Serena’s ‘unknown’ winning equation
Any study of the ‘game-plans’ of women’s Tennis strategies from the 40s’, that is from Maureen Connolly through to Billy Jean King’s time and in the open era from Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf through to Justine Henning, no expert will ever find the resemblance to the unique winning tactical equation of Serena Williams.
Hitting 50 winners and 40 errors was never a formula to win a match in Tennis. Serena bagged 2014 WTA title and two million dollars, doing exactly this on her way to win in Singapore last week. Which player thought this is can be done, which coach could say ‘I taught this’ and which critic has accepted this is possible?
Serena is capable of winning long rallies but it is not the game she is good at. She is vulnerable in a long rally. In the history of Tennis, Serena will go as the only power and speed based game-maker who was ‘consistently successful’. In the last two years I have been noticing her game statistics and saying this cannot last. I must concede it has lasted.
Given the nature of the game compilation to win a game, that is winning 4 out of every 7 rallies, Serena’s game plan is a non-accepted one. Her winning formula is outside all known systems of aggregates. It is a system not known to be successful. Her unique game-plan is certainly not for everyone. The issue in playing Serena’s game is not making the rallies short with power and speed, but avoiding long rallies against very good players who can handle them equally well. How is she doing it?
Serena’s unseen weapons
How to kill opponent’s good first serve? It is by killing the second serve with lethal returns. To avoid the second serve being punished, players drop the venom in the first serve for consistency.
Punishing the second serve with winners is known but very few can really do it. For Serena, this comes easy, in fact, it is in her instincts. Serena punished the second serve of Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep in the semi-finals and finals of WTA so much, both ended up unable to get even ‘one’ first serve in the last few critical games.
For most players without the first serve, they cannot play at all. Halep reached this state in the finals, after the 3-1 lead in the first set. Wozniacki in the semi-finals could not get one first serve in, while leading 5/4 in the third set. All Serena had to do was to perform the last rights! That she did. It also left an unanswerable question. How did Romania’s Simona Halep, ‘wallop’ Serena just few days ago in Singapore? It was 6/0, 6/3 for Halep.
One way of beating Serena is by going to the net. This is an open secret but very few are capable of venturing into it against Serena. Her shots average around 100 MPH and she hits them into the middle of the court where the opponent is. Even the very best players have to scramble to ‘get away’ from the ball path and get the racquet on to the ball. Often Serena gets a weak ball from the opponents who get caught to this scramble, which she kills ‘by instinct’. In such a scenario where survival is in danger, no opponent can even think of going to net against Serena.
Basically, Serena ‘nips’ the idea of the net game ‘in the bud’ from the opponent. Serena’s simple shot selection with power and speed to stop opponents venturing into any form of attack and reaching the net is very effective. Sometimes Sharapova uses this well too.
Short angle attack and defence
The only way to stop good players from using short angle attacks to the sidelines is to keep them in the middle of the court well behind the baseline.
This effective strategy is very difficult to achieve consistently with elite players. Serena is a master performer in this capacity and does it in all critical situations very well. Bulk of the points won by Serena comes from this tactic. She adds up a very effective maneuver to this by entering the court and using the half volley to angle the shot to the sidelines. The effects from these are deadly. All these which Serena does, can only be seen if one follows rally patterns in a game. Often these go as unseen weaponry.
Balancing errors and winners by plan
All these ‘high speed’ and ‘power based’ games of Serena also give a weak side to her performance. That is, it produces a very high error rate. No player could win making 40 errors in a match. Serena evens out such disadvantages by hitting 50 winners. Her record in the last two years shows this trend to be her formula for success. Her game-plan is to avoid long rallies. Long rallies are a reason for many injuries. Serena’s injury absenteeism due to injuries could be considered low compared to most players in the global competition. Her short rally approach could be one reason for it.
Serena’s speed and power wanes visibly after the 5th and the 6th shots in a rally but she has one of the best physical recovery ability between rallies. Sometimes she stretches the time between rallies annoying opponents. One way or other Serena has the mechanics well established to overcome all her weaknesses. She has mastered the balancing act of competition and survival with effective tactical, physical and mental routines. Americas are having a lean period in Tennis. They will have to learn a lot from Serena, which don’t seem to be the case now.
‘I do it my way’
Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard have got themselves into the top five of this year’s women’s ranking. They are the ‘ups’ of 2014. The top positions are in the firm grip of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as one and two. Serena has a record of 7 WTA title, 52 wins and 8 losses, 452 Service aces to exceed 208 double faults, winning 81% of the service games and over nine million in prize money in 2014. These have raised the bar for women’s Tennis in the world. It has made Tennis interesting and attractive to the world. With an ‘I do it my way’ lable, she is world’s number one again.
- George Paldano, former international player; Accredited Coach of Germany, ITF and USPTR;
National, Davis Cup and Federation Cup
Coach–gptennis.ceylon@gmail.com-