Tennis: Feeling the ball - Soft hands

Cones are set in the deuce deep area. The coach feeds balls to the forehand or backhand and the player hits the ball while avoiding the deep deuce corner.

Coach feeds the ball from centre of court to the players backhand. Players moves from the centre to hit the backhand down the line then recover back to the middle and move to hit a forehand down the line.

Player starts on the baseline Coach alternates feeding low and high short balls to the backhand side Player moves forward and hits offensive backhand into side zones from different points of contact

2 cones are set on the ad side. Player runs to the side cone as fast as possible and hits backhand using open stance. Player recovers and runs again to the front cone hitting backhand using close stance.

Players line up on centre move to play a backhand down the linerecovers to the centre and moves to hit a forehand down the line.

Coach feeds first ball deep to the ad side. Player hits deep backhand cross-court. Coach feeds another ball short to the deuce side. Player moves inside the court and attacks down the line using forehand stroke.

Coach, 4 players, 3 targets, and a basket of tennis balls. Player 1 starts off on the centre of the baseline. Coach feeds ball 1 to the corner of the singles court for player 1 to play a cross court backhand to target 1. Coach feeds ball 2 to the opposite side of the court just in front of service box for player 1 to run on to and play a short cross court forehand at target 2. Coach feeds ball to the centre of the opposite service box for player 1 to run on to and play a backhand volley to target 3. Player 1 joins the queue. Drill repeated with player 2/3/4.

Coach throws the ball to the side. Player moves, steps on the balance platform one one foot and hits either a forehand or backhand stroke.

Player keeps reversed cap on the head. Coach rallies with player. Player alternates hitting forehands and backhands. Player tries not to drop the cap.

Coach, 1 player, and a basket of tennis balls. Coach faces player 1 who is stood on the centre of the baseline. Coach drops the first feed to his right for the player to runaround and play an inside out forehand anywhere down the court. Coach then drops the second feed to his left for the player to run around and play a backhand drive anywhere down the court. Drill continues.

The coach feeds fast ball to deuce side. The player runs and hits deep forehand cross-court. The coach immediately feeds drop shot to ad side, the player then sprints and hits deep backhand slice down the line.

Coach feeds deep ball to the deuce side. Player moves back and hits forehand cross court. Coach feeds another ball shorter to the advantage side. Player moves inside the baseline and hits forehand inside in.

Players rally together. Player has to say "bounce" when the ball bounces on their side and say "hit" when they make contact with the ball.

The coach feeds 2 balls to the ad side and 1 ball to the deuce side Player hits backhand cross-court, backhand down the line and forehand cross-court Coach feeds the last ball shorter to the ad side Player finishes with attacking backhand down the line

2 players play points together. Zone is set in the deep area in the middle on the player A side. Player A tries to win the point by hitting offensively. Player B wins the point if the opponent misses the ball or if he makes 3 defensive shots into the zone. Drill specifications : 1-2 points and switch This drill has a competitive context but players shouldn’t forget about their goals. Players should switch after 1-2 points to keep all players rotating dynamically. Coach can set up a game where 2 teams are playing up to 10 points and they switch defensive/offensive roles after the game is over. While waiting for own turn, coach shouldn’t give any additional drills for players to let them watch others and learn from their decisions.

The player stands on the baseline Coach alternates feeding deep and short balls to the deuce side The player hits forehand cross-court from the baseline, attacking forehand down the line from the mid court, forehand down the line from the baseline and attacking forehand cross-court from the mid court area

Coach feeds the ball to one side. Player alternates aggressive and regular down the line shots. Drill specifications : 2-6 repetitions per set The minimum number of repetitions is 2 but it can go up to 6. It all depends of how many players we have on the court. With less players more repetitions are recommended while with more players less reps will be a better option to keep all students hitting. Coach can set up 2 lines of players to work on forehand and backhand down the line shots at the same time.

One line at centre in second volley position. Players hit forehand then backhand.

One line at centre in second volley position. Players hit backhands then forehands.

Set up two sets of cones around 1metre inside the service line, either side of the coach who stands in the centre of the court. The coach then feeds balls to the player so he/she has to hit either and backhand or forehand down the line shot. The player must execute all strokes in down the line direction aiming for between the cones.