In singles it can be all too tempting to see an opening “up the line” and go for that overpowering big shot winner. The crowd is pleased, but unfortunately, it took you ten tries! 

It may be smarter to play the point crosscourt as percentage wise it puts you in a better position against your opponent.

• Playing crosscourt gives you more court to work with, as geometry shows that a ball played crosscourt has more space to land in allowing for a higher margin of error, than a ball played down the line.
• Additionally, by playing the ball crosscourt you are hitting the ball over the lower part of the net thus giving you a better of chance of getting the ball across to the other side.

Playing crosscourt can open up many different opportunities to use angles against a player, whether a long, heavy topspin drive to the back corner, or a short, rolled, angle, to the service box to draw your opponent out wide.

Lastly, by playing the ball crosscourt it requires you to move less than you would if you continued to hit down the line, thus saving your energy perhaps for a long three set match. Overall, playing crosscourt is affective and can lead a player to producing winning points when they are in a must win situation.