Improving Anticipation in Tennis
Max Edelsack graduated from Marist College with a degree in sports communication. While he is experienced in announcing basketball, lacrosse, and soccer, Max Edelsack enjoys playing sports in his own right, especially tennis.
In tennis, when you learn to anticipate your opponent's shots, you effectively reduce your reaction time and give yourself more time to prepare for the return. To do so requires experience and a working knowledge of how a ball travels when hit in a certain way, as well as the ability to read an opponent's body language.
One of the key indicators of a player's intention is the position of his or her hips and shoulders. Your opponent is most likely to hit the ball at a comfortable angle, so watching the direction in which his or her hips point can tell you whether the next hit will be down or across the court. Watching the court can also give you information about direction, as players tend to hit toward the most open spaces on the court.
You will also benefit from learning the spin, travel, and bounce patterns of different types of shots. This becomes useful when you learn to watch the ball, rather than the player, and predict how the next hit will travel across the court. Once you are able to maintain this focus, you can evaluate the point of contact and trajectory almost instantly and move to respond.
Finally, if you have played against a particular opponent before, you can begin to gather information about his or her preferred shots and techniques. You can then use that knowledge to predict how and where the person is likely to hit certain shots. Also remember that if you set an opponent up to be outside of his or her comfort zone, you may need to be ready for a weaker hit.
