Going for Par in Tennis?

The Definition of Par in golf: A number assigned to an individual hole and to the full collection of holes on a course that represents the expected number of strokes it should take to play each hole. If par for a round of golf is 72 (18 holes) and you took 72 strokes, you had an even-par round. This means that you only hit the ball 72 times during the course of your round.

Can you imagine hitting the tennis ball only 72 times during a tennis match? Playing singles sometimes it feels like I hit that many balls during just one game.

So what do I mean by going for par in tennis? I mean try to keep things even…win the points you should and limit the risks you take. By trying to keep “par” in your tennis match, you give yourself a better chance to win more matches.

First you need to focus on holding your serve. If you hold serve, then the worst you can do is lose in a tie break. For a lot of players this is the hardest part of tennis. There have been books written just on the subject of improving your serve. I’ve been playing tennis in this area for almost 17 years and rarely do I ever see anyone working on ways to improve their serve. I see a lot of people playing a lot of tennis matches, but just like a golfer going to the driving range to improve their drive, you need to take some quality time (by yourself or with a friend) and work on your serve. You should be able to hit are a topspin, a slice, and a flat serve (sometimes called a basic serve). Many times during a match choosing the right type of serve to hit makes all of the difference. Remember the serve is one of the few times you start the point in complete control. How your service points end often is a result of how you choose to serve the ball.

Next, I found an easy way to improve my golf score; I learned not to take as much risk. I often tried to hit a “winning shot” all the time instead of setting myself up to at least make par. This is especially true in tennis; sometimes we want to finish the point too soon by going for a “winning shot” instead of setting the point up with an easier higher percentage shot. This is often referred to “risk-reward”. There are times when I feel I have to go for a riskier shot, but I’ve improved my tennis game by looking for the higher percentage shot to hit instead. Make sure you don’t put yourself in a situation where you need to go for a low percentage shot.

Some other words of wisdom…control the situation instead of letting the situation control you. Don’t randomly hit the ball, put some thought into where you want the ball to go, that way you should be able to predict where your opponent is likely to hit the ball.

So, give it a try and go for “par” in your next tennis match. Work on winning the points you should (your serve), and limit the risks you take on your shots. My last piece of advice is don’t be afraid to lose (during practice) to get better, that’s why we practice, so we don’t lose in a match. So losing in practice really doesn’t matter as long as you are working on improving your game.

Article by: Jason Summers