Steve Annacone Urges Hamptons Players to Shorten Points

Steve Annacone, USPTA Elite Pro and director of Annacone Tennis and MyHamptonsPro, is urging Hamptons players to change how they construct points on court. Annacone says shortening the point — by serving and returning aggressively and following the ball forward — is a practical adjustment for local players who face opponents capable of sustaining long rallies.

Annacone notes a common coaching habit he wants to overturn: "Many tennis coaches still focus on teaching their players how to hit ten plus balls in a row. The theory is that if a player can consistently do this, their opponents will make a lot of mistakes, resulting in a winning formula for the match." He adds a caveat about matchup level: "This may still be true if the players are not at a high level. However, this strategy will be very difficult to execute the better the opponent is."

That difficulty is why Annacone says he emphasizes a different blueprint: "I have always been an advocate of keeping the points short." He outlines a concrete pattern for players and coaches to drill: "If a player can focus on serve plus one and return plus one, and back up those first two balls with some forward movement, they are likely to succeed in today’s game." The prescription is specific — sharpen first-strike weapons and use forward momentum to deny opponents time and rhythm.

For players looking to turn advice into practice, Annacone recommends specific skill work and movement patterns. "Players should spend more time sharpening their serve and return of serve skills, and practice keeping the points short. Moving forward, hitting more balls from inside the baseline, and approaching the net will help make it difficult for your opponent to lengthen the point." Annacone directs local players to his services through MyHamptonsPro throughout the Hamptons, and can be reached at sannacone@tucsonjcc.org or 865-300-7323; his coaching websites are listed as annaconetennis.com and myhamptonspro.com.

Annacone’s advice is rooted in on-court experience with challenging conditions. In a related teaching anecdote he described a lesson in blustery weather: "I gave a lesson with 15 mph winds with gusts up to 30 mph. It was also less than 40 degrees when we started and barely got to 50 by the end of the lesson." He uses that kind of environment to demonstrate why shortening points frustrates opponents and reduces the chance that a breeze or a cold afternoon will give an edge to baseline grinders.

Annacone also works with youth through the TOP program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, which he runs with Jeevaj Bondalapoati and Gill Gross for high-level players ages 8-18. On-court, his message to Hamptons players is clear and actionable: refine serve and return, move forward, and make the match shorter to disrupt opponents’ timing and rhythm.