Players use different tennis strategies to enhance their own strengths and exploit their opponent's weaknesses in order to gain the advantage and win more points.

Players typically specialize or naturally play in a certain way, based on what they can do best. Based on their style, players generally fit into one of three types: baseliners, volleyers and all-court players. Many players have attributes of all three categories but may focus on one style based on the surface or their opponent. A baseliner plays from the back of the tennis court, around the baseline, preferring to trade groundstrokes rather than to come up to the net (except in certain situations). A volleyer tries to approach the net and hit volleys, putting pressure on the opponent. All-court players fall somewhere in between.