In this exercise, the main emphasis is put on control and footwork. Coach stands in front of the player and tosses balls randomly. Player has to adjust to the incoming ball and hit controlled volley back to the coach. Proper form and consistency are main goals to achieve.
The key to playing effectively at the net is control. Players without control cannot be successful at the net because they have less time to react to the incoming ball. Staying low and making split steps will help players to react faster so their position will be more accurate.
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.