The winner takes it all, the winner takes it all, said ABBA in one of its most famous songs. The truth is that when we talk about a winning shot in tennis, it is a forceful and, almost always, spectacular way of taking everything at one point. It is a way of telling your rival that you have resources with which you are capable of surpassing him.
There are a multitude of ways to connect a winner; a powerful shot from the bottom, a volley, a drop, an ace, a placed shot… Depending on the particular preferences of each player, you will feel more satisfaction landing one shot or another. But something as seemingly simple as hitting the ball in such a way that your opponent is unable to reach it, involves several issues that we are going to address next.
The trust
The achievement of a winning shot is the result of the confidence you have in your game. When you feel good about the ball in the warm-up, your shot comes out clean, releasing your arm well and with good timing, your confidence in your tennis will increase for the game. Obviously, in the course of a meeting there are many ups and downs, but the most important thing is that you maintain that feeling and not disconnect in the face of possible doubts or the frustration of unexpected mistakes. Those bad experiences lead you to shrink your arm, to play with fear and, therefore, to lose confidence in your game.
Concentration
A winner is a shot executed with great precision, in which you have to concentrate well to be successful. You have to look at the position of your opponent, where he runs, to which side you load most of your shots and surprise with a blow capable of surprising him. Taking all of these factors into account, while positioning yourself and deciding the shot in a matter of seconds, requires a high level of concentration so as not to fail in the execution.
Party reading
It is important know when you can play a winning shot. This criterion is given by the ability to read a game; You must know when it is time to risk more, when your opponent is more pressured, when you feel the pressure more yourself or how advantageous your position on the track is. You cannot expect to win a match by rolling winners from the first point to the last. You have to modulate your blows and adapt them to each moment of the meeting; there will be situations in which it will be necessary to play more conservatively and others in which you can hit more calmly, but in no case is it possible to be a solid player without being able to read the moments of the game.
Satisfaction
The ultimate goal of a winning shot is, as the name suggests, to win a point. It is not the only way to do it, but it is the most satisfactory. If you are given the choice between winning a goal with an error from your opponent or with a winner, you will probably choose the latter. That satisfaction, that positive emotion that you feel when landing a good shot that awards you the point directly, is many times more pleasant than the fact of winning or losing. At least on an amateur level.
