Red, Yellow and Green Light Tennis

Shot Selection! Undoubtly a very important part of learning how to make fewer mistakes and win more matches. Once the player has mastered the recognition of different shot selections their consistency improves and gives the opponent more opportunities to miss. The following tip is reffered to as Red Light, Yellow Light and Green Light. Each light determines the shot elevation, target and pace. The lights seem self explanatory, but lets do the boring stuff and define them.

Red Light - Defensive, 20-30 feet above the net. This shot is designed to give the player a second chance and more time to recover. That means that shot your opponent hits you puts you out of position to hit a normal stroke.

Yellow Light - Smart Shot Required with an elevation of 6-10 feet above the net! The yellow light shot is a ball that can be overlooked by players. They feel that they are in relatively descent position and tend to go for a too much. This shot is not really defensive or aggressive. The shot selected for this stroke is designed to be patient and wait for a green light opportunity.

Green Light - Aggressive! This does not necessarily mean hitting winner. A player's postion for the green light is great. This ball should be struck to put the opponent in a red light situation. A player should strive to be accurate and strike the ball at approximately 70% pace.

Shot selection can make or break a player during a match. Next time you go to the courts make sure you are able to recognize Red Light, Yellow Light and Green Light.