November 1, 2016 - How Do You Win and Lose Points?

Most players only have a vague idea of how they win and lose points. Ask them how they won or lost most points, and they really don't know. They just have a general idea of their playing style or game plan, and don't really get any feedback on its success, i.e. what is working and what is not.

Top players who have played many years generally get a good feeling for this, though not always. But if you want to become a top player, you need to develop this sense of what works and what does not. How do you do that?

Videotape yourself playing a few matches. Then watch the video, and keep track of how each point was won or lost, from your perspective. (You can also have a coach do this for you.) Did you win it with your serve (receiver missed it or popped it up), with serve and attack (serve set you up for an attack, though not an easy winner), receive, forehand or backhand loop, forehand or backhand drive, blocking, placement, consistency, pushing, lobbing, or what? Make a chart and keep track, adding columns for each type of thing that wins a point for you as they come up. Also keep track of how many points you won with different serves and receives.

When you've done this, you might have a better idea of what works and doesn't work, and with that feedback, you can both develop your game to focus on what works, develop the parts that aren't working, and get a better feel in match play for what is tactically working or not working.