January 8, 2010
Play weaker players to get better
By Matt Corey
Everyone at some point has heard the myth: The only way to improve your tennis game is to play people better than you. However, in order to achieve your maximum potential as you learn to play the game, one should strive to play 50 percent of the time with people at or near your level, 25 percent of the time with people better than yourself, and 25 percent of the time with people weaker than yourself. Everyone always yearns to play with someone better than they are, but if everyone played only with people better than them, then no one would play with anyone. Think about it, in order for you to play up, someone else must be willing to play down. What I intend to show you is how playing "down" properly can improve your game.
There is one simple reason the myth is false. Learning anything new requires you to learn it in progression from easiest to hardest and slowest to fastest. This is why immediately playing someone at your level or above your level upon deciding to institute a change isn't advantageous to the goal of improvement --- you would be learning out of progression. Think about it, what is easier --- playing someone you know you can beat under any circumstances, or playing someone you know you have little chance to beat? Learning out of progression begets bad habits in stroke technique and tactics, and can become very frustrating as you lose confidence in the change you are implementing.
A former assistant pro of mine in Williamsburg, Va. worked for a time at Saddlebrook when Pete Sampras was still training there and was No. 1 in the world. On multiple occasions, my assistant watched Sampras play practice matches against guys who were between 150-200 in the world. Sampras would simply kick his serve in play, and play entire sets from behind the baseline. Sampras was a serve and volley player, whose biggest weapon was his first serve, so why did he do this? In order to improve his baseline game by working on dictating points from behind the baseline. He was looking to improve his "B" and "C" game. He left his "A" game, the serve and volley, in the bag.
If you are learning new tactics or want to add more variety of shots to your game, playing weaker players first is ideal. Your "A" game is simply what you feel most comfortable doing out on the court during most points, and what you would tend to do under the most pressure. Consider anything that is not your "A" game, to be your "B" or "C" game depending on how much confidence you have in it. In other words, you want to play down enough where winning with your "B" and "C" games is competitive. For example, if you are a 4.0 grinder that stays back and retrieves all day (your "A" game), but want to take the next step and add more offense to your game by either taking the ball earlier, playing closer to the baseline, going for more on your shots on balls that allow you to move inside the baseline, or by adding serve and volleying to your arsenal, the best place to gain confidence with those new things, is in pressure free practice sessions with weaker players (in this case weak 3.5 or strong 3.0 players). Use all the time in the practice session, be it simply hitting or in point situations, to focus solely on the aspects of your game that you wish to improve. Leave your "A" game in the bag, just as Sampras would do.
Playing weaker players will allow you to see weaker replies from your opponent more often, thus giving you more opportunities to try your new offensive tactics. After several sessions against weaker players, once you have gained a degree of confidence in your new tactics, look to play someone at your level, and after several sessions against them, challenge yourself against someone better than you. This is the progression one must use in order to see the most improvement in one's game. The improved "B" and "C" games will then augment your "A" game, and you will begin to see better results in your league or tournament matches, as your overall game will have improved.
If you are learning a new backswing on the forehand or backhand, or any other stroke production change, then playing with a weaker player is perfect to work on that new technique; You won't be overpowered. In fact you will feel like you have plenty of time to get ready, and can work on the feel of the shots with no pressure. Proper footwork will be much easier to master against the slower ball as well. Play points and or games with the weaker player where you only use your new technique in order to gain confidence. From there, just as in the earlier example, start playing people at your level, and then players above your level.
Improving one's "B" and "C" gameplan, or improving one's stroke production is vital to improving one's overall game. By playing weaker players when you first implement a needed change, you learn in progression and gain much needed confidence in your new skill set. Make your new year's resolution this: To take advantage of a vastly untapped resource directly related to you reaching your tennis potential --- play with someone weaker than you. I promise, you'll both get something out of it.