Matches are difficult to win unless you believe you can win. In other words, you must be devoid of doubt. A big percentage of doubt comes from a lack of experience. The best experience is tournament play but you won't always get to play tournaments. You also need to prepare for those tournaments. So, you must train to gain experience and you must play tournaments to gain additional experience. There is no other way or roundabout to skip ahead and champion others without training consistently and under difficult conditions.
Tennis training requires a good amount of drilling and repetition but one important aspect is point play. Point play brings you more variety and prepares your mind to adapt to spontaneous decisions. During a point, anything goes and you might play someone who makes shots that weakens your game. The ideal competition tries to exploit your weaknesses. To counter their tactics, you need to adapt to their shots and shift the points to pit your strengths against their weaknesses. Adapting to different styles and scenarios can be challenging if you encounter them for the first time. So, to prepare for the competition, you must play points during training. Below are some fun point drills you can incorporate into your training:
The Baseline Game is a singles game, first to 11, without serves. The only rule is you should hit the ball back to the center after the feed (or play the first ball cross-court). Then it’s open play. It’s best to alternate who feeds every two points. If it’s 10-10, you can decide with your training partner if you want to play sudden death or win by two. The Baseline Game is probably the most commonly played point drill among competitive players. It’s simple and fun, and, by eliminating the serve, you play longer points.
Seven-Eleven is a serve-and-return game. One player serves the entire game until they win 11 points or until the returner wins 7 points. It puts pressure on both players to make each point matter. The key for the server is to maintain a high first-serve percentage. On the opposing side, the returner must make every return and, ideally, those shots must land deep. When you miss a return, that's a free point -- in this drill, free points are expensive.
The Approach Shot drill is one of the most useful point drills for developing attacking and defensive skills. The defender feeds a short ball, alternating between the forehand and backhand sides. The other player attacks the deuce side. The defender responds by hitting back at the attacker so they can hit their first volley. However, the defending shot should be neutralizing or aggressive. After that, the first volley can go anywhere and the point opens up. Play first to 7. Then alternate roles and alternate approach sides (i.e., approach to the ad side after completing the deuce side).
My personal favorite is the full court against the half court. One player only needs to cover either the deuce or ad side and can hit anywhere on the court. The other player must cover the whole court and may only hit to the half court, which would be either the deuce or ad side. The condition forces both players to keep the pressure on, play smart and construct points. It’s a bigger challenge for the player covering the entire court because they must run more and have a smaller target area. If you do this drill every day you'll be unstoppable!