G’day,
The 2025 Australian Open smashed attendance records day after day, highlighting just how popular the sport is Down Under. You actually can’t qualify the Aussie Open as just a tennis tournament anymore. It’s morphing into a festival with so much to see and do for the whole family. It’s the most fan-friendly tournament on the calendar.
This year, I blended my time with media work and coaching players. To be clear, I was not working as anyone’s primary coach but on coaching teams, providing strategy work, game plans, and video analysis. Here are seven things that stood out to me from an outstanding tournament.
1: The Worst Shot In Tennis Is The Defensive Forehand
I watched a lot of tennis courtside this year because of my return to coaching players. By far the worst shot I saw was the defensive forehand. Let me explain…
The forehand is the sword and is built to attack. It has a big backswing for power. The backhand is the shield, built to defend and keep you alive in the point. So what happens when the forehand is called upon to defend? It rarely does. The player has two options when the ball is tough on the forehand side.
- Option 1 = Move back to create enough time for the big backswing.
- Option 2 = Stay in the same place but shorten the backswing.
What typically happens is that the ego of the forehand takes over, and the player does not move back and tries to swing their way out of trouble.
Do not play offense when on defense!!!
I encourage you to stay in the same location and shorten the backswing. Block your way out of trouble, and remember the general rule that defense goes cross-court.
2: Body Language Is Where It All Starts
Body language is such a separator of talent in our sport. The ability to be under stress and not show it to the world is a superpower. The first thing to understand is that players are actually competing in two matches. One during the point and one between the points. It’s between the point where I really switch on my radar and study the player I am working with and their opponent. This is where you can truly measure confidence and belief.
Generally, the player who is stronger mentally and emotionally between the points will win the match. Their head is in the right place to problem solve. It’s as simple as that.
GET MENTALLY TOUGHER IN COMPETITION
Webinar 46: 8 Ways To Force An Error
Webinar 41: Opponent Awareness
Webinar 24: Andre Agassi Patterns Of Play
3: When Alcaraz Lost, Sinner Won
Pre-tournament, I picked Alcaraz to beat Sinner in the final. Alcaraz won all three of their meetings in 2024 at Indian Wells, Roland Garros, and Beijing. When Alcaraz again had trouble putting away a wounded Djokovic (Cincinnati 2023 final), Sinner’s main rival was gone. Djokovic was not at his best, and Zverev was back to having forehand troubles.
When Djokovic knocked out Alcaraz in the quarters, Sinner grew another leg. Here’s Sinner’s performance from the quarters onwards.
- Quarter-final: Sinner def. De Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
- Semi-final: Sinner def. Shelton 7-6, 6-2, 6-2
- Final: Sinner def. Zverev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3
Look at those scorelines. Two out of nine sets reached a tie-break and the most an opponent got in the other seven sets was three games. When Alcaraz went down, Sinner tore through the rest of the field.
4: Sabalenka Played Keys The Wrong Way
Congratulations to Madison Keys for finally breaking through to win a major.
Keys played great in the final, but Sabalenka contributed to her own demise by playing her the wrong way.
I want you to think of tennis strategy in baseball terms. Keys loves power. Give her power, and more power is coming back. So in baseball terms, Keys loves fastballs in the middle of the strike zone. It’s her wheelhouse, and that’s what Sabalenka kept giving her.
If you watch the match again, look to see the balls that Keys misses. They are slower balls, or higher balls, or wider balls. They are anything but fastballs in the strike zone. Sabalenka was feeding her opponent exactly what she wanted, and Keys took advantage and played lights out.
5: First Volley Behind
When players came to the net to finish points, they invariably ended up around the service line for their first volley. They were running an offensive pattern of play but were in a defensive part of the court. It’s very tough to put first volleys away from there.
The answer is to hit the first volley back behind where the opponent is running from and make them have to stop, turn around, and chase the volley down. Most of the time, the resulting shot from a first volley behind is a lob.
So think of it this way…
- Hit an offensive approach shot.
- Hit a defensive first volley behind.
- Get an overhead on the next shot to finish the point.
A lot of passing shots I saw came from a first volley that was hit to the open court. We can all learn from that.
6: Ben Shelton Is The Real Deal
The more I study Ben Shelton, the more I like his game. The best thing is that he has an excellent blend of offensive and defensive skills. His lefty serve is one of the biggest weapons in our game, and he can hit any spot in either service box with outstanding accuracy. His forehand has a ton of spin and leaps off the court up high out of the opponent’s strike zone. His backhand is solid, and he has great mastery of the backhand slice.
I also like his heavy forehand approach, which is very tough to pass him off. Lastly, Ben has a massive forehand down the line to end points, and he does such a great job of showing positive body language to his box, where his father mentors him.
Shelton’s time is coming. He had set points serving against Sinner in the first set of the semi-final and then was unable to sustain the same level.
His time will come.
7: The 2nd Serve Is Still A Liability
Here are the tournament averages for 2nd serve points won.
-
- MEN = 50.9% (5504/10800)
- WOMEN = 45.8% (3202/6978)
The second serve is definitely a liability in the women’s game, and the men are barely scratching above 50%. What can players do to help win more second-serve points immediately? There are three things that spring to mind…
- Reduce exposure to double faults. A couple are okay. More open the door to getting broken more than necessary.
- Have a strong defensive Serve +1 groundstroke. Your second serve is probably coming back with interest. Work on defending your way out of trouble by blocking the fast return. Limit your Serve +1 errors.
- Mix your second serve all around the service box. Don’t be too predictable to the backhand jam location. Once the returner is dialed, they will step in with their backhand return, or hit a bigger run-around forehand. A healthy mix avoids aggressive returns.
All the best,
Craig