Passing Shot

A passing shot is a forceful shot, as in tennis or team handball, that travels to one side out of the reach of one's opponent. In tennis, this shot is generally a groundstroke and is used when one's opponent is running to the net or if he is at the net already. The alternative to a passing shot is to lob the ball over the opponent's head. The aim of the passing shot in tennis is to prevent the opponent from returning the ball once he/she is at the net.

Strategy

In tennis, there are 3 main ways to execute an effective passing shot: hitting a fast return, hitting an angled ball, and bluffing.

Fast return The fast return is probably the most simple and common form of passing shot. Because the opponent has a shorter reaction time when they are at the net as compared to the baseline, a fast return can catch them off-guard or render them unable to react quickly enough. A fast return is usually played with great power as angled as possible either cross-court or down-the-line. To be able to hit such a shot, a player must have either a very strong and flat forehand or backhand, and not all players are able to execute such a passing shot well. Players who are adept at using pace to execute passing shots include Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams.

Angled shot As compared to the fast return that uses speed to catch the opponent off-guard, angled shots are meant to be more subtle but are harder to pull off. However, if executed correctly, it is probably the most efficient way of hitting a passing shot. It involves hitting the ball at as acute an angle as possible, usually cross-court such that the ball falls right in front of the net, but bounces towards the side, making it impossible for the opponent to return the ball. To hit at such an angle, a lot of top-spin on the ball is usually required as well as a soft touch. Thus, players who can execute angled shots well are usually players who are familiar with using a lot of top-spin in their play, such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who is famous for hitting Half-volley angled passing shots. Chris Evert is usually considered to have had one of the best directed passing shots in the history of the game, hitting her shots with pinpoint precision against serve and volley players.

Bluffing Bluffing is probably the hardest way to execute a passing shot and requires a good touch as well as the ability to "confuse" the opponent well. When at the net, the opponent often takes note of the direction the other player is looking at, in order to guess which direction he/she will be hitting and anticipate in advance. This can be exploited by bluffing. Bluffing involves looking in one direction in order to make the opponent think the shot will be played in that direction, then while keeping the rest of the body angled towards that direction, the ball is hit gently towards the other direction, effectively passing the opponent. However, this makes it hard to execute as one will have to hit the ball without looking in the direction one wants to hit it in, making it hard to aim accurately. This is the rarest way of executing a passing shot, and has only been seen used occasionally by players such as Roger Federer.

• Outline
  

  SPORTS WORLD

  Tennis

  Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.

  History: Historians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of the hand.

  Equipment: Part of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only a racket and balls.

  Court: A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center.

  Manner of Play: The players (or teams) start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server, and the opposing player is the receiver.

  Point: A point in tennis is the smallest subdivision of the match, the completion of which changes the score.

  Official: In tennis, an official is a person who ensures that a match or tournament is conducted according to the International Tennis Federation Rules of Tennis and other competition regulations.

  Shots: A competent tennis player has eight basic shots in his or her repertoire: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley, overhead smash, drop shot, and lob.

  Grips of Racket: A grip is a way of holding the racquet in order to hit shots during a match. Most players change grips during a match depending on what shot they are hitting.

  Strategy: 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.

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Tennis" and "Passing shot", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.