The player serves wide from the deuce side and the coach feeds high ball back. The player finishes with backhand in the air cross-court.
Defensive players know how to neutralize good first serves. Many returners respond with high balls while dealing with powerful serves so if servers want to maintain advantage they have to be able to move forward and take the ball out of the air. Letting the ball bounce gets all the advantage away from the server so players who want to hold own deliveries have to work on the next shot to be able to dominate even while responding to moonballs.
In this drill, the player continues strategy while serving. It is smart for returners to hit high balls off good serves so players can't be surprised with this scenario. The coach has to always remind players that they have to stay offensive after 1st serve so even the ball is coming back their first response is to attack. While playing against moonballers taking few balls in the air will force them to change strategy and take more risk while returning what will result in more errors.
On-court coaching is now fully legal, technology continues to advance, and the ATP calendar evolves. Here's what tennis coaches need to know for 2026.
Tennis demands a unique combination of endurance, power, agility, and flexibility. Physical preparation determines how long careers last and how players perform when it matters most.
Ecological dynamics is transforming tennis coaching. This constraints-led approach develops adaptable, creative players who can solve problems in competition, not just execute drilled patterns.
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