As mentioned in my article last month which discussed "Rounding-Out Drills", a player’s ability to diversify and create variety in the game can—and should be—practiced with regularity.
There are many creative ways to improve the ability to hit with more finesse, touch, angle, spin, and depth. Here I will show you some of my favorite drills as they relate to topspin and slice shots as well as a few more volley drills we incorporate regularly in our academy’s clinics and lessons.
If you missed my article last month on Rounding-Out drills, I would like to remind you that many, if not most players, tend to learn and practice tennis in a linear context. That is, they learn to focus straight ahead, hitting more or less down the middle of the court. Many pros, in fact, feed balls from this same position. Not that this is a terrible place to feed balls for some drills; however, it is critical to player progression to learn to hit from and receive balls from different locations as well. It is also important to learn to hit shots to a variety of targets.
Learning to hit topspin from a sharp angle or extreme down-the-line position helps develop a player’s ability to hit more effective topspin crosscourt and down-the-line shots.
Traditionally, beginners progress from a) hitting a ball over the net, to b) hitting a ball deeper, to c) hitting to the corners, to d) hitting with more advanced grips, spins, and footwork patterns. While this progression is not necessarily detrimental, there are ways to teach and incorporate more diversity and advanced stroke production earlier in one’s development.
It is interesting to watch many players, those who are typically stagnant at the 3.0 or 3.5 levels. When first introduced to many of these rounding-out drills, they can’t diversify a great deal if at all! When instructed to hit significant angle, touch, spin, or depth, these players usually can’t come close to the directed target areas.
It must be understood that it takes more than just proper technique to execute effective shots; it takes the perception that comes from experience and confidence that these shots are not only possible, but oftentimes easier to execute and certainly more effective in their use!
Start using these drills and you will soon discover an ability to do more than just hit the ball down the center of the court.
Topspin Sharp Angle Drill
This drill takes the student to the far side of the net, near the net post, and works on hitting topspin forehand and/or backhands from this angle to a target near the opposite net post and ally.
The beauty of this drill is several fold:
It allows a player to recognize the value of using more topspin and how it works.
It gets a player comfortable with using topspin to create sharper angles.
It teaches a player that to get a ball to drop faster, the player must hit with more racquet head speed.
This last point is critical in many aspects of tennis: if we slow down racquet head speed, we get less topspin and less downward arch. Many players use gravity to keep balls in play; they swing softer and softer to hit their targets. This results in players ‘dinking’ the ball over the net. This particular drill allows the player to feel the spin and see the results.
The sharp angle crosscourt drill can be used to work both the forehand and backhand topspin for two players simultaneously.
Another nice thing about this drill is that it can be done with two players simultaneously. I call this “Paired Topspin Angles,” and it is really helpful as it can teach one player to hit a significant “inside out” shot while the other is hitting a sharp angle crosscourt stroke.
Pros who work with several players can incorporate this drill and even have two more players hitting the same drill on the other side of the net post hitting the same shot to targets on the other side of the net. Coaches can easily train players to take turns being the feeder so the coach can work with other players at the same time or watch how all players are executing their shots.
Severe Down-the-Line Drill
When teaching passing shots or learning to hit down-the-line winners, drilling from a position well outside the net post offers a student a different geometric impression. So, rather than just feeding from the middle of the court set up the down-the-line from a position outside the net post. (Not that traditional feeding positions aren’t important also!)
The slice used in the sharp angle and down-the-line rounding out drills can help players develop feel and technique in hitting the slice correctly.
Combined with the crosscourt angle topspin drill described above, this drill will open the eyes of a student as to what is possible in terms of directional options. For advanced players, it is an excellent drill to work on the down-the-line winner, and for beginners, it teaches a player how to hit away from the middle of the court and discover different angles in which a ball can be hit into the court from different positions.
Slice Angle and Down the Line
Using these same two drills, a player can work on touch as it pertains to slice or under-spin strokes. In fact, as these video clips demonstrate, a player can work on these shots themselves by drop hitting the ball and working on the stroke and placement. Again, as a coach, it is very helpful to develop drills that players themselves can work on, and certainly for individuals, it is important to know what drills can be done alone.
Butterfly drills are excellent for more advanced players who are looking to improve their footwork, touch, and control of the volley. Here, Russ and Sam Christensen demonstrate the pattern.
This drill is helpful not only in the concepts mentioned earlier, but because a player is working on touch and finesse with these under-spin strokes, they don’t swing as hard when trying to execute them. Many players have difficulty executing slice backhands because they feel like they have to swing with their body too much and they spin around or swing outside the linear swing path that is ideal for a slice.
This drill also helps the player understand the relationship of the hips and shoulders in hitting a slice backhand.
This drop hit drill can also be done on the forehand side. Drop the ball very low and the player can learn to hit a low ball very effectively with slice. Learning this helps players to play without being rushed. Not that we don’t want to move quickly, many players over-run shots to the point that even when they get to the ball, they can’t control the stroke because they are off balance and out of control.
As with the volley, the butterfly drill can be used to develop control and feel on short-court topspin shots. Watch as Russ and Sam develop soft hands, half-volley type pick-ups, and directional control on their forehand and backhand topspins.
Butterfly Drills
Also called “Figure 8” drills, these drills are more advanced in their execution but can and should be done by intermediates (those who are working on proper technique) to learn how to gain consistency and how to direct shots more intentionally with the new technique.
Essentially, players will take turns hitting down-the-line or crosscourt, with one player only hitting one of the directions while the other hits the opposite. This can be done with volleys as well as groundstrokes.
Players should practice differentiating between the two directional controls. That is, players should resist hitting balls close to the middle of the hitting area; instead, they should hit with enough angle or specifically down-the-line to make each player move significantly.
Butterfly Volley Drill
A great drill using only the service boxes facing each other. One player hits soft, underspin volleys crosscourt, while the other player hits down-the-line drop volleys. They try to keep the ball close to the net at all times and make each shot go up and then start down before it crosses the net. Otherwise, the volleys will be hit too hard to control a sustainable rally.
Sam and Russ work on the slice in a butterfly short-court or ‘mini’ tennis drill. Note the footwork and racquet preparation by both players.
Butterfly Topspin Drill
Just as the previous volley drill, the Butterfly Topspin Drill is hit as a “mini-tennis” drill. The idea is to work on finesse topspin strokes with a directional purpose, again using the small service boxes as the target area. (This drill can and should be practiced as a full court exercise as well.) Players stand back just behind the service line, just as they would for “mini tennis.”
Butterfly Slice Drill
Just like the Topspin Drill, the Butterfly Slice drill uses the service boxes to work on controlling slice strokes. This is a great complement to the rounding out topspin and slice drills hit from the side of the court discussed earlier.
The ability to control topspin and slice shots in a shorter area of the court teaches how to control the ball against softer hitters, something that many hard hitters have difficulty with! Once a player can direct softer balls with intention and effective angles and depth, playing dinkers is no longer an uncomfortable situation!
Turn Around Forehand and Backhand
This ‘turn-around’ drill helps players learn to know where the court is, where the ball is, and develop the associated footwork necessary to make a rapid decision in shot making.
This unique drill not only challenges players to learn where they are on the court as well as finding their target area at the last moment, it teaches balance and body control in a fun and distinctive manner.
The idea is to have a player act like he has overrun a high, floating ball, turn completely around and hit it with the opposite stroke. Players should work on both forehand and backhand “turn-around” shots.
One Footed-Strokes: Serve
At our academy, we do a lot of ‘one-footed’ drills. These drills teach players to be balanced and they act as a terrific way to get kids to recognize that hitting hard does not take full-body movements. Interestingly, over the past six years since I invented these drills, (along with my assistant pro Scott Adams), I have found that my students hit just as hard as when they are using both feet! The reason for this is that when players swing with balance, they swing with controlled inertia which allows them to more effectively time the ball and maximize their weight at the opportunistic moment. Because when one is hitting on one foot, a player must swing under control and with balance. (Or else fall down!)
These drills are terrific for teaching pros and coaches and I recommend they include them in their teaching programs. Like all the drills explained in this article, they offer a change of pace and a way to mix up practices, clinics, and lessons so they are more interesting and exciting.
One-Footed drills are excellent for helping players develop balance and swing within a controlled speed.
Players improve faster when they are provided many avenues in which to hit specific strokes. We often use one-footed wiper drills, backing out drills, and three-across drills while working topspin and slice strokes from the baseline. (I will include several of these examples in a follow-up article.)
Conclusion
A team’s or coach’s success is often based on the ability to employ creative drills that will excite and motivate the players. In addition, we all know that players learn from different experiences. Incorporating diverse drills helps players learn things they might not otherwise have discovered.
Pros that employ a wide variety of drills prevent practices from becoming mundane and boring. But, beyond this reason, the kind of drills presented in this article not only help players develop more effective shots and techniques, they help players develop a well-rounded game that allows them to compete more effectively against a wider variety of opponents. Kids of all ages as well as adults will enjoy and benefit from these drills!
I hope these drills help you to reach your goals and potential!
• Why do millions of tennis players stagnate at levels far below their potential?
• Why are making changes in one's game so frustratingly difficult?
• What tennis teaching methods are disruptive or detrimental to player progression?
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illions of tennis players stagnate at levels far below their potential? 
Join Dave Smith in an intimate, ultimate tennis camp: Desert Shadows Tennis Institute (DSTI) is an intense, 3-day camp that accepts only 12 players to work directly with Dave and his staff of certified and accomplished pros. Over 18 hours of tennis instruction is included along with a copy of Dave’s best-selling tennis book, TENNIS MASTERY, a DVD of instruction, breakfast and lunch each day, and a lifetime of tennis secrets!