Players stand on the service line. Both players are only allowed to play their designated shot.
Player 1 hits a topspin shots; Player 2 returns the ball by hitting half-volleys.
A rally is a real test of a player's acquired skills and a good way to mimic match scenerios.
It is important that players are able to execute half-volleys, even when every ball hit to them is different.
The coach should be watching the players to see if they are reacting quickly and keeping a low, balanced position.
If the players are doing well use a variation of this drill by asking player 1 to stand close to the net to hit volleys. This means player 2 has less time to react so he has to be quicker with his footwork to still hit the half volley.
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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