Reading Your Opponent in the First Three Games

Club matches are frequently decided by information nobody bothered to collect. Both players hit their usual shots, one of them has more of them, and the result is settled by ball striking alone.

That is a waste, because your opponent will show you their entire game in the first three games if you are watching for specific things.

What to look for, in order

1. Which wing breaks down first.

Hit two or three balls to each side early. Watch not for winners but for shape: which side produces a shorter, floatier, more defensive reply. That is your target for the next two hours.

2. The serve pattern.

Almost every club server has a strong preference on the important points. Note the first-serve direction in each court, and specifically what they do at 30-30 and deuce. It is usually the same serve every time.

3. The second serve.

Note its speed, its spin and where it lands. A weak second serve is the single largest exploitable weakness in club tennis, and it dictates how far you should stand inside the baseline.

4. Movement.

Which direction is slower? Most players move better to their forehand side. Watch how they recover after a wide ball, and whether they stop after hitting.

5. Net comfort.

Do they come forward voluntarily? Do they look comfortable on a low volley? If not, the short ball is a weapon regardless of the rest of their game.

6. The high ball.

Feed one deliberately. Many players, especially one-handed backhands, have no answer above shoulder height.

Testing rather than guessing

Do not wait to see what they do. Run experiments.

1. Serve wide once in each court early, and once down the T. See which return is worse.
2. Hit one deliberate drop shot in the first two games. It costs a point at worst and tells you whether they can move forward.
3. Hit one deep high ball to each wing.
4. Come to the net once, even off a mediocre approach, to see how they pass.

Losing four points to gather this is a good trade. It is a two-set match.

Writing it down

Between games, in your head or on paper if it is a serious match, hold three items only.

• Target: which wing, which height.
• Their pattern: what they serve and hit on big points.
• My plan: the one pattern I am running when the score is tight.

Three items is memorable under pressure. Ten is not.

Adjusting when it stops working

Good opponents change. If the pattern that won you the first set stops producing in the second, that is information rather than a crisis. Most club players either never adjust or panic and change everything.

The middle path: keep the underlying plan, change one element. Same target wing, different height. Same serve pattern, different pace. Same aggression, more depth.

The other half

Assume they are watching you too. If your backhand is the weaker wing, you cannot hide it, but you can make it less inviting by taking those balls earlier and slicing deep rather than floating short. The tactical battle is mutual, and the player who notices first usually wins.