The development of optimal strategies: Badminton and tennis as examples

The goal is to determine optimal strategies for games like tennis, badminton, squash or volleyball, in which one returns a struck ball. Depending on the comparative strengths of the player and his or her opponent, individual strokes have varying probabilities of success. Two-person zero-sum probability theory allows one to calculate optimal strategies. Trying these strategies on the courts shows that they can be used successfully.