Where Should You Stand in Tennis? (Hint: It's Not Always the Middle!)

Have you ever played someone who always seems to be in the right place at the right time? Do you get beaten by opponents with weaker strokes than you, even when you feel like you're playing pretty well? If the answer to these questions is yes, there is probably a simple reason why: They are recovering to the right place on the court, and you are not.

This is not a question of hustle or fitness, but of geometry. If you are always returning to the center of the baseline after your groundstrokes, you are making a mistake! But don't worry, there is a simple fix, and if you follow this advice, you'll soon start to resemble that mysterious psychic opponent who seems to always be in the right spot. Let's get into it.

Imagine you receive a ball around the center of the baseline. What would be your two widest groundstrokes? Naturally, they would be the two corners of the court, deuce and ad.

But now let's say your opponent hits you a shot that takes you a bit wider. Now your options open up a little. No you can hit down the line, as well as a short angle cross court that will pull your opponent across the sideline. If your opponent was to stand in the middle of the court, they might be ok covering the down the line, but they would be vulnerable to your short angle shot. So, to compensate, a wise opponent would prepare a step or two towards the opposite side to you receive their shot.

You see, the idea of standing in the middle isn't wrong, per se, but players often misunderstand which middle is important. You don't necessarily want to stand in the center of the court, what you want to do is stand in the center of your opponent's two widest shots. The further you pull your opponent from the center, the more you need to stand opposite of where you hit in order to cover the short angle cross court. 

Of course, this also means that if you do hit a shot to the center of the court, the appropriate place to stand is the middle, but realize that recovery is not to a fixed place, but one that dynamically changes based on what you send to your opponent.

In conclusion, stop recovering to the middle after every shot. Here's your new rule: Recover to the opposite side of where you hit. Make this one simple adjustment and you will be shocked by your ability to get to your opponent's shots.

In my next post, we will build a simple strategy off this concept which will help you run less, be more aggressive, and hit a higher volume of your preferred stroke, so be sure to come back soon, or even better, sign up below to subscribe to receive this blog in your inbox the day it's released. You'll also get a free 8-point relaxation checklist to bring with you to the court so you can stay more relaxed and low-impact the next time you play.

Until then, stay loose!

The Zen Coach

PS - I made a podcast about this subject. Check it out here.