Studying your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses gives you an edge before a ball is struck. You don’t need pro footage — just a warm-up watched properly and notes kept honestly.
Read the warm-up like a scouting report
The five-minute hit-up tells you nearly everything: which wing they avoid, whether the backhand breaks down on the run, how the second serve sits up. Count how many backhands in a row they can hit without missing — that number is your rally target.
Find the pattern, then break it
Most club players repeat two or three patterns: serve plus forehand, deep crosscourt until a short ball, moonball to the backhand. Name the pattern aloud between points. Once you can predict it, you can attack the second ball instead of reacting to the fourth.
Keep notes for matches
A phone note after every league match — three lines: what worked, what broke down, one thing to practise. Players who keep notes improve twice as fast in our squads, because Tuesday’s lesson finally connects to Saturday’s match.
Put it into practice in our Midweek Singles Sprint — new opponents every round, rankings updated weekly. Ask at the clubhouse desk to enter.