Players use different strategies while playing tennis 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, all-court players. Many players have attributes of all three categories but, at times, may also focus on just one style based on the surface, or on the condition, or on the opponent.

A baseliner plays from the back of the tennis court, around/behind/within the baseline, preferring to hit groundstrokes, thereby allowing themselves more time to react to their opponent's shots, rather than to come up to the net (except in certain situations). Many modern professional players employ this style most of the time.

A volleyer plays nearer towards the net, preferring to hit volleys, whereby providing their opponent less time to react to their shots, rather than to stay/play from further back on the tennis court (except in certain situations). Many classic traditional players employed this style the best in the past.

All-court players fall somewhere in between, employing both baseliner strategies and volleyer strategies depending on the situations.

A player's weaknesses may also determine strategy. For example, most players typically have a stronger forehand shot and therefore they will favor the forehand, hence will re-balance their posture and re-adjust their position by "running around" a more logical backhand cross-court to enable them to hit an inside-out forehand instead. Or likewise, some players with a more dominant backhand shot and hence they will instead favor the backhand, thus will switch their stance, change their hand grip and with "quick footwork" hit a backhand down-the-line instead of a more convenient inside-in forehand.