Description
The importance of the third shot Philipp Born & Tobias Vogt German Sports University Cologne, Institute of Professional Sport Education and Sport Qualifications In world class tennis 41% of all points are over after the third stroke. After stroke four (which is effected by stroke three) 52% of all points are over. But the importance of the third stroke cannot only be measured by it`s share of all points. Being the first stroke after the serve the third stroke together with the serve forms the most important stroke combination in modern high performance tennis. A good, offensive third shot is a crucial back up for a good serve. In addition to that a solid third stroke is very important against good return players to minimize the advantage a good return will gain for the returning player. During his PhD-research Philipp Born found the following results among others: ATP-Pros miss only 11% of their third strokes (7% out, 4% net) while hitting 7% winners with it. Winners win 5% more points than the losers with stroke 3 (3% less errors, 2% more winners). The most dominant stroke is the forehand (in total 63%) with more than half of the forehands being played out of the backhand corner (37%). Only 2% of the third strokes are played at the net. Playing the third ball deep is apparently not a favourable because losers tend to play there more often than winners (ca.2%). 76% of the third strokes are placed out of the “red zone” while the winners are 3% better than the losers. 65% are placed in the zones next to the side-lines (winners 5% better), 38% are in the side-line-zones of the backhand side of the opponent (winners 3,5% better). 35% into the C-Zones (winners 4% better). Based on this data this practical lecture shows how to practice the third stroke effectively and as match adequate as possible.| Period | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Event title | 10th ITF SOUTHERN AFRICAN COACHES CONFERENCE BY BNP PARIBAS |
| Event type | Other |
| Sponsor | International Tennis Federation |
| Location | Sun City, South Africa, GermanyShow on map |
Keywords
- Tennis
- 3rd Shot
- Spieleröffnung