Here is a guest article by former Fordham University star, Alex Bancila, who now resides and teaches tennis and platform tennis in Chicago. Alex will be attending the Cincinnati event next week and hopefully will post from that high-energy event.
Set-up Points and the Rule of Two (Consecutive points)
by Alex Bancila
In the paragraphs below, I will further explore the flow of points and importance of score
dynamics. I will first address the “set-up point†– the second most important point in a given game
(after game point). Set-up point is the point that PRECEDES game point, i.e. any point that
you play once EITHER team reaches “30†on the scoreboard: 0-30, 30-0, 15-30, 30-15,
30-30. In other words, set-up points are those points where either team (or both teams if
the score is 30-30) is within one point of game point. The reason why “set-up points†are
so important is because they set-up game point. Let’s take the “0-30†score for example:
the next point is a “set-up point†because one team already has 30 on the scoreboard. The
next point will make a HUGE difference in the economy of that game, and, ultimately, in the
economy of the whole match. After the set-up point is played, the score will be either “0-40â€,
or “15-30†– there is a HUGE difference between those two scores. What is that difference
exactly!? That’s right, the set-up point! Whoever wins the set-up point will be in a much
better position than the alternative (losing the set-up point). I doubt anyone will disagree
with that. Conversely, if the score is “30-15â€, the next point that will be played will also
be a set-up point (again, because one team already has 30). If that team wins the set-up
point then the score becomes 40-15, if they lose it, the score becomes 30-30. Again, huge
difference between 40-15 and 30-30, agree!? If the score becomes 30-30, the next point is
also a set-up point because whoever wins it gets to game point – the single most important
point of all! Obviously, it is preferable to find ourselves playing most of the “set-up†points
from positive (30-0, 30-15) or neutral scores instead of negative ones (0-30, 15-30).
Now that we understand set-up points, let’s get even more granular and talk about the Rule
of Two (consecutive points) – this is where things are about to get really interesting! There
are 18 possible score situations/combinations that can happen in a given game:
0-0 0-30 0-40
0-15 30-0 40-0
15-0 15-30 15-40
15-15 30-15 40-15
30-30 30-40
40-30
40-40 (deuce)
Ad out
Ad in
Take a couple of minutes (do not cheat by reading further below just yet!) and see if you
can figure out under how many score situations IF YOU LOSE TWO CONSECUTIVE
POINTS your opponents WILL NOT win that game outright OR get to game point!? Take
two minutes and see if you can come up with the right answer. The correct answer:
there are only FIVE score situations under which if you lose two consecutive points your
opponents will not win the game outright or get to game point:
0-0, if you lose two consecutive points, the score becomes 30-30
15-0, if you lose two consecutive points, the score becomes 15-30
30-0, if you lose two consecutive points, the score becomes 30-30
40-0, if you lose two consecutive points, the score becomes 40-30
40-15, if you lose two consecutive points, the score becomes 40-40
The bottom line: under only 28% of all possible score situations (the five score combinations
mentioned above) you can afford to lose two consecutive points without handing your
opponents the game OR allowing them to get to game point. Under the remaining 72%
of all possible score situations (the other thirteen score combinations), if you lose two
consecutive points, your opponents will either win the game outright or get to game point.
In either scenario, whichever team is able to win two consecutive points more often will be
in much better shape to win games. Try to string together two consecutive points as often
as possible and that will not only win you games or put you in a position to win games by
getting you to game point but it will also help you be more aware and understand the flow
and dynamics of the score.
JP · August 7, 2013 at 12:27 pm
So the first point becomes very important, because 3 of the 5 scenarios mentioned are dependent on winning the first point. Let’s say you call that zone where you are at risk the “yellow light” zone, how should your mentality be different there?
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Shoot, I just try to win EVERY single point like it’s match point ) The way Muster and Rafa play. Every point is really worth two points. If you miss by a hair, you’re down 0-l5, if your shot was in by a hair it’s l5-0. See? every point is really worth two points. )
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2013 at 2:50 pm
To show how important every single point is – I was told Frtiz Buehning threw his racquet in anger – after losing the very first point of the match. Got to be ready and intense from the very first ball )
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2013 at 2:51 pm
Jack Kramer said Ted Schroeder, when he was a kid, would cry on the changeover if he got his serve broken ) How’s that for intensity?
JP · August 7, 2013 at 2:54 pm
I hear you, but, if I am playing well, the question is how risky and creative to be and when.
JP · August 7, 2013 at 3:23 pm
I always struggle with becoming passive or being too risky, and my mind wanders a lot, causing brain dead points, lol. Other than that my head is really into the match.
Scoop Malinowski · August 7, 2013 at 8:53 pm
JP when in doubt, just bunt and push )
JP · August 8, 2013 at 4:08 pm
Ok Scoop, I have USTA sectionals tomorrow, I’ll try to fit the kitchen sink in my tennis bag tonight!
Scoop Malinowski · August 8, 2013 at 8:58 pm
Good luck JP, also when it doubt, just go deep down the middle. Throw the sink at him : )
Scoop Malinowski · August 10, 2013 at 12:59 pm
JP please tell us how you did at USTA sectionals?
Patrick · August 12, 2013 at 12:54 pm
I realize that there are technically 18 possible score combination. But 30-30 is the same thing as deuce. 40-30 is the same thing as Ad In. And 30-40 is the same thing as Ad Out.
So there are really just 15 different score situations.