# Shot Selection and Percentage Tennis · Tennis Level 6: Advanced

Tennis · Level 6: Advanced · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/tennis/level-6/shot-selection-and-percentage-tennis/)

Why some shots succeed more often than others: margins for error, the height of contact, what the match statistics say, and how much patience a rally needs.

## Test 1: Margins for error

- Height over the net is margin: a higher arc forgives a mistimed swing and usually carries the ball deeper. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Fatigue widens the spread of a player's shots; a larger target keeps more of that spread inside the court. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- An opponent may play a ball that was going long, or misjudge it; a ball in the net gives them nothing to get wrong. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Without topspin pulling it down, a flat ball must travel lower to land in, which leaves less room over the net and inside the baseline. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Playing within yourself means choosing pace and targets you can repeat, so errors stay low. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Missing three in ten when relaxed means missing more under pressure; a bigger target keeps the success rate up. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- A ball that arrives at a comfortable height and position allows risk; a difficult ball calls for margin. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- The further a target sits from the lines, the more a small error is forgiven. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- The ball and the position decide the risk, and the risk decides the target. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- A lands well inside both lines, so a small error would still have been in; B had no room at all. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))

## Test 2: Contact height and the strike zone

- From below the tape the ball must rise to clear the net, so the player cannot drive it down into the court. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- At waist height in front of the body a player can swing freely and drive the ball with control. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- An open face naturally lifts a low ball, and the backspin keeps it under control. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Moving in or back brings the contact nearer the comfortable zone instead of fighting a ball at the shoulder. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- The rising ball arrives sooner and changes height quickly, so timing becomes harder. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Close in, a ball can be met above net height and driven downward; from deep it must arc up and over. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- A ball at the feet gives no room to attack; a deep, safe reply keeps the point neutral. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- The lower the contact, the more the ball must be lifted, and the less it can be attacked. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- The read comes first, then getting low, a safe lift, and the next position. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Waist height in front of the body is the strike zone; low and very high balls need more care. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))

## Test 3: Reading match statistics

- A forced error comes from pressure: the opponent's shot made the ball hard to return. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- When unforced errors clearly outnumber winners, the player is handing over points; usually less risk helps. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- The second serve is usually the weaker one, so winning points behind it is a sign of a solid service game. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Saving many break points means the server plays well under the most pressure in a service game. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Hold percentage is service games won divided by service games played. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- If one player wins most short points and the other most long ones, each knows which kind of point to aim for. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- A player who wins the short points should try to keep points short with strong first shots. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- A break to love beats a break at deuce, which beats taking the game to deuce and losing it, which in turn beats losing the game to love. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Charting starts with a clear list of what to count and ends with lessons for the next match. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- In set 1 winners outnumber unforced errors; in set 2 the errors are about double the winners. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))

## Test 4: Patience and shot tolerance

- Shot tolerance is a player's ability to keep hitting reliable rally balls; the more they can, the more the opponent must risk. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- If the ball keeps coming back, the opponent has to aim closer to the lines, and errors follow. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- A long neutral rally is no reason to attack; the right ball to attack is the one that lands short. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Attacking a deep or difficult ball is a low-percentage choice, so the impatient player errs first. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- The set-up shot does not try to win the point; it creates the ball that will. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Off balance and at full stretch, a player cannot control an aggressive shot well. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- A balanced opponent behind the baseline has not been pressured yet, so the rally stays neutral. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- A point is usually built from neutral balls to a set-up and then a finish. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- The more good balls a player can sustain, and under more pressure, the higher their shot tolerance. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))
- Shot 2 moves the opponent wide and creates the space that shot 3 finishes into. (Source: General coaching reference (shot selection))

Sources: ITF coach-education materials, ITF Coaching & Sport Science Review, federation curricula, general coaching references; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered ITF rules belong to the Rules category.

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