MESSAGE #917 IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED…

If at first you don’t succeed, try a different strategy.

I just gave a lesson to a group of doubles players. The theme today was “how to play well when you’re not playing well.”

One of the worst things you can do as a tennis player is to be at 0-6, 0-5 and say, “Maybe I should try something different.”

If you’re playing doubles and the score is 0-3 or 0-4, try giving the opp0sing team a different look. Serve and stay back. Have both server and server’s partner stay back, use the “I” formation or the Australian formation.

It doesn’t matter what you try, but you need to try something different. When you use a different strategy, many times you will make your opponents change their winning game. Isn’t that a good thing?

The whole point is this: if you do what you normally do, you’re going to get what you normally get.

“Every game plan works against somebody. No game plan works against everybody.”

Try different options and see what works best for you…on and off the court.