Better Tennis - Position In The Court

Principally, the court of the tennis ground measures thirty nine feet from its baseline to the net: and the player waits for ball in anyone of the two positions inside the court of tennis.

Primary position is at the area which is nearer to the net’s (court’s) center at an approximate distance of 3 ft from baseline (or approximately 36 ft far from net).

The secondary position involves standing roughly opposite to the ball at an approximate distance of 8 ft from net (or 31 ft away from baseline).

As all the players at baseline occupy the primary position, men at net take up the secondary position, which is also called the net position or position at the net.

You obviously would change your place from these primary or secondary positions to return the shots of your opponents, but after you have returned the shot of your opponent, you should come back to your original position as quickly as you can.

The place in the court from approximately 10 ft from the net toward the baseline is called “no-man’s-lank” or “blank” where you should not hang on; because if you hang on, there are chances that a deep stroke by your opponent player will drop at your feet, which is hard to pick up and return. If you are able to play a stroke from this blank area, as you will need to play very often (because this will be the primary area that your rival player will be focusing to cause maximum trouble to you), you should try and go to your primary position behind the baseline to hang on for the next stroke and come forward once again to return the stroke. On the other hand, if you are not able to reach behind the court’s baseline after completing the previous shot, you immediately should use the alternative of getting stuck at the position at the net as a substitute.

If you wait and remain at the same position from where you last had given the return, to watch the progress of the ball, you will overlook the chance to regain your anchor position which is at the court’s baseline or on the net, depending on the case, at the right time for the next stroke. Always think and try to understand that where your rival player next shot will come and try to reach at that point well in advance. Keep in mind that while running between shots you need to change your position when ball is in the air, so that you are not hurried in to play a bad shot once the ball jumps up.

Your anticipation will become better and better with experience and time, and it will play a big role in your success in the game that you play. Follow a simple rule of look and learn from other players who get into the right place just by instinct well before the next stroke. That’s why I recommend the position of coming to play the shot from behind the baseline as it is easier to play the shot while running forward compared with running backward to play the shot.

A tricky position to get yourself caught in is present at the net just after returning a short stroke towards your opponent. If you remain at this place, your rival will pass you at his will. It is this time that you need to make a fast decision and go to that place in the shortest possible time as your opponent swings and plays the shot. In arriving at this quick decisions, you inherently make a guess that which side of the court will he stroke the ball. If you think correctly, you win the point, and what if you think wrong, you lose the point; however, you will not be in a better position without this wrong decision, as without this you will end up giving easy opportunity to your opponent to earn the point.

Always plan you position in the court in a proper manner such that you should not sacrifice you safety at the same time covering the largest possible area. This is very significant as you need to cover any straight horizontal stroke from any position you are present; for it’s the most effective, and yet dangerous shot. Lastly, it comes down to one question of what extra court area you need to guard than the area from the ball to the net.

An excellent ground understanding of positions in the court would result in saving many points in addition to saving your energy by reducing the requirement of long runs in the court because of hopeless shots.

By: John B Mayall

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