Are we teaching juniors how to play tennis?

Spend an hour at any high-level junior tennis session, and you'll see excellent coaching. Players repeating forehands and backhands, working on serve technique, refining movement patterns. The standard of ball-striking continues to improve, and there is no question that technical coaching in the modern game is, generally, at a high level.

But if you step back and ask a different question — how many of those players can clearly explain how they are trying to win points, how they're going to structure the point they're about to play and why — the answer is often less certain.

That observation is not a criticism. It reflects the reality of how the game is typically taught. We have become very good at developing how players hit the ball. The question is whether we are spending enough time helping them understand how to use those shots within a point.

Execution matters, but tennis is not just execution. It is decision-making repeated many times over the course of a match.

Execution Is Not the Same as Playing – Technical vs Tactical

A player can hit a technically sound forehand and still lose the point. Not because the shot itself was poor, but because it was played in the wrong situation, to the wrong target, or without a clear idea of what should follow.

At a certain level, the difference between players is not simply who can hit the better shot. It is who can recognise what is happening within a match/game/point and make the right decision at the right time.

That ability does not always come from repetition alone. It comes from understanding patterns.

The Missing Layer: Patterns and Sequences

Once you go beyond serve and return, every point in tennis is a pattern, or a sequence of shots. The serve generally influences what a player can do with shot three. The quality of the return can dictate the pattern of shot four, etc.

Yet many players are not consistently taught to see the game in this way. Instead, they focus on individual shots, rather than how those shots connect over time.

The result is players who can execute well in practice, but are less clear on how to build points.

Is This an Australian Issue — or a Global One?

It's also worth asking whether this is something specific to Australia or part of a broader development challenge.

From what we've seen working across different systems in different countries, it is not isolated.

In North America, players often come through strong competitive environments and play a high volume of matches. But even there, it's not uncommon to see players with solid results who struggle to clearly explain how they are constructing points.

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In parts of Asia, the focus on technical development can be extremely strong. The quality of ball-striking is often very high. But that can sometimes come at the expense of match understanding — particularly in how patterns are built and adapted under pressure.

At the college level, the difference becomes more visible. You can have physically capable players, with strong technical foundations, who haven't quite reached their potential — not because of effort or ability, but because they don't fully understand how they play.

You might see a player with the physical profile to take time away from opponents, but who consistently plays within longer, neutral exchanges. Or a player with the tools to control rallies who instead reacts to the opponent.

The gap is not in their technique. It is in how that technique is applied within the structure of a point.

What We Measure Shapes What We Prioritise

Another factor is what we choose to measure.

Junior tennis naturally revolves around rankings, results and match results. These are important. They provide structure and motivation, and they are a necessary part of the competitive pathway.

But they are also outputs. They tell us what has happened, not why it has happened, or whether it is repeatable.

A player can win matches without fully understanding how they are doing it. Equally, a player can lose while building patterns that, over time, will lead to better performance.

The challenge is not that rankings and results exist. It's that they can sometimes become the primary reference point for development, rather than one part of a broader picture.

Has the Environment Changed?

It's also worth considering how the environment has evolved.

Previous generations played a higher volume of doubles alongside singles. Without necessarily framing it this way, that environment exposed players to different patterns, court positions and decision-making scenarios.

Today's pathways are more structured and often more focused on singles play. The technical level has improved significantly, but it does raise a question: are players getting the same exposure to varied match situations?

This Is Not a Criticism of Coaching

It's important to be clear — this is not a criticism of coaching. In many environments, the level of technical coaching and player support has never been higher.

The question is whether the structure around that coaching is giving players enough opportunity to develop a clear understanding of how they are actually playing the game.

A Question Worth Asking

If we want to develop better players, we may need to spend less time asking how well they hit the ball and more time understanding how they are trying to win the point, the game, the match.

And if that is the case, then the next question becomes: where — and how — should that understanding be taught?

Nicholas Scott is the Founder of 135 Tennis Intelligence, which works with junior players, US

college teams and professional players globally.

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ML Tennis delivers world-class coaching and structured player pathways for athletes of all ages and levels — from grassroots participation through to aspirational and high-performance players.

Led by Player Development Specialist Coach Michael Logarzo, ML Tennis is recognised as a Tennis Australia Talent Hub and operates across multiple venues throughout Melbourne.

Supported by an expert coaching team, ML Tennis delivers structured programs, a proven record of player progression, and an athlete-driven culture that supports every player to build their own tennis journey.

www.michaellogarzotennis.com.au