Tennis singles strategy tips can be dealt out easily, and many of them are useful, but this tip may have the biggest impact on your matches if you take some time to grasp the idea, then practice it.
Tennis is like Poker
If you have ever played poker you might have heard the expression 'play the person, not the cards' or something along those lines. Tennis strategy is much like that. If you get good at noticing things about your opponent's game, similar to how a good poker player notices things about their opponents, then I promise you you'll find some better results coming your way.
So maybe you know how to hit a great forehand, backhand, serve, volley, overhead, and you're in shape, well, big deal! If you don't know the tennis strategy to enhance your fantastic shots you probably have lost many singles games, sets, and matches and you will keep losing games you shouldn't.
When I was a junior player one of my coaches continually said 'play the ball' and 'play your own game' and I often tried to do that. I tried to block the other person out of my mind while I tried to 'play my own game' and 'play the ball' in matches and I lost a lot of matches, many that I should never have lost.
Now I understand why you can't just 'play the ball' and you cannot just 'play your own game' and it's because tennis is like a poker game - your opponent's face, their body, and especially their strengths and weaknesses, are what show you how to win matches.
Knowing your opponent's tendencies is the information that will show you what plays you can and can't make in a match (or in a poker game).
You can practice as much as you want and get as fit at you want, which is a very good thing to do so don't misunderstand my message, it's just that to gain the maximum out of your game you need to add tennis strategy training to your practice sessions.
You need to learn to find your opponent's strengths and weaknesses quickly if you want to improve your winning record. Start by observing players from the sidelines and learning how to spot their weaknesses and strengths. Practice makes perfect as the saying goes.
Next time you are sitting on the sidelines waiting to go on, focus your attention on one player and see if you can find their tendencies. Are they predictable? Practice doing this any chance you can to exercise your observation muscles. Exercising this ability will help you recognize you opportunities in a match quickly.