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TennisOne Lessons
One-on-One Practice Drills that Get Results part 2 By David Brouwer How many times have you seen a couple of high level players hit the court for an hour and “just hit?” It seems that many players, even of the highest caliber, are not interested in doing drills to work on specific shots or patterns of play unless they are gearing up for their next big match. Even then, players will generally opt for match play or “grooving” their strokes as opposed to drilling a particular scenario or shot. In this article, I’d like to introduce you to some more of my favorite one on one drills that can get great results that you can really see in your match play situations. The Go Drill – Version #2
In this drill, you and your partner rally the ball crosscourt for consistency only. When one of you recognizes a ball that’s attackable, you say “now,” then drive the ball up the line and play the point out. The key to this drill is that you keep the ball deep enough and with enough pace and spin so that your partner can’t attack you up the line. In today’s game, the backhand up the line is such an offensive shot that it’s great to do this drill on the backhand diagonal as well. Play a game up to 11 but if you’re the player who takes the ball up the line and you win the point, you score two. Loser does 10 kangaroo jumps! Capture the Net
This is a great drill to teach the benefits of getting to net and finishing the point. Each player takes a hopper of balls and places it next to the net strap on their side of the net. Then you spin to see who begins at the net position. Whoever begins at the net grabs a ball out of their hopper and feeds it in, past the service line to their partner and the point is played out. The rule is if you win the point, you get to “capture the net” and feed the next ball in. In other words, as long as you’re winning points, you stay in the net position as the feeder. Here’s the catch - You can only win points in the net position. If you’re the baseliner at the beginning of the point, you have no opportunity to win the point, only the opportunity to “capture the net.” The other fun thing about this game is that you don’t have to wait for your opponent to get all the way ready to feed the ball in. As long as it’s past the service line and playable, you can make some tough feeds! Play a game up to 7 and the loser does 10 pushups! Perfect 15 Serving Game
In this game, you and your partner each get five tennis balls. If you serve the ball and the second bounce lands inside the baseline ( a VERY wimpy serve!), you score one point. If your second bounce lands past the baseline, you score two points. If your serve hits the back fence before bouncing twice, you score three points. Because you only get five balls, a perfect 15 would be five serves that hit the back fence on the fly after they bounce in the service box. This is a great drill to work on the swing speed and pace of the serve. It generally gets players to be a bit more reckless on the service action which can actually loosen up the throwing motion and allow for a more fluid motion, amounting to more pace! Play head to head games where each player gets five balls and the lowest score per game has to do 10 ab crunches! Perfect 16 for Doubles
This is a simple ball control game where one player is positioned at net and one is positioned on the baseline. A series of four shots in a row is the goal with the order being groundstroke to volley to lob to overhead. In other words, the player on the baseline starts with a groundstroke, the net player volleys it back deep, the baseliner lobs it and the net player plays an overhead back and then the series starts over. The perfect 16 would be getting all four shots in a row and doing it four times in a row for a total of 16 hits. This drill is great for footwork at the net, ball control from the baseline, and works on four very basic shots of the game. The best way to score this game would be in a team setting where you could pit teams of two against each other and the first team to get the perfect 16 would win the drill. Another effective way to practice this drill is on the diagonal as if you’re playing a doubles point. Davis Cup Volley Drill
Somewhere along the way, I picked up that the Romanian Davis Cup invented this drill. I’m not quite sure on that, but I love what it does for the volley and the footwork at the net. Both players start in one doubles alley across from one another. You begin a volley to volley exchange, but instead of standing still, you begin shuffling towards the other doubles alley while maintaining the volley exchange. Once you’ve reached the opposite doubles alley, you start shuffling back in the other direction and see how long you can sustain the volley to volley rally while moving in this shuffling pattern. To really make it challenging, do the same ball exchange while doing a karaoke step from alley to alley. Touch and Go
This drill works on the all important aspect of touch and feel around the net. So often players get inside the service line and have no idea of how to feel the ball, hit a short angle, or play a delicate drop shot. This drill works on the touch needed in this area of the court. To play, each player starts half way between the service line and the net in one of the service boxes. Each ball must be played off the bounce and must be played with under spin. This encourages good technique and correct grips on the volleys and slice. After a player hits the ball, the player who struck the ball must run back and touch the service line with their racquet. The shorter that each subsequent drop shot is played, the tougher it is to get back to touch the service line before having to hit the next shot. If this game is played correctly, the points can last a long time and it can turn into an excellent workout for the legs and lungs as well. Play a game up to seven and you’ll be plenty worn out! Double Hit Volleys
I’m pretty sure this is an oldie but a goodie. However, it’s one of the best drills that I’ve used to work on everything about the volley. It works on touch, grips, contact point, footwork, you name it. All you do to perform this drill is volley the ball once to yourself, then once over to your partner. Your partner does the same thing, bouncing it once to himself, then once over to you. The key is to make the first bounce to yourself soft and controlled so that you’re in good position to block the volley back cleanly to your partner on the second hit. A variation of this drill would be to use all forehands, all backhands, or alternating hits. Another variation would be to use the Davis Cup Volley Drill pattern where you and your partner are shuffling or karaoke stepping alley to alley while doing the double hit volleys. Again, this drill can be played for points with the loser buying lunch. Anyway, that’s another list of some of my favorite one on one drills. When you practice these shots and scenarios in a drill setting, it’s much easier to perform the skills under the pressure of competition. Whether you’re a teaching pro looking for some fresh ideas for your next private lesson, or a weekend warrior looking for something new for your next practice session, I'm sure these drills will help your improve. Get in the game! Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about David Brouwer's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.
David was voted the USPTA Michigan Professional of the year in 2002 and has won two USPTA Outstanding Education awards. David has been a speaker at the USPTA Midwest and National conventions and is the Director of the West Michigan Tennis Academy. David coaches USTA league players of all levels and finds great joy in coaching strategy and tactics to build smarter tennis players. |
David Brouwer, USPTA is the Director of Tennis for three major health clubs in Grand Rapids , MI.