Stick 'Em Up! Stick Tennis Stroke Play and Strategy

Love It

 

I fell in love with Stick Tennis since I started playing it on my mobile device back in early 2012. I think the motto the folks at Stick Sports have is true

Easy to play yet hard to master!

In this post, I'd like to share what I learned on the stroke play and strategy front. 

Beach Him

I started off practicing at The Casual Sets Tennis club and honed my skills until I'd won 6 - 0 against all my opponents. Using the Prac-o-meter helped me out tremendously because timing is key in this game. Though beating Martina Shankitova, Horan Ivanitchisac, Moanica Shrieker, Musthav Curtains was relatively straightforward, I had bit of trouble with Chris Cross-Court and a tough time with Willy Beacher. As I got better, though, I was able to achieve my goal - and the opponents in the Daily Challenge using the strategies detailed later on. 

 

Ace Hardware

I play the game with the standard-issue racket - and not with any of the ones available at the Pro Store. Though I started in 2012, it took me a year of playing before I began to see the fruit of my labor. 

As of today I've won the following gold trophies in the Daily Challenge

Figure 1: Gold trophy won on March 24, 2013

Figure 2: Gold trophy won on June 16, 2013

Notice that both of these were earned by playing as Willy Beacher  - the toughest member of The Casual Sets against Horan Ivanitchisac - arguably the easiest opponent. Also, though I have 16 bronze cups in my trophy cabinet, I have no silver ones.

Figure 3: Trophy Cabinet as of November, 2013

 Anyway, so without further fanfare, let's cut right to the chase of sharing stroke play and strategy tips.

Master Strokes

Since most of the tennis players featured on StickTennis are right-handed, the strokes that worked for me will be for these types of players. These can be adapted for left-handed players as required. The following sections detail each of the tips I found useful on the stroke play front.

 

Serve's Up 

 

Serving wide is useful because it can make the ball unplayable for your opponent and earn you a point without too much effort. To do this, when the player is to the right side of the court, first throw the ball in the air by tapping the left thumb. Then when you think the ball is at its apex, with the left thumb, select a point that's left on the screen but somewhere around the service quadrant and tap again to effect the serve. Sometimes you can even swipe the left thumb after tossing the ball up. If this sequence is done well, this can result in an ace. 

"T"-Time

Another trick is to serve an ace down the "T". In my experience, this works best when a player is on the left side of the court. Like before, tap the left thumb to throw the ball in the air. Then, when you think it's up there, with the left thumb select the a point beyond the baseline but slightly to the left of the axis of the center service line to power one down the "T".

No Mirror Image

I haven't had much luck serving wide when a player is on the left side of the court. Also, I've rarely served an ace down the "T" when a player is on the right side of the court. Of course, I've tried using the right thumb (instead of the left one) but with no real success. Perhaps you'll have better luck.

Hot Cross Shots

Playing cross-court shots work well on both sides, though. To hit a cross-court shot that's coming to the player's backhand, swipe the right thumb across the screen - from left to right. Similarly, to play a cross-court shot that's on the forehand, swipe the left thumb from right to left.

 

Drop it Low

One of the most effective shots I've found against tougher players is the drop shot. This is achieved by dragging the thumb downward as you hit the ball. If you also swipe the thumb down and in a given direction then the drop shot is executed in this direction. 

Strat-o-sphere

In this section I'd like to share some thoughts on strategy. Sometimes having just the right shots don't work - especially if you don't hit them well - or if your player is visibly weaker than the opponent (which happens every once in a while on the Daily Challenge).

Location Specification

 

It's important to place the ball smartly. Sometimes, seeing where the opponent is and trying to place the ball as far away from them as possible is helpful. To this end, it really doesn't matter which shot you play. Just tap the position (on the screen) you'd like the ball to go in and if your timing is golden, then the ball will head this way.

Golden Drop

 

As mentioned previously, I tend to use the drop shot a lot. It's so effective because it often draws the opponent to the net giving you the opportunity to muscle the shot down for a winner.

This is also useful tactic to employ if a rally looks like it's going on forever. It helps break the monotony by changing things up - especially since some opponents are strong on the baseline.

Soft Serve

Though the first serve often comes steaming in. This is not the case for the second serve. It comes in at a greatly reduced speed. This is the perfect opportunity to return it back strong - and wide so that your opponent hasn't the time to react. 

Volley Ball

 

Every now and then the opportunity to be at the net presents itself. When this is the case, it's important to realize that you have to react quicker than if you were on the baseline and make sure the return angle for shots at the net are wide from the opponent as possible. 

Video Saved the Tennis Star

Here's a video that sums up all that was mentioned in the previous two sections. Hopefully, the points are illustrated more clearly when they're displayed visually.