Playing Against Players Above Your Level

We've all been in this situation.  You're engaged in a match against players that are clearly above your level.  You probably realized this during the warm up, or you knew before you played that you had virtually no chance to win.  It is a tough mental hurdle to overcome for sure.  It's also an almost impossible task to ask you to try to win the match. 

So, what can you do?  How can you attempt to make the match competitive, or at least comport yourself in the best possible way - playing to your best capabilities?

First let's talk about the mental side of this.  You can only control a few things on the court - what you try to do with your shot selection and movement after each shot. The serve is the only time you have complete control of your own shot.  You also have control over your court positioning at the beginning of every point. Where players immediately put themselves in a deeper hole is by thinking about everything that is out of their control.  That the other team is at a higher level is a fact, and you can't change it.  You can't control when they ace you, or blast return winners, or hit majestic overheads.  You can't control the fact that their slice is difficult for you to return or that you can't handle their pace from the back of the court.

When you play players your own level, you might be the most consistent player from the back of the court, but against players above your level, your stroke inefficiencies come out due to the speed of the ball and quality of the shot that forces you to move into uncomfortable positions.  So engaging said players in groundstroke to groundstroke cross court rallies in a one up one back set is a recipe for a quick match. 

Chances are, because your opponents are at a higher level, they will move more at the net, poach more, and generally be more aggressive and successful wit that aggression.  So being in the "hot seat" is likely not where you want to be.

So here are some tactical considerations if you find yourself outgunned and over-matched -

Get to net - Hit the return and come in (unless you give them a short lob), serve, and hit the next ball and come in.  Lob the net player and get in.  Just don't engage in a losing crosscourt groundstroke rally.  This tactic assumes you can handle the pace of their groundstrokes with your volley.  If you or your partner simply cannot, you may have to choose the next tactic on the list.  Getting to the net eliminates your weakness (groundstrokes) from being an element of the match.  Now, you get to see who the better team is at net.  Chances are, you will still lose the match simply because the other team is better all around, but perhaps this tactic will win you a few more points.  Consider this, if your success rate (points won) at the net is 45% and your success rate at the baseline hitting groundstrokes is 20%, which position will make the match more competitive?  Always do what wins the highest percentage of points.

Play two - back - This is smart if the opposing team has really great serves that you might be able to get a racquet on, but can't consistently control the direction of the return.  Playing both back against big servers saves your partner from getting obliterated in the "hot seat."  It also may relax you just enough to start directing the return with more confidence, knowing you aren't setting up your partner to get another tennis ball tattoo.  In addition, if you cannot control your volley because you are being overpowered by the groundstrokes of your opponent, this tactic will allow you to get a few more balls back, lengthening the points.  Remember, the longer the point, the better chance they might make an error.  Of course, don't get upset when they start hit short angles and dropshots on you.

Lob - A lot  - Lobbing will eliminate two potential strengths from your opponent - their groundstrokes and their volleying. They may still beat you with good overheads, but at least you did something to take away their strengths.  For you and your partner, you effectively slow the game down to a more manageable pace.  You just might frustrate the other team enough into losing it mentally and making boatloads of errors.  Or you might lose every point after they hit their first overhead.  Wouldn't you like to find out?  If choosing this strategy, I would play both back on their serve AND yours.

Gamesmanship - Nothing gets a player out of the "zone" like having to think about what it is they're doing to play so well.  On the changeover, ask the other players "Man you're serving great today, what are you doing on your serve that makes it so precise?"  Or something like "I wish I had volleys like yours, what are you doing that makes them so good?"  These comments are benign really, but you may just get them to start thinking about how they hit the ball, which can be disastrous during a match.  You may just start seeing a few more errors creep into their game, or more first serves being missed.  People tend to frown upon "gamesmanship," but when framed as a compliment to your opponent, it usually goes undetected.

Gamesmanship #2 - Take extra time between every point.  Put your hand up like you're not ready to receive serve before every point.  Take extra time before you serve each point.  If the team is going to kill you, make them stay out there as long as possible.  The better players will usually want to play fast.  Don't let them dictate the pace of the match between points.  You dictate to them!  Don't give them what they want, give them what you want.  This slowed down pace of play may get them out their rhythm, or frustrate them just enough to get you a few more points and maybe even a few more games.  A lot of this can be done by simply meeting with your partner before every point.  After you meet, still put your hand up like you're not ready if the other team is serving.

You may try one or all of these in your match and still get blown out.  If that's the case, you had no chance to win, but at least you tried to do something different to make their life more difficult and yours a little more livable.  Sometimes that's all you can do.