Most TT matches at the high levels have a paradoxically low shot average per point, usually less than 4. Yet most players trying to improve paradoxically spend most of their time on rally shots rather than serves, serve receives, first attack and counter attack. It's one of those facts that is easy to explain but still hard to completely rationalize.
However, one of the most underutilized tools for analyzing a match is to apply the 5 shots + rally framework to each point to see how the points evolved. If you do so, certain things become clearer.
So what is the framework? The framework is to take each of the first 5 shots of the the point and see how the patterns are evolving. In this way, you get a better read on what is happening in the match. This is even before you get to the rally.
The reason why this framework is not consciously used by people is that sometimes, the strengths/weaknesses that show up in the rally are very similar to the strengths and weaknesses that show up in the first 5 shots so some people just assume that a general strength is always a general strength (wow he has a good forehand) and a general weakness is always a general weakness (he has a bad backhand). However, a nuanced analysis of the first 5 points and the actual sequence of shots can lead to new ideas and opportunities if you take your time to look at them. This can help you figure out why you and/or your opponent are winning points and moves you from the land of ignorance to the land of awareness. Sometimes, your opponent may be doing things to you that you are not aware of and that is fine - there are subtle things that are not easy to spot. But as long as you add to your toolkit for understanding the game, you will always know what you need. Some of these will actually help you see that people may have weaknesses, but that they only show up in transition/footwork, and not on base strokes.
A common example is when someone is said to have a good backhand - what does that mean? Is the backhand good vs all shots? Is it good vs backspin or good vs topspin? Is it good at making the opening shot, good in a rally or both? I have played players with good backhands vs. backspin but poor backhands vs topspin, such that if you served backspin to their backhand, you would get killed, but if you served topspin, you would get a poor return. And there are players who can make a good first shot with their backhand, but if you survive that shot and return the ball back to the backhand, all you get are weak rally shots. The same logic can be applied to the forehand as well. Of course, having good opening shots is better than having good rally shots in the bigger scheme of things because a good opener has to be returned to get into the rally. But the distinction helps because it shows you want you have to survive to get into the point.
There are also players who have imbalanced games in specific ways. For example, I have played a lefty junior often in my TT career who struggled with fast balls to his forehand and slow balls to his backhand. Therefore, if you wanted to push or slow spin, you were better off going to the backhand, while if you wanted to attack hard, you were better off going to the forehand. On his backhand, he blocked well but could not loop underspin. On his forehand, he countered badly, but had a large and powerful opening stroke which he could use pretty well against slow blocks.
Sometimes, people with good strokes have strokes that fall apart when forced to move. Against another lefty junior, I was losing badly in a tournament match. He had been looping the ball off both sides with spin and power and my countering game was dreadful. I also couldn't do much with his serves and often missed them outright. In a moment of inspiration. I decided to serve short to his forehand (it's a usual strategy for me, but because he was a lefty, I was doing it wrongly initially), and when he pushed the ball back, I pushed into his backhand. The backhand loop he had been making all day prior to this began to fall apart as he missed loop after loop. Nothing his transition problems, I used this play and other in-and-out plays which forced him to move to get back into the match. Had I just accepted that he had a good backhand loop rather than seeing whether he could make that loop while moving to the ball, I would have lost that match easily. In other words, serving underspin directly to the backhand failed, but serving to the forehand, getting a return and pushing to backhand worked. Details do matter.
Such details help you see how your opponents score points against you. It might not just be serves to your forehand, but topspin serves to your forehand that you miss. OR your opponent might realize that if he serves you long to the backhand, you recover poorly to the forehand. OR your opponent might always attack the third ball crosscourt which you can use to your advantage if you realize this is what he does. OR he might always return the serve cross court as well, which you can use to anticipate the return and gain time setting up your third ball. Sometimes, the understanding lets you know what needs to be done or what needs to be practiced to beat a particular player.
I mentioned a few of the common points but there are many more dimensions as well. As you experience and stroke quality improves, many more ideas become possible and accessible. However, that will never change the need to think in terms of the first 5 shots of a point. Your goal should be to get an advantage in this initial battle as early as possible. There are too many possibilities for spin misreads beyond this that are too uncontrolled. Also, using this framework, you will become more aware of how many points are won after you play the first attack and this will inspire you to attack earlier. You may also appreciate more how often you lose when you don't play the first attack.
The first 5 shots tend to be relatively familiar territory for most people who practice. And if you can turn it into familiar territory for you but unfamiliar territory for your opponent, you have won half the battle!
======================================================================================================================= So the 5 shots + rally framework is to look at both your serve points and your opponent's serve points and answer the following:
1. SERVE
The key thing here is that the serve must get a passive and/or predictable return from the returner. If the serve wins the point outright, that is good but not necessary. IF the receiver has too many options to confound the server, then serves must be adjusted to restrict those options based on what the receiver seems to not do well.
What spins are being serve? (spin) Where are the serves being placed? (placement) Are they high spin or low spin, fast or slow? (Speed/power) Are the serves low or high? (bounce height) Where are the serves being served with? (forehand or backhand side of racket) Where are the serves being served from? (left or right court) What is the server trying to do? (goal) Who is winning the points or getting the advantage post receive?
2. RETURN
The most important general question here is whether the return permits third ball opportunities or puts the server under pressure by denying an attack or creating a quality ball that may win the point outright. The details of this are often based on looking at how a specific serve was returned.
What kinds of receive are being used? (spin) Where are the received being placed? (placement) Are they aggressive or passive? (speed/power) Are the returns low or high(height)? What side of the racket/stroke is being used? (forehand or backhand) Does the receiver have to move and if so how? (movement/footwork) What kind of placements are typical against a particular kind of shot (anticipation)? What is the receiver trying to do? (goal) Who is winning the points or getting the advantage post receive?
3. THIRD BALL Is the server aggressive on his third ball opportunities? (goal/speed/power) Where are the third ball opportunities being placed? (placement) What kinds of strokes are being used? (spin) What side of the racket/stroke is being used? (forehand/backhand) Does the server have to move and if so how? (movement/footwork) What kind of placements are typical against a particular kind of shot (anticipation)? Who is winning the points at this stage?
4. FOURTH BALL Is the return aggressive on his fourth ball opportunities? (goal/speed/power) Where are the fourth ball opportunities being placed? (placement) What kinds of strokes are being used? (spin) What side of the racket/stroke is being used? (forehand/backhand) Does the returner have to move and if so how? (movement/footwork) What kind of placements are typical against a particular kind of shot (anticipation)? Who is winning the points at this stage?
5. FIFTH BALL Is the return aggressive on his fifth ball opportunities? (goal/speed/power) Where are the fifth ball opportunities being placed? (placement) What kinds of strokes are being used? (spin) What side of the racket/stroke is being used? (forehand/backhand) Does the server have to move and if so how? (movement/footwork) Who is winning the points at this stage? What kind of placements are typical against a particular kind of shot (anticipation)?
6. RALLY Who is winning the rally points when the first five shots are over? What kinds of shots are being used? (use all the dimensions in previous questions) What kind of placements are typical against a particular kind of shot (anticipation)?
_________________ Cobra Kai TT Exponent (Mercy effs up your Game) One-Loop Man: One Loop... Again???? Lumberjack TT Exponent
"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus
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