Don't Hate The Player....Hate The Game (Powerhitter)

Andre Agassi has won every Major in tennis and a gold medal in the olympics

A powerhitter is someone who hits balls hard and flat from the baseline. He thrives off the pace like a pusher but in a different way. The powerhitter adds his pace to your pace. His great advantage is that when he is on a roll, he can beat anyone. They have a tremendous on court ego that gives them the confidence to go for their shots. The more confidence they have the bigger theshot.

Most powerhitters have a weapon that they favor. Mostly it is the forehand. They can use the forehand to smash the ball everywhere. At a beginner level they favor their forehand so much that over time the backhand just becomes a defensive shot. So if they do not pay special attention to their backhand, it becomes a liability. Most of the time it becomes a slice. The benefits of being a powerhitter are big in the long run but hard to deal with in the short:

• They look good because they hit the ball hard. If you watch TV and see a powerhitter, you are in awe with the speed of his shots. A powerhitter watches the guys on TV and goes outside to BE that guy. So hitting hard shots and watching people scramble for them is FUN.

• Like I said before, when the powerhitter is on a roll. He/she is hard to stop. They will go for any low percentage shots and make them look easy. Running down-the-line backhand...NO PROBLEM.

• They use their athleticism as an advantage. Most powerhitters are pretty top heavy. This allows them to psychologically push themselves on to their opponents. If the opponent knows that at anytime the person across the net will rip a fast hard shot, they tend to spend more time either trying to beat the powerhitter to the punch or waiting for it.

• A powerhitter runs less because their upper body strength lets them hit the ball off balance. Once the powerhitters shots start moving the opponent around, they do not have to do much footwork-wise...that is the plan at least.

Venus Williams: the older Williams sister

At lower levels, powerhitters lose often. But in the higher levels, their game paysdividends. It is a reward for knowing what type of person they are and sticking with it. Eventually the powershots go in. And they also become wiser in managing themselves mentally. Evolved powerhitters becomedangerous in this way:

• They attack more conservatively which means that they know how to recognize a ball that is attackable

• They work out so they can hit harder longer. The powerhitter is already a strong person. THEN they hit the gym and become stronger. Since they know that the high of playing well is directly related to their strength and endurance, they do what it takes.

• They realize that they will not be wonderful all the time and develop a different game to play when they are not playing so well.

Some of the things that make powerhitters lose:

• Their lack of patience is second ONLY to the serve and volley player. Many times they will get bored of a point and rip a shot not caring whether it goes in or out.

• Their discretion on flat ball hitting waivers during big points. You can expect the powerhitter to make errors on big points more than most styles. And if they play a different way, they might not win either.

• Their huge ego is a double edged sword. If they ARE NOT on a roll, it becomes a tremendous low. Often they try so hard to get back to that feeling that they play HORRIBLE. Thus is you a playing a powerhitter, you just need to hang around during the good times and wait for them to not feel so good.

• The ego also aids in their temper. Especially at the lower levels, a powerhitter feels that if they hit the ball better, they should win. So they are always mad when they play less than great, always mad if they lose to someone who doesn't hit harder than them, and almost NEVER give credit for a superior gameplan.

The powerhitters polar opposite is the pusher. Powerhitters will HATE playing pushers because of two reasons: First there is no pace. Second the ball rarely bounces higher than the net. Powerhitters rarely have a chance to hit a power shot. So a powerhitter's game breaks down because they NEVER get to that high that makes them feel good. Powerhitters should beware of this and understand that playing the pusher will NEVER be fun for them and look for the spots to attack.

The powerhitter is someone who is big on ego and small on patience. They LIVE for the part of the game where they look great and enjoy using their muscles to bully people around on the tennis court. They are not quite thinkers but will learn how to think because they don't want to lose.