One of the most effective advanced tennis tactics out there is also one of the most underused — and once you understand it, you’ll never look at the open court the same way again.
It’s called hitting behind your opponent.
Simple idea. Devastating results.
Here’s the setup. You’ve been grinding through a tough point against one of those players — you know the type. Fast. Relentless. Runs everything down with a smile on their face. Finally, you get them on the run. They’re scrambling, playing defense, and now they’re working their way back toward the center of the court.
And right there, in that moment, you have a decision to make.
The obvious choice? Hit to the open court. And look — I want to be clear — that’s not wrong. The open court is wide open for a reason. It’s a perfectly legitimate target.
But here’s the problem.
Against a player who is fast, anticipates well, and has great defensive skills, hitting to the open court might be playing right into their hands. They’ve seen that shot a thousand times.
They’re already leaning that direction. They’re halfway there before you even make contact.
So instead of going where they expect… you go where they just came from.
That’s hitting behind your opponent. You hit the ball back in the direction they were running from — the last place they expect it to go.
And just like that, all that speed and anticipation that was working against you? Now it’s working for you.
Here’s where advanced tennis tactics like this one start to reveal their real depth — because this isn’t just one trick. It’s a four-layer chess match hiding inside every single point.
Layer One: Start guessing.
As your opponent starts hitting big offensive shots, stop camping in the middle and hoping for the best. Start making educated guesses — left or right — based on what you know about your opponent. Do they prefer going inside-in or inside-out? You won’t be right every time. But even a 5% or 10% edge, jumping in the right direction just a split second early, puts enormous pressure on your opponent. Suddenly they have to be more precise. Suddenly the comfortable shot isn’t so comfortable anymore.
Layer Two: Hit behind them.
Once your opponent realizes you’re guessing — and good players will notice — they’ll start trying to wrong-foot you. They’ll hit behind you to punish your guessing. Now you have to stay disciplined, read the signs, and occasionally commit to staying put instead of jumping early.
Layer Three: Fake and stay home.
This is where it gets really fun.
Your opponent pulls you wide off the court. There’s a massive open court on the other side. They can see it. You can see it. Everyone can see it.
So you start running across the baseline like you’re going to cover it — and then right before they hit, you slam on the brakes. You stay home. You camp right where you are.
And your opponent, who was convinced you’d taken the bait, goes for the open court… and finds you standing right there waiting for it.
I’ve seen this completely steal points that had no business being won. It’s one of the most satisfying moments in tennis when you pull it off.
Layer Four: Back to the beginning.
If you keep faking and staying home, eventually a smart opponent figures it out and just starts hammering the open court for real. So now you go back to running across and covering it again.
And then it starts all over.
Back and forth. Guess and counter-guess. Fake and counter-fake.
This is what makes tennis so endlessly fascinating — it really is chess on a court. And deploying these advanced tennis tactics is exactly how you start thinking one step ahead instead of just reacting to what’s already happened.
Here’s the honest truth about why so many recreational players struggle against pushers and retrievers. Those players know exactly where you’re going to hit. Because you’re always hitting to the obvious spot. They don’t mind running. They love it. They built their entire game around the fact that you’ll keep feeding them balls right where they want them.
Start going behind them. Start guessing. Start faking. Start making them think.
The moment you begin working through all four layers of this game within the game, you’ll start winning points you had absolutely no right to win — and that is one of the greatest feelings tennis has to offer.
The open court will always be there. But the shot nobody sees coming? That’s where the real fun begins.
The next time you’re on the court, pick one opponent who’s giving you trouble with their speed and defense. Just try Layer One. Make one educated guess. Jump in one direction a half second early.
See what happens.
I think you’re going to like it. And once you start down this road of advanced tennis tactics, there’s no going back to just hitting where it’s obvious.
Your Coach,
-Ian
