The coach feeds each player 5 easy balls anywhere inside the service boxes.
The player must 'rip' every single ball, with 100% intensity, swinging freely and keeping the racquet head speed fast through each and every ball.
These are 'put away' balls, the last shot of a rally and must be buried into the court to give the opponent no chance of getting to it.
Players can be encouraged to take the ball at the top of the bounce, however it is useful for more advanced players to learn the skill of 'holding'.
This involves the player setting their feet once in the right position for the ball, and holding until their opponent has made a move to one side of the court before they hit it to the other.
The ball must be at a comfortable contact height to do this.
Players can aim at the targets as they wish, they are simply on the court as a guide.
The drill can be made competitive by the player with the highest number of targets hit being the winner.
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.
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