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intense DRILLS
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1 in 1 out

The coach stands in front of the player and throws 1 short 1 deep ball to the backhand side. Player's goal is to hit backhands moving inside and outside of the baseline. Proper footwork is crucial if we are thinking about effective tennis play. Many mistakes are made because of improper legs' work so that is why players have to spend more time on drills that are based on intense footwork. Having strong legs and being quick are 2 skills that make us play better as also increase our self-confidence because we know our capabilities.

Backhand Drills

Circles with looping medicine ball

The player grabs loopy medicine ball with dominant hand, and performs circles forward and backward.

Agility & Fitness

Jump rope box one leg

Player jumps forward on right leg. On the service line, player changes direction and jumps sideways on the left leg. On the sideline, player changes the leg and jumps on right backward. On the baseline, player jumps to the right on left leg.

Agility & Fitness

Lunges with shoulders weights

The player keeps weights in both hands. The player performs a lunge and lifts the weights up. The player alternates legs with each repetition.

Agility & Fitness

Non-stop points out the hand

Players play the point out from the hand with each end of the court taking it in turns to feed the first ball in. If the player wins the point they stay on to play the next one with a maximum of 3 points in a row being played before switching with their partner. As soon as the point is complete the next ball can be fed in without having to wait for the opposing players to be ready. The drill should be non-stop, and the players are playing as a team with their points counting together. Players can play first to 11 points in this way.

Coordination / Fun Games

One Regular, One Drive

The player stands on the baseline, and the coach faces the player. The coach throws balls to the deuce side, and the player alternates forehand after the bounce and forehand in the air. Ability to play offensive forehands in the air is more and more important in modern tennis. Players have to learn how to position to the ball to hit forcing shots even while being just in front of the baseline

Forehand Drills

Rally with recovery

The player warms up backhand stroke and works on recovery, and rallies with another player. One player is using only backhand strokes. After each hit, the player has to recover to the middle and go around the cone.

Backhand Drills

Serve with tired legs

Player performs regular serve. After the serve player jumps sideways over the cones and comes back to the starting position. Player repeats the pattern few times in a row.

Serve and Return

Service box touch

Players 1 and 2 stand opposite each other, close to the net, working in the half court service boxes. Players take it in turns to start the point by holding the ball on top of the net and then release it, letting it fall to whichever side it chooses. The ball can bounce once or be volleyed. The tram-lines are out and no topspin or pace must be used by either player. Players play first to 21 points.

Rally Drills

Tennis: 1 in 1 out - Sportplan

The coach stands in front of the player and throws 1 short 1 deep ball to the backhand side. Player's goal is to hit backhands moving inside and outside of the baseline.Proper footwork is crucial if we are thinking about effective tennis play. Many mistakes are made because of improper legs' work so that is why players have to spend more time on drills that are based on intense footwork. Having strong legs and being quick are 2 skills that make us play better as also increase our self-confidence because we know our capabilities.

General

Mental Game: Managing Pressure...

General

Tennis: Rally with recovery - ...

The player warms up backhand stroke and works on recovery, and rallies with another player. One player is using only backhand strokes. After each hit, the player has to recover to the middle and go around the cone.

General

Tennis: Jump rope box one leg ...

Player jumps forward on right leg. On the service line, player changes direction and jumps sideways on the left leg. On the sideline, player changes the leg and jumps on right backward. On the baseline, player jumps to the right on left leg.

General

One Regular, One Drive Forehan...

The player stands on the baseline, and the coach faces the player. The coach throws balls to the deuce side, and the player alternates forehand after the bounce and forehand in the air.Ability to play offensive forehands in the air is more and more important in modern tennis. Players have to learn how to position to the ball to hit forcing shots even while being just in front of the baseline

General

Grass Court Tactics: Adapting ...

General

Tennis: Service box touch - Ra...

Players 1 and 2 stand opposite each other, close to the net, working in the half court service boxes.Players take it in turns to start the point by holding the ball on top of the net and then release it, letting it fall to whichever side it chooses.The ball can bounce once or be volleyed. The tram-lines are out and no topspin or pace must be used by either player.<hr />Players play first to 21 points.</div>

General

Tennis: Rally with observation...

The coach stands at the net and rallies with a player. The coach hits all the balls randomly and can change position. The player has to play all the ball back to the coach even if she changed her court position.Opponent's perception is a skill as any other that players have to practice. Most of the time players focus on the ball so they are pretty good with ball perception but they don't have the same ability according to the opponent. Knowing where the rival is situated on the court can be a great advantage because we can use more effective tactical decisions and win points without taking too much risk.

General

Random cones Agility & Fitness...

Cones are set randomly around the court. The player starts from the centre of the baseline and their goal is to touch each cone as fast as possible. Order can be random but player has to recover to the middle after each touch.

General

2 and 1 Backhand Drills - Spor...

Players rally together. Player A hits 2 backhands cross-court and 1 backhand down the line. Player B responds with all shots to the backhand corner.

General

Tennis: 2 responses from backh...

The coach feeds balls to the ad side. The player alternates hitting backhand down the line and backhand slice down the line.

General

Tennis: Controlled wide ball -...

The coach stands in front of the player. The coach throws difficult ball to the backhand corner, the player then sprints, slides and hits neutral/defensive ball.More and more players are able to really hit the ball from the baseline so there are many situations during the match when we are under time pressure. Being able to survive these critical moments can be a deciding factor about who will win the match so players have to work in these conditions during practice session to develop automatic responses.

General

Tennis: Answer drop shot - Bac...

The player stands on the baseline and the coach stands close to the net. The coach feeds drop shot to the backhand side. The player sprints forward and hits deep backhand slice down the line off drop shot.

General

Rally and run around Forehand ...

The player stands between 2 cones. The coach and player rally with each other. The coach tries to hit all the balls between the cones, which the player then hits the ball and runs around the cone according to the stroke he chose. If the player hits a forehand he has to run around the right cone. If the player hits a backhand he has to run around left cone.Adding decision making skill to simple rally is a great way to teach your players how to act under the time pressure. If the player is able to maintain consistency while making right decisions, then they won't have problems with smart strategy during the match. It is important to design drills that are consisted of skills that players have to use during competition because the more similar the practice environment to the competitive one, the easier it will be to perform at the same level day by day.

General

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intense SESSIONS
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Hitting and Moving: Playing on the run

High intensity, backline rallying Session - Designed to get your players moving around the court and playing shots at full stretch!

Nail the Inside Out and In Forehand!

Get your players hitting forehands like Rafael Nadal, and master the technical and tactical sides to the inside out and in forehand!
intense ANSWERS
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What are some good intense footwork drills?

I have this player who is 27 years of age, very competitive and driving complete player with great technique on his ground stokes. Basically a great all around player from the baseline and net. I want to challenge him with a intense footwork drill that will tire him out, yet get the necessary hitting time. The more intense and sweat the drill produces the better, I'm the kind of coach where footwork is the basic foundation for all tennis players. I'm open to any suggestions, thank you for your time.

Archived User Coach

coaching levels

I am currently on Beginner level I would like to know how I can go up levels for more intense drills?

Bruce Sutton Coach, Australia

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