Competitive Tennis Levels Guidelines

When reading Competitive Tennis Guidelines, please read the levels immediately preceding and following yours, because they educate you in the natural progressions involved in learning tennis and show you where you've been and where you're going. You know exactly what is exepcted of you at each level and what to do to improve your game enough to be successful and reach the next level!

As a 2.5-player your objectives are basics. To become successful at your level and advance to the 3.0 level, you have to conquer five tasks.

1. Develop consistency and
2. Directional intent.
3. Learn the defensive lob and
4. How to return high balls.
5. Learn positioning.

The keys to success for the 2.5-level player are threefold:

1. You need to develop the proper form on your groundstrokes and service motion.
2. Learn to stroke within your power range.
3. Learn the basics singles and doubles strategy.

The 3.0-level player's objectives are naturally a more specific extension of the basics that we learned at the 2.5-level.

You begin to learn the all-court game, and become aware of the more complicated strategies involved in playing competitive tennis. However, remember that the basics are the foundation that make the all-court game successful.

Consider to master the following:

• Consistency - you must be able to hit one more ball back than your opponent.
• Placement - ability to control the direction and depth of the ball.
• Positioning - knowing where to stand on the court before the point begins and where to move when the ball is in play.
• Learn to attack - know how to attack or approach the net effectively.
• Develop two specialty shots: the drop shot and the overhead - this is the final objective of the 3.0-level player.

The keys to succeed at this level are:

1. Learning to hit deep.
2. Learning to volley.
3. Learning what strategy to use once the ball is in play.

Now the objectives as a 3.5-level player change because your competition becomes multidimensional.

For example, in doubles you now play against a few teams that play two-back, but you mainly play against teams that play the one-up, one-back and two-up formations. However, the tactical side is that they play these formations better, quicker, and smarter than at the 3.0 level.

You can be sure that at the 3.5 level, a successful two-back team although rarely found as you climb the NTRP Ladder, hits every ball back, moves fairly well, and lobs execeptionally well. Also, consider that a successful team that plays predominantly the two-up formation moves forward and backward quickly, approaches well, and volleys consistenly and with authority when necessary. This is a big change from the competitive tennis levels you've seen so far.

To be successful at this level you have to diversify yourself by adding more specialized shots and strategies to your knowledge of the fundamentals of stroking and strategy.

The good news is that we've already gone over some of the objectives you need to be successful at the 3.5-level in the 3.0-level so it should make it easier for you to assimilate into the 3.5-level.

These are additional points to consider to become a 3.5-level player:

1. Change the way you view a match - think about each point in terms of offense and defense.
2. Learn how to hit backspin from the baseline - learning to hit backspin helps diversify your offensive and defensive games.
3. Learn how to serve with spin - a prerequisite for learning spin serve is to make sure you're using the proper grip.
4. Learn how to hit low and wide volleys - definetely a must for success at the 4.0 and higher competitive tennis levels, especially in doubles.
5. Learn the Offensive Lob - a specialty shot, a combination of lobbing defensively and hitting the ball 5-6 feet over the net.

The keys to success still involve the fundamentals but with a more technical and mental aspects of competitive tennis included. In other words, you can't be a one-dimensional player at this level and expect to move up to the next. You need to know when to attack, when to change your game plan, and when to retreat.

The objectives at the 4.0 level have little to do with the strategic aspects of the game than they did at the 3.5 level. Rather, they deal more with the physical aspects of refining the shots you already have because the difference is in the ability to execute shots and strategies better.

Think of the following:

• Develop Consistency in All Areas of Your Game.
• Learn to Hit Topspin
• Develop the Diversity of Your Serve.
• Develop Different Types of Shots.

The Keys to Success at the 4.0 level are merely the same as at the 3.5 level with one general exception:

You Have to Execute Better in All Areas of Your Game.

These are all components of better execution:

• Hit with consistent depth on all your shots.
• Increase the pace of your game.
• Become comfortable at the net.
• Improve your offensive and defensive skills.
• Modify your strategy.

The competitive tennis level of a 4.5 is practically related to the objectives of those at the 4.0 level. The only exception is a mental objective. You need to play multidimensionally in order to win at a competitive tennis level.

To do this you ought to have as many ways as possible to beat your opponent and they are:

• Develop consistency in your ability to compete.
• Learn to put good backspin on your volley.
• Learn the inside-out forehand.
• Learn the topspin serve.
• Learn the top spin lob.

The Key to success at the 4.5 level are much the same as at the 4.0 level and specifically you have to add more aggressive shots to your repertoire. Also, you need to better disguise your weaknesses, because you opponents are better able to take advantage of them.

Focus on these mental attitudes:

• Gain confidence in executing all the shots you learned at the 4.0 level.
• Work on your weapon
• Improve your weaknesses.
• Cover up your weaknesses.
• Use your first serve to set up the point.
• Perfect the strategies you learned at levels 3.5 and 4.0.

The 5.0-level is where you have all the shots. Three are the main differences between 4.5- and 5.0-level players:

1. You have more shots with which to beat your opponent.
2. You execute the shots and strategies better than at the 4.5 level.
3. You are a better mental player because you are "match wise" This is the most important trait because it's not longer who has the best shots but it's who can figure out how to win; how to exploit the opponent's weakness and how to cover up their weaknesses the best.

Beyond the 5.0 level generally you hit dependable shots and serves in stressful situations and have developed good anticipation. You can read your opponent's toss, body position, backswing and preparation. You analyze and exploit your opponent's weaknesses and have developed power and/or consistency as a major weapon. Also, you vary strategies and style of play in competitive tennis matches.

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