Tennis Drills

In this article we look at some exciting drills for hitting partners who do the same old stuff week in and week out. Give your game some direction, objectives and strategies!

Most intermediate tennis players I coach have a hitting partner they train with at least once a week. This gives them an opportunity to practice the technique or tactics we’ve been working on at that week’s tennis lesson.

Having a hitting partner is the most cost effective way of improving your tennis shots, for you and your partner as well.

Tips for practicing with a partner

• Get a partner at your standard or preferably slightly stronger than you. This will often bring your game up to their standard. Just as playing someone weaker might throw your game out a little.
• Book a regular time for practice. Whether it’s weekly or fortnightly, make a commitment and stick to it. Practice drills are as important as match practice.
• Use different venues and court surfaces. This will test how you adapt your game to changing conditions and will benefit those who play tournaments around town.
• Have a few different hitting partners of varying styles. Examples include a heavy topspin hitter, hard flat hitter but also someone who you really enjoy hitting with. It keeps the game fun ;)

In this first edition of quality drills for hitting partners we’re going back to the old saying KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. Some try to get too fancy too soon. If you can’t keep long rallies at simple angles, you need to work on that first. Some of the drills can be performed with a ball machine but I’ve written them out in a partner format.

Drill 1 - Crosscourt

Crosscourt is your bread and butter. To be able to stay in a match for more than 2 shots you need to have a solid crosscourt shot.

The benefits of a crosscourt ball are more length of court to hit to, you hit over the lowest part of the net and with the body naturally turns across the court. More importantly for the intermediate/advanced player is that you don’t have to recover as far as if you played a down the line ball. This will be explained further in our court positioning post coming soon.

The Tennis Drill:

Place a cone or drink bottle in opposite corners of the court about 1 metre in from the baseline and single lines. Simply try and hit the bottle on the other side of the court. You’re looking at rallying 20 balls in a row. The bounce should be in the vicinity on the bottle, or at least deep than the service line. A 20 ball rally is a benchmark you should aim for.

To add a competitive element to the drill play first to hit the others bottle over 5 times.

Progression:

Rally 4 balls crosscourt then the point starts. Then rally 6 balls then play, then 8 etc. Aim for 20 ball rally then play the point. You can score if you want.

Drill 2 - Unforced Errors

Tennis matches are won and lost on unforced errors, not winners as some like to play. Getting the ball in one more time, even as a lob or soft shot is better than hitting an all or nothing last ditch hit.

The Tennis Drill:

• Play the point out full court
• Each unforced error is a strike
• Winners and forced errors don’t count
• 3 strikes and you do 10 burpees and repeat.
• This also builds fitness and adds pressure, especially after a few sets of burpees.

Progressions:

1 - Have one player covering doubles court and the other on singles as shown by the red rectangles. Same rules apply with strikes etc.

2 - Add rule if you win on a volley you can minus a point off the strike score.

Drill 3 - Doubles Approach

This one is for the double players out there. Most weekly tennis competitions around these days have a doubles and single element and this is a great drill for teaching when to get to the net and play a strong volley under pressure.

Doubles tactic numero uno, get to the net. I see a lot of social doubles and too many people either hang back at the baseline or in ‘no man’s land’. Generally social payers start in the neutral doubles positioning of one person at the net and one on the baseline. From here any short ball that pulls you into the court or if you hit a strong enough ball to get the other players out of position, or give yourself enough time to get to the net, get to the net. If you have the option of hitting to a baseliner as opposed to a net player you should nearly always play to the baseliner.

The Tennis Drill:

• Play the point out crosscourt including the doubles alley. RED AREA
• The ball must be hit back crosscourt if it bounces on your side.
• If you play a volley it can be placed anywhere in the full doubles court BLUE AREA, meaning it should be put away.
• Assuming the opposition can return the volley the point is played out full doubles court.
• Play an approach shot that makes the opponent play a bounced ball because it forces them to play a crosscourt ball back to you.

Progression:

• If the ball bounces before the service line you must approach no matter what. This adds pressure on whoever hits the ball short because you know the opponent is approaching and they have a hugely increased chance of winning at the net.
• This drill can also be played down the line, doubles alley included, and full court singles

Within tennis training there are an infinite number of drills and variations. These are just a few of many more to come. I hope you have enjoyed these drills and keep on the lookout for more to come.

If you have any questions please let me know in the comment section.