In most situations, hitting crosscourt from the baseline is the high percentage shot. The net is 6 inches lower in the center than it is at the sidelines. The court is more than 4 feet longer crosscourt than it is down the line. Plus, most of the time, you’ll be hitting the ball back where it came from, and changing direction of a ball is more difficult. This means that most tennis points are played using crosscourt shots.
So, when do we hit down the line? Generally down the line shots are used for three reasons.
First, to change the rally from one diagonal to another. For example, if you are hitting forehand to forehand, and your opponent’s forehand is better than yours, you can hit down the line to switch the rally to the backhand side.
A second reason for hitting down the line is for the attack. You have received a short ball or put your opponent out of position, and now you are going to hit down the line and come to the net. Hitting down the line puts the ball in front of you and allows you to cut off angle passing shots much easier. When attacking, hitting down the line is the high percentage play.
Finally, a player might hit down the line when hitting the last shot of the point. The player has been pulled way out wide and is hitting an on the run desperation shot. Most of the time, the player wants to hit this crosscourt but this ball has put him in so much trouble, that he is going to hit one last shot to try to end the point. The down the line rocket winner is not a high-percentage tactic, but it might be necessary in some situations.
So is hitting down the line high percentage tennis? Sometimes the answer is yes.