Cone is set near the player on the backhand side. The player imitates backhand stroke, and the player's goal is to lower the racquet's head and hit the cone while shadowing.
Hitting with topspin is a necessity to achieve consistent level of play. It is impossible to develop more advanced skills without an ability to hit comfortably with topspin. Players who hit flat backhands can struggle against decent opponents so coach should teach this skill to everyone.
In this exercise, the player learns how to apply topspin in backhand stroke. By trying to hit the cone, the player can simply execute proper motion of the racquet. The coach should emphasize to lower the racquet head before the hit to add spin to the ball. The coach should feed some balls to see the player's transition from shadowing to more challenging opportunity.
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.