are there any specific hits that the early matches in tennis can't return? i know how to hit hard and far and lob it but thats really about it

Hey Kazii, I'd recommend watching the current WR's run he pretty much has a perfect run! and is a great example of how to deal with the return of serve early on. However, in the first 4 rounds, you could in theory win all return of serve points without rallies by hitting the return early creating a sharp enough angle. Usually, the first 3 rounds are super simple to do so and can save a ton of time early on (as long as RNG is good and they don't hit a fast serve). The strat stays the same throughout rounds 4,5 and 6 but the AI is faster so they usually get to the ball. This then opens up the court for either a ball back at them or a sharp cross-court (net player always).

was gonna point you to my forum post but just saw you commented there ahaha. feel free to reach out on discord or PM (or through the forum post) if you want more info!

Oh, I also forgot to mention that lobs aren't super useful as they are very easy for AI to return. The best way to play is to mainly use the net player hitting on sharp angles and occasionally hit it directly at the backcourt player with lots of spins as it can cause a double bounce as the AI is dumb haha