I see this a lot with even the best ladies that play at the club level – a floating ball drops deep in the court and you wait for it to land and hit a defensive floater back.
In any sport do you think, that given a choice between “defense” or “offense”, any coach would ever tell his team to pick defense? Of course not, offense always has the advantage and offense results in scoring opportunities. So, why on the tennis court, would you ever pick “defense” if you have a choice? You wouldn’t – you shouldn’t.
Ball recognition should tell you that a ball is floating deep. A well hit shot by your team mate, should lead to a defensive shot by the opponent, setting you up. As you see the play develop, and the ball coming deep, move into the court and take the ball in the air. Hit a volley back the net player, or deep in the court. If it’s an overhead, move forward and take it in the air. You don’t even need to kill it. Just place it well, pick on the net player and plan on setting up the next shot for the win.
