Counter-Puncher

Players use different tennis strategies to enhance their own strengths and exploit their opponent's weaknesses in order to gain the advantage and win more points.

Players typically specialize or naturally play in a certain way, based on what they can do best. Based on their style, players generally fit into one of three types: baseliners, volleyers and all-court players. Many players have attributes of all three categories but may focus on one style based on the surface or their opponent. A baseliner plays from the back of the tennis court, around the baseline, preferring to trade groundstrokes rather than to come up to the net (except in certain situations). A volleyer tries to approach the net and hit volleys, putting pressure on the opponent. All-court players fall somewhere in between.

A player's weaknesses may also determine strategy. For example, most players have a stronger forehand, therefore they will favor the forehand even to the point of "running around" a backhand to hit a forehand.

An effective offensive baseliner can overpower many opponents. However, when going for winners, they can also produce many errors since they have to repeatedly and correctly execute some difficult strokes, such as down-the-line winners landing near the corner. Fatigue, loss of focus, mis-hitting the ball, and hesitating are some reasons for errors. Two great old-time players, R. Norris Williams and Ellsworth Vines, were famous for being unbeatable when their strokes were "on". However, they played with such little margin for error in making their strokes that when they were making more mistakes they could be beaten by other players. Another advantage of this strategy is that the player can weaken his opponent's confidence by successfully landing difficult shots which in turn may increase his own confidence.

Hard courts are generally considered to be the best surface for an offensive baseliner who often hit higher risk shots. However, offensive baseliners can often excel on both grass and clay courts as well. On grass, they can execute their "winners" and the fast, low bounce makes it harder for opponents to retrieve; whereas on clay courts, some offensive baseliners might like the slow and high bounce because it gives them a longer time to change their grip and foot-positions in order to set up for an offensive shot or winner. Offensive baseliners with height especially have an advantage on clay courts because the high bounces land in their hitting zones, allowing them to strike the ball cleanly and more powerfully. One great example for this is Maria Sharapova, who is 6'2", and the high bounce of the ball really helps her produce winners and force errors from her opponents. She had the hardest hit backhand at the 2013 French Open from the women's side, when she punished a first serve from Jelena Jankovic, producing a backhand return winner.

...
Wikipedia