Tennis: Forehand mix opportunities

Player A hits forehand cross-court and forehand down the line. After this pattern both players play the point out.

Hula hoops are set on the court to help player imitate movement for close stance forehand The player performs a split step in the first cone and uses shuffle step to move forward in sideways position At the end, the coach throws the ball so the player hits a forehand while using a close stance

Coach stands on the players side of the net. Coach feeds 6 balls to the forehand side. 2 high balls, 2 medium balls and 2 low balls. Player moves to the ball and hits 6 shots making sure they uses only a closed stance forehand.

Cones are set in front of the player. Cones show the player how they should use their legs while performing a closed stance forehand. Player imitates a forehand closed stance stroke and moves their back leg forward after the shot towards the cone.

Player inserts a pen between the hand and the racquet's grip. Player imitates forehand without changing a grip. In this exercise, the pen is a valuable tool that will do all the work for the coach. Every time the player tries to change the grip to the old one, they will feel it because of the pen. After imitating, the coach should toss or feed balls to challenge players at the early stages of grip's change.

The coach feeds 3 balls to the backhand side (deep, medium, short). The player hits the following 3 shots: Forehand inside in after the bounce, Forehand in the air inside in and Forehand volley inside in Forehand inside in can win many points for the player but it can also bring more harm than good if it is executed poorly. Players have to remember that forehand inside in is played to the opponent's forehand (mostly the stronger side) as also there is a big gap left on our forehand side. This shot has to be well-placed with decent power to avoid negative results.

Coach serves from Deuce/Ad side. Player returns with forehand cross court. Coach hits the ball back to forehand. Player finishes to the open space. In this exercise, returner works on basic forehand patterns. From deuce side, player returns cross court and finishes down the line. From Ad side, player goes with cross court and finishes with inside in.

Player stands on the baseline. Coach feeds shorter balls with different heights. Player picks the right offensive method according to the ball’s height. Higher balls are hit with powerful strokes; lower balls are hit with more topspin and control. Drill specifications : 4 repetitions per set With more players on the court students make 2 lines and work on forehand and backhand separately. It allows the coach to put more players in play and work on proper tactical decisions. Waiting players should perform reaction drills to accelerate learning process and improve offensive skills in the hitting drill.

The coach stands in front of the player and keeps their racquet facing the player, holding it in the same position. The player imitates a forehand and moves their racquet forward to touch the coach's racquet.

The coach throws an easy ball to the player who hits a forehand shot back to the coach. The Coach then throws the ball back again but this time the player hits a forehand shot to the open space (deuce side) where the cones are situated.

Player stands behind the service line. Coach hits all the balls high to the forehand side. Player using forehand drive hits 2 shots to the deuce and 2 shots to the ad side.

Coach feeds balls to one side. Player hits 6 volleys in a particular pattern: 2 deep, 2 average, 2 short.

  Cones are set up in deuce and ad corners. Coach feeds balls to the center of the court. Player alternates hitting deep forehands to deuce and ad side from the center.

Five cones set up at end of the court as shown. Coach feeds the ball to player A to hit with a forehand cross court shot into the target area. Player A to return to starting position ready for the next feed. Coach then feeds another ball across the court to the opposite side for Player A to hit an inside out forehand down the line to the target area. Player returns to starting position. Repeat drill so that Player A hits 4 shots, then joins the queue for Player B's turn.

Coach feeds the ball down the line to player 1 who plays a deep cross court forehand (shot 1). Player 2 returns also playing a deep cross court forehand (shot 2). Player 1 then plays a forehand down the line (shot 3) back to the coach. The drill is continuous playing the same shots. Rotate players 1 and 2

3 cones are set on the baseline (deuce side, centere, ad side) Player starts from the cone on the deuce side The coach feeds balls to the deuce side the player hits forehand cross-court If player makes the zone, player recovers to the next cone If the player misses the zone, they has to come back to the same cone

Player stands next to the singles line. Coach feeds ball behind the doubles alley. Player moves to the ball, crosses doubles line with right leg and hits forehand in open stance. Player recovers back and repeats this pattern again while moving forward after each shot.  

Set up cones: 2 big steps in from the baseline and one from the sideline. 2 players rally crosscourt on each court (first forehand then backhand), aiming to hit the cones.  If you have one court and a group of Players then get Players to hit one shot and then have the next Player run in to return the next shot. Rotate in this way continuously. Rules: The first person to hit the cone gets to set a forfeit to the rest of the group.

Coach feeds high and short balls to the deuce side. Player moves forward and alternates hitting attacking forehand after the bounce and forehand drive volley out of the air.

Cones are set on the deuce side (deep and short). The player stands on the service line and the coach feeds high ball to the forehand side. The player executes forehand drive in the air deep cross-court and moves forward, before the coach feeds another ball to the backhand side.The player finishes with backhand drop-volley down the line.