicy high ball. Those shots get punished. But when the ball stays down, getting the ball back up is more of an issue, and your opponents have to be less aggressive. That’s why players like to use slices when hitting short because the ball tends to skid after the bounce. Using topspin is trickier as the ball bounces higher, so it’s wise to create angles that drag your opponents wide. It also makes good sense to be on or inside the baseline so you have sharper angles available.
Don’t ease up on your swing: One of the major pitfalls of intentionally hitting shorter in the court is that you often try to guide the ball. It definitely takes more finesse than it does to hit the ball close to the baseline, but you still need a full swing. Otherwise your shots will float and sit up for your opponents, or, worse yet, not even clear the net. Try to put more spin on the ball with a flatter trajectory. Watch a player like Roger Federer (a master of this tactic) hit a short, slice backhand, and you’ll notice that his racquet doesn’t slow down very much. Instead he cuts the ball more severely, giving it a tighter spin and lower net clearance.