The player stands in one corner of the court, with the coach on the opposite side of the baseline.
The coach drops the ball from shoulder height and the player must sprint across the baseline and hit the ball, before returning to their starting position.
This exercise is a for any serious tennis player. Tennis is all about running from one corner to the other and being able to hit the ball successfully while controlling balance. Running the full width of the court can be challenging for many players so coach should prepare the right amount of sets. This drill is a great opportunity to observe how execution of the given stroke is related to the player's fatigue.
For more advanced players, coach can drop the ball from the lower height or make the distance bigger between player and coach.
Indoor courts give players less time and less room. Help them sharpen their split step, shorten their swing and stay calm, and winter becomes a season of real progress.
A tiebreak is a short sprint where every point is worth the same as a break of serve. The players who win them are rarely the ones who hit hardest. Here is how to coach the patterns, habits and scoreboard thinking that win the big points.
Most club players practise the serve on its own and then have no idea what to do with the ball that comes back. Serve plus one is the pattern that turns a good serve into a won point.