The Strategy Zone:
Introduction

Nick Bollettierri with Lance Luciani

There is more to this game than just hitting ball. After 50 years in tennis I can tell you that for certain. Many, many players become proficient at striking the tennis ball. In terms of ball striking they may reach the world class level. But so many times, when it comes to performing during competition, they come up short.

Ball striking alone will not win matches. It's true at the professional level, and it's true at all levels. Too many players see tennis points only in terms of the spectacular shots that make TV highlights. They see players hitting winners from various points on the court, and think that these shots are the most important shots in tennis. Unfortunately, by emphasizing these shots, they are setting themselves up to fail.

What determines who wins points, what sets up the highlight shots we all love to see, are the underlying patterns of placement and shot combination. Hitting the ball is one part of the game. Hitting the ball to certain places is another part of the game. Putting these two factors together creates the total package you, or any player, needs to win.

For the past several years, I have worked closely with Lance Luciani, one of the world's leading experts in video and statistical analysis of professional tennis, to develop what we call the Strategy Zone system.

Strategy Zone is a step-by-step breakdown of how the best players in the world develop their games. It's based on what I and my staff have learned in a lifetime of coaching, combined with Lance's analysis of hundreds of elite players.

The system is designed to reshape the way players look at tennis. It does this by showing you how to understand and master what we call the 3 Phases of the Point. These phases are: Control, Hurt and Finish.

The Strategy Zone then shows you how these 3 phases can be combined to build points intelligently. If you want to win matches, your goal should be to use these phases to set up routine winners, winners that you can hit match in and match out--not just the highlight shots on television.

Strategy Zone is the first complete system developed to build these components from the ground up. It is a system designed to help everyone involved in competitive tennis at all levels: coaches, players, and parents. And now we are going to share that system with you here on Tennisplayer.

Control, Hurt, Finish

To put it very simply, the game is made up of 3 parts. We call these parts or phases: Control, Hurt, and Finish. These are the 3 phases that the top players go through, and that you must master them all if you want to develop the same ability to win. We will start by breaking strategy down into these fundamental components, and then putting the components together into winning shot combinations.

As I watch the top pros, one fact sticks out. Every ball they hit has a purpose. They are constantly implementing these 3 phases: gaining control of the point, hurting their opponent by opening the court, and then finishing the point with a wide array of shot types and placements.

That's what we are going to teach you to do. To hit every ball with a purpose designed to help you win points. If you can learn to execute the shots and the combinations on the practice court through fed ball drills, live ball drives, you can translate it into match play. This is the way to build your game. And the reverse is also true. If you can't do all these things in controlled conditions, you don't have a prayer of actually doing it in matches.

Phase 1: Control the Court

Control is your ability to take control of the rally. Control is your ability to stretch your opponent and knock them off balance. It's about stretching out the court. In the Control Phase, you exercise a dominating influence over your opponent.

There are many basic ways to accomplish this and take control, and we will explore them all. We begin with your first shot on every point, either the serve or the return.

This means learning the principles of strategy placements on the serve. It's knowing how to execute the wide serves and the T serves in both courts. By stretching out your opponent with the wide serve, you can gain control of the point from the first ball. By serving down the T you give your opponent less time to prepare, and quite often they will give you a defensive shot giving you control..

Andre Agassi wasn't known for his power on the serve. But he was known for controlling the points with his wide service placements. Justine Henin uses her serve like a magician to do the same thing. She gains control with the T serve, and with 2 additional shots she wins the point.

If your opponent is serving, then the beginning of the control phase is your return. So the second part of taking control is about return of serve placements. Especially on first serves, at the Academy we emphasize returning deep down the middle into the neutral zones right back at your opponent. This can rush the server. It can also confuse him in deciding which side to play the ball from, so you can neturalize his advantage and get immediate control.

The sharp angled return of serve, particularly on the second serve, can take your opponent wide out of the court and put them on the defensive. The goal is to take him inside the baseline, and outside the singles sideline. Don't think only of returning north and south on the second ball. This angled return can also put mental pressure on the server and make him more tentative in his delivery. Agassi and Monica Seles were masters of this return, as is Serena Williams.

Control from a Neutral Exchange

Control of the point can't always be established with the serve or the return. So the third aspect of the Control Phase is getting control in the rallies when the point begins with a more neutral exchange. This means learning to use angles, loops, and drop shots.

At the Academy, we emphasize the flat drive to the corner. This is the most basic shot for taking control of the point, and nobody does it better than Maria aharapova.

The second shot we emphasize is the off speed spin angle. Stretching out your opponent a sharp angle will often result in a defensive shot. Andre Agassi and Monica Seles both worked on this shot everyday when they were at the Academy.

The third shot is the high looping shot, forcing opponents to hit the ball above their shoulder. This will often result in errors or weak shots.

A drop shot can also be very effective at the right time on the right ball in the modern game, particularly when players play so far behind the baseline. It's another way of opening the court and getting control of the point that is part of a complete strategic game.

All these shots and patterns in the Control Phase--the serve and the serve return placements, the groundstroke drives, angles, loops and drop shots--are designed to lead to weak replies. This is what allows you to move on to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Hurt

We call Phase 2 "Hurt." Hurt is nothing more than a pattern that follows or is attached to a control shot. You must learn to recognize when you have control of the center of the court. Then you must learn to pressure the opponent with these patterns. In the Hurt Phase, your goal is to produce a feeling of physical and mental discomfort in the opponent.

In the Hurt Phase, you keep your opponent off balance so they don't know what's coming. You have already gained control, now keep it that way. You're not necessarily trying to hit a winner. You are trying to work a pattern that may set up a winner. If you control the patterns, eventually your opponent will give you a ball that will allow you to move on to Phase 3. As players learn to master Phase 2, to relax and hit combinations instead of rushing to finish, they make huge jumps in their results.

One strategy for hurting your opponent is learning to move him side to side with drives to the corners. This will exhaust him not only physically but mentally. When I traveled with Andre Agassi, it was almost like a show. He enjoyed punishing the opponent even when he had opportunities to finish the point early. He called this the "Bradenton to Las Vegas" strategy. That was his personality, but there are other more direct ways to set up the finish by hitting shot combinations.

In the Hurt Phase, you will learn two basic types of combinations to set up the finish. The first is what we call a "1-1 Combination." You hit a set up shot, and then a second shot that hurts the opponent sufficiently to allow you to move on to the Finish Phase. The 1-1 Combination is usually based on simple change of direction: hitting crosscourt and to open the court and then taking advantage of the opening by hitting down the line.

The second combination is what we call a 2-1 Combination. In this case you learn to hit two shots to set up the third shot. This third shot accomplishes the same goal of allowing you to move on to Phase 3. The 2-1 Combination is most effective after you have set it up with your 1-1 Combinations. For example, you hit crosscourt to open the court and when your opponent expects the next shot down the line, you go back behind him crosscourt, setting up the third shot to hurt your opponent and move to the finish.

In both cases you are systematically developing your ability to control the ball and execute precise placements with the goal of getting to finishing shot.

Phase 3: Finish

In the Finish Phase, you conclude the point and put your opponent out of his misery. Finish is directly related to control and hurt. It proceeds only from a mastery of the first two phases. But you must work on the putaway shot.

Remember, your goal is to build the point intelligently. You don't want to rush the finish. Too many players ignore the set up shots and try to finish at the wrong time from the wrong places on the court. Understanding the Control and Hurt Phases leads to better understanding of when to try to hit the put away shot.

In Phase 3, there are 4 different types of finishes we will explore. The first finish is the Groundstroke Finish, and here there are many variations depending on the shot combination patterns who have executed in Phase 2.

You must learn when you can spin the ball in the open court, and when it is necessary to flatten the shot out more. The great players like Maria Sharapova make these decisions correctly and this is why they are so successful in finishing when they have the opportunity.

The second is the Swing Volley Finish. This is becoming an increasingly important finish at all levels of the game. But we started it at the Academy in the late 1980's with Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, and Jim Courier. People thought we were crazy, but the history of the game showed we were right. The swinging volley has become a standard finishing shot in the pro game. But it works at all levels and for club players, it puts fear into the pushers who like to hit those high floating shots.

The third finish is the Transition and Net Finish. Look at Roger Federer or Tim Henman. A fluid transition is imperative. Especially in the modern game you must have a weak shot to attack. You must be able to pressure your opponent so that he attempts his passing shot on the run. But you should vary the transition shot, coming in off both sides and occasionally hitting behind your opponent to keep him guessing. The all around game is the key to success today.

The fourth finish is the Serve and Volley Finish. These finishes are some of the most dominating and effective in the game, and are under utilized from the pros on down. Players are now using the serve and volley as a surprise change of tactic to pressure the opponent to come up with a big pass in a tight situation when he may least expect it.

It's not easy, but the serve and volley has a place in the game at certain times. A big part of the reason players struggle is they don't connect the finishing volley with the first two Phases of Control and Hurt. To be effective, the serve and volley must begin with a well-placed serve. But the placement of the first volley is critical. You must know when to volley to the open court and when to hit back behind the opponent. As with the approach a volley you must put your opponent in the position of trying a difficult pass.

The most effective serve and volleyers have the courage to commit to this play. Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, and our own Max Mirni from the Academy. If you aren't willing to commit to trying the serve and volley you will be limiting the overall development of your game.

Strategy Zone and the Mental Game

As players embrace the Strategy Zone system, they learn to play opponents out of position more and more often. When you opponent is constantly out of position, you can stay more relaxed. When your opponent is out of position, you have more opportunities to hit winners further inside the lines.

The reality is that the time to try to finish the point is when you can hit to a large target area. This is the ability you will create with our system. If you have set up the point with the two previous phases, often you won't need to hit the ball really hard to the open court. You winners will look easier and will be easier to execute.

Again, forget about those highlight winners. They will come on their own. You cannot force them to occur. Your best days are when you control and stretch your opponents, exhaust them, and then, almost mercifully, finish them--the culmination of the Strategy Zone process.

In the future articles we'll be showing you how to build all these varied components of a winning game. So stay tuned. It's time for you to start winning more matches.