Player stands in one corner and the coach feeds a difficult ball to the other corner. Player runs and hits the ball on the run in cross court direction.
Hitting on the run is one of the most difficult strokes in tennis. Being in the motion and controlling the racquet are skills that have to be practiced to bring effective results. Additionally, placement of the ball is primary because we have to remember that after the shot we will be positioned well behind the sideline which gives our opponent an easy opportunity to hit a winner to the open court. Coach should explain to players that depth in cross court direction are things that they should look for to guarantee the best chances to stay in the point.
For players on the higher level of performance, coach can add more strokes in a row (running from corner to corner) or make the feed more difficult by using angles and speed.
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.
Wimbledon has just crowned another champion, and if you watched closely you saw the same thing every year: the best returners quietly won the tournament. Here is how to coach a return that pressures the server rather than just surviving it.
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