Developing Superior Crosscourt Patterns by John Yandell The ability to hit the ball crosscourt with superior depth is fundamental to both the attacking and defending games in competitive tennis. Hitting the ball deep and crosscourt opens the court on offense, and takes away your opponent’s attacking angles when you defend. It’s shocking how many players, even tournament players with success at high competitive levels, have never systematically developed this pattern on either the forehand or backhand side. Here’s a drill that will help you honestly measure your crosscourt skill level on both sides, and allow you to develop it to a much higher level. The drill is in the form of a game, which makes it fun, especially for junior players (although I know adults who’ll play it for an hour at a time). Set up 3 cones to define a rectangular target area on the forehand side and do the same on backhand side. The cones should be positioned halfway between the service line and baseline and halfway between the singles sideline and the center of the court. These target areas define a deep crosscourt ball on both sides. Use a ball machine to feed the balls to the forehand side and hit everything crosscourt to the target area. When your first shot lands in the target rectangle you are "1 out of 1." Now see how many out of 10 you can score. Switch to the backhand and see what your score is on 10 balls. Next set the machine to throw one ball to each side and repeat, alternating forehands and backhands. Again, check your ability to hit to the alternating target rectangles. If you really are a master of this basic pattern you should be able to consistently hit 8-10 balls into the target area on both sides, and do the same when alternating sides. Measure your score after a few attempts at the game and take the average as your initial "baseline." Work until you can hit 8 or more out of ten on a consistent basis. You can have contests with your friends, or practice partners. It’s a great drill for junior groups. As you develop you skill to score consistently in the 8-10 range, vary the angles and widths of the feeds to simulate the full range of balls you face in match play. Once you can consistently hit the targets on everything the ball machine throws you, you’ll be ready for the advanced crosscourt drill simulating match play coming to you soon in TennisONE.

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