Pulling the trigger to go down the line is tricky, but knowing when and how to do it properly will change will make this simpler. Hitting the ball down the line is more difficult than hitting crosscourt because it is a lower percentage play; the court is shorter, the net is higher, and generally changing directions just complicates things with your stroke. I have come up with a few quick tips to help you understand when and how you should be going down the line. I try to keep this as simple as possible so you will be able to incorporate these things into your game with little adjustment period.
When you hit the ball down the line, you should focus on 3 things: your own position in the court, your opponent’s position in the court, and how the ball was hit to you.Going down the line is not “one size fits all.” That’s where you will have to make the decision in the moment.
In short, there are two main reasons to hit down the line. One is to be aggressive (put your opponent on defense) and the other is to get out of a pattern you don’t like. These factors work together in your decision to go down the line and it will help you to weigh the risk and reward.
In this article, I go into detail of the 3 factors to consider when going down the line. After that, I explain why you would go down the line to exit a pattern you do not want to be in. Let’s get into it.
1) Your own court positioning:
Changing down the line becomes less effective if you are further behind the baseline. This is because the earlier you can take the ball, the less time your opponent has to react.
Notice how in the diagrams below, the player changing directions inside the baseline (left) has less distance to cover with their ball. The player on the right has a further distance to cover, so they will have to be sure to create more margin (if not, better to play it crosscourt).
while the player on the right is unable to really attack.
You should also be aware of your positioning side to side. Going down the line while further off the court lowers your margins and takes away reward, as you may be hurt on the following ball. Again, it’s not “one size fits all” but it is typically better to play high percentage tennis.
You can also see that in the picture on the left, you will be able to get the ball moving away from your opponent. Obviously your margin is bigger as you are more towards the middle, but that doesn’t mean you should never change directions on the move.
As you see in the next diagram, your margin goes way down if you are pulled outside of the alley.
You can see that not only is your margin small, but you are also forced to hit back into your opponent. This is not a smart play because now your opponent is barely forced to move and they have the entire court open for the next ball.
If you do happen to change directions when behind the baseline or further off the court, it will most likely be to get out of a pattern you don’t like. You will need to give yourself more margin and height so that you are not hurt on the following shot. This will give you time to recover as well as less risk for error. Obviously the better position you are in, the more likely you will be to play your ball down the line effectively.
2) Your opponent’s court positioning:
The further your opponent is off the court, the easier it is to go down the line. Why? You will have a big target to be aggressive to, and you will be able to dictate with a ball you are still comfortable with.
As you see in the graphic below, your position is the same in both the picture in the left and the right. However, your opponent is further off the court in the picture on the left. This gives you a bigger target and your opponent will have a tougher shot as he has to move further. Your opponents movement is shown by the red arrow.
The further your opponent has to go to track your ball down, the more offensive your ball will naturally be.
3) The ball that came to you:
This factors into the other two. There is no set in stone rule of “if it’s a slow ball go down the line, if it’s fast go crosscourt.” Tennis is always different and relies on your ability to make quick decisions!
Generally, you will rarely be changing directions on a fast ball that you are running out wide to unless your opponent happens to be way off the court. However, if a ball comes fast down the middle of the court it can be a good opponent to redirect to the open court, as your opponent will have less time to retrieve it. This play is diagramed below.
For slow balls, you will generally have more options, but again you will need to use your best judgement based on the positioning of you and your opponent. An “ideal” play off of a short and weak ball is modeled below.
On this ball, it is important to move forward quickly. A common mistake is to let this ball drop. This ball is ideally taken early because it is easier to hit the ball when it is higher, and it will give your opponent less time to recover and hit the next shot.
When to Go Down the Line
Now that you have a better idea of what to be looking for when you decide to change directions, you should know why you would go down the line at all. There are a few reasons. One is to simply to play aggressively and take charge in a point. I have given you many examples of this above, so look back on them if needed.
Another reason is to get out of a pattern that you do not like. To decide if you want to get out of a pattern, you must understand your strengths and weaknesses as well as your opponents strengths and weaknesses. I’ll highlight an example using my own game below.
Example of Getting Out of a Pattern
Personally, my backhand is my rock from the baseline and my forehand is my weaker side. Therefore, I try to structure points around that. Because many of my opponents pick up on that, they try to stay in forehand crosscourt rallies until they find a short ball or I make an error.
To counter that, I like to play my forehand up the line. However, it is important that I do not force this ball up the line because I am less comfortable on this side. This means I must go up the line with margin and to a big target. The diagram below explains what I mean by this. I am on the near side, my opponent is on the far side.
Here is what is happening step by step in the diagram above:
Step 1: I play the ball high and deep down the line with lots of margin. This is a ball I can be consistent on, and it gives me time to recover back to the middle.
Step 2: Opponent plays his backhand crosscourt because it is the high percentage play.
Step 3: I am now in a pattern of crosscourt backhands (my stronger side) rather than crosscourt forehands.
Final Thoughts
Here’s the deal: going down the line is not easy especially when you’re doing it on the wrong balls. I don’t care how cleanly you can strike the ball, the player who is making good decisions is generally going to win the match. Playing percentage tennis will lead to success.
I encourage aggressive play, but it should be done properly. This means changing directions on the right balls as explained above. I hope this helps your game!
I know that there is a lot of information in this article and it may seem complicated. If you have any questions about something that you saw in here, don’t hesitate to reach out to us in the comments below or on instagram at @mytennishq. We are always happy to talk tennis.