When you play a league match, or a group stage of a tournament, what do you do when it’s not your turn to play?
Some players sit and chat. Some players disappear outside. Some players spend the whole time looking at their phone. If it’s not their turn to play, they’re not interested in watching the match which is taking place.
This is a missed opportunity. You can gather some vital information about future opponents if you pay attention to other matches. You can use this time to develop your tactical awareness.
But how exactly should you analyse a future opponent? Here’s five simple things to look out for.
1. What is his playing style?
I always start with identifying an opponent’s playing style. Is he a pusher, a blocker, a topspin attacker, a chopper, a lobber, a hitter? Does he use pimples on one side?
By identifying a playing style you can quickly tune in to some pre-existing tactics. Maybe the opponent you are observing likes to play lots of pushes. You have probably faced similar opponents many times before. What worked in the past against this playing style? The same approach will probably work against this player too.
When it’s your turn to play this opponent, you already will have a good idea what to expect and how you need to approach the game.
2. Which side is weaker?
Almost all players have a stronger side and a weaker side. Or a more threatening side and a less threatening side. Is it the backhand or the forehand?
This is usually quite easy to identify. Sometimes a player will make many more errors on one side (e.g. the backhand). This is an obvious weakness which can be targeted.
Other players may have an overwhelming strength (e.g. the forehand), but a less threatening, but stable, backhand. In this case you still want to keep the ball away from the big strength as much as possible.
You should also observe how well a future opponent moves. If the player is a bit static, you are likely to get a lot of success hitting balls out wide or to their crossover position.
3. Topspin or backspin?
Unless your future opponent is an all-out defender, he will be using attacking shots. But how good is he at attacking different spins? Some players are great at attacking a topspin ball, but terrible at attacking a backspin ball.
Or maybe it’s the other way around. They are great at looping backspin, but struggle in faster topspin rallies. Maybe they have a great backhand loop, but often miss the forehand loop.
If you can observe this, then instantly have some tactics you can use. If an opponent is no good at faster topspin rallies – and you are – then you try to turn as many points into this type of rally.
If an opponent can’t loop backspin – but always seems to go for it – you know you will probably win some cheap points with some decent pushes.
4. How does he receive serves?
Pay special attention to how your future opponent likes to return serves. Does he try to attack? Does he try to chop? Does he vary his returns?
How does he cope with long serves? How does he cope with short serves? Are their particular spins or placements which seem to cause problems?
If you can identify one or two things where you think your future opponent will be weaker, then you can start a match with this in mind. And if your analysis is correct, and you choose serves which cause your opponent problems, then you’ll be in good shape to win the first game.
5. Can you read his serves?
And finally, really watch your future opponent when he serves. In particular, try to read his service spin. Does he like to use backspin serves, topspin serves or sidespin serves? Is it often the same spin or is it always changing?
This will make your opponent’s serves seem less threatening. You already have a good idea what to expect and how you can return his serves.
I remember one match, many years ago, when I observed my opponent often used a fast tomahawk serve with lots of sidespin. I often struggled with this serve. But because I knew he was going to use it, I could prepare myself for my receive strategy. My plan was to attack the serve aggressively. The first time he did the serve, I absolutely nailed it. And then he never used the serve again and had to use less threatening serves instead. This was all possible because of the observations and tactical planning I did before we even started the match.
Keep it simple
I’ve outlined a few different ways you can analyse a future opponent. This might feel a little overwhelming if you have never done this before. How is it possible to analyse so many things and think about so many tactics, all at once?
To start with, you will probably need to simplify. You might need to focus on just one type of analysis. Start with a basic analysis of whether your future opponent has a stronger forehand or backhand. This is the easiest to identify, and probably the most useful. Whichever side you identify as weaker, simply put more balls to this side.
But as you get more used to analysing an opponent and thinking tactically, you will find your brain can process more information. You’ll be able to identify the playing style, strengths and weaknesses, serve and receive patterns, and probably many other things I’ve not mentioned here.
Your goal with all of this analysis, is to start the match with a plan. And if your plan works, you’ll get off to a flying start. The more you do this, the better you get at developing your tactical awareness and it can become a major strength of your game.
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