Contact Help center
Tennis Tennis
HOME Tennis SEARCH

Tennis: rules

rules DRILLS
View All

Crosscourt forehands

Set up cones: 2 big steps in from the baseline and one from the sideline. 2 players rally crosscourt on each court (first forehand then backhand), aiming to hit the cones. If you have one court and a group of Players then get Players to hit one shot and then have the next Player run in to return the next shot. Rotate in this way continuously. Rules: The first person to hit the cone gets to set a forfeit to the rest of the group.

Forehand Drills

Forehand Close Stance-weight transfer

Player stands behind the baseline. Coach faces the player. Coach throws the ball. Player hits forehand/backhand and moves the right/left leg forward. Player’s goal is to get to the service line without any additional steps. 1-2 full repetitions (to the service line) per set Coach can line up all the players next to each other and work only with one while others imitate the same movements without hitting the ball. After the full set all players move one spot to the right and start over. To make this drill more interesting 1 player can hit with the coach, some players can imitate the shots and others can work together and replace racquet with a medicine ball (throwing and transferring the weight).

Forehand Drills

Forehand to forehand team tram line drill

Players get into pairs. Each pair plays against another pair rallying inside the tram line. The two players rotate in each team, taking it in turns to hit the ball using only their forehand. Every time the ball stays inside the tram lines they score a point The first pair to score 10 is the winner.

Rally Drills

Serve / Return Point Play

Player 1 is serving and will play a sequence of 4 points against player 2 as follows: Serving from the deuce court player 1 must serve wide. Player 2 must return the shot to player 1's forehand side. Serving from the deuce court player 1 must serve inside. Player 2 must return the shot to player 1's backhand side. Serving from the advantage court player 1 must serve inside to player 2 who must return the ball to player 1's forehand corner. Serving from the advantage court player 1 must serve wide to player 2 who must return the ball to player 1's backhand side.

Serve and Return

Total tennis through throwing

-The players only use the service box and play without rackets.-Start with an over-arm throw from behind the service line (as if serving) and play out a rally with normal tennis rules.-When the player catches the ball they can only hold it for 1 second. When the player has the ball they cannot move there feet!-If the ball bounces they must use under-arm throws. If they catch it before bouncing, they can throw over-arm (as if volleying before bounce!)-First player to 7 points wins, as in the tie-break.

Coordination / Fun Games

Try your opponent

Cones are set on the service line (ad side). This is the position where opponent stays while playing doubles. The player starts at the net and the coach feeds the lob. The player then hits overhead into the cones.

Volley Drills

Using the Body

The coach and player rally together. Each player has to firstly touch the ball with one body part, and then he/she can hit it over the net with the racquet.

Forehand Drills

Kick Tennis Kicking - Rugby Dr...

Two team of 4.40m x 20m area.The aim of the game is to kick / punt the ball into the oppositions half. If the ball bounces on the ground or is knocked on (from a grubber-kick) then you get 1 point. If the ball is caught cleanly then no points are scored.

General

Two things at once? Coordinati...

Players rally co-operatively down the middle of the court, standing between the service and baselines.However, they both must feed a ball in at the same time, so effectively there are 2 balls in play at once.Players try to get the longest rally they can within a certain set time period.</div>

General

Kick Tennis - Moving net Kicki...

Split the group into three teams. One team starts in the middle of the grid along the line. The idea of the game is to kick the ball over the middle team and try to land the ball in the oppositions area. If the ball is caught then no points are scored, if the ball bounces in the oppositions area then 1 point is scored. If one of the players in the middle catches the ball (they gain 1 point) then they swap positions with the team that kicked the ball.

General

Forehand to forehand team tram...

Players get into pairs. Each pair plays against another pair rallying inside the tram line. The two players rotate in each team, taking it in turns to hit the ball using only their forehand. Every time the ball stays inside the tram lines they score a point The first pair to score 10 is the winner.

General

Rugby Tennis Passing - Rugby D...

Tell you players the following...... There will be two players on one side of the middle line of cones, and another group on the other side. They will be two separate teams. It's rugby tennis, so the aim of the game is to pass the ball in such a way that the other two players won't be able to stop it from going out of play, however. The ball must be a normal rugby pass, and the ball must hit the ground inside the tennis court on the oppositions side. The passer must be 2 meters behind the center line. That's it, lets play.

General

Speedy Gonzales Coordination /...

This is a speed development drill for tennis. Players line up along the outer tram line to start the race. Players run to the inner tram line and return back to the outer line, without stopping they run to the centre service line and return again, and then continue also run to both tram lines at the far end. The players will touch each line with their hand before moving to the next line.

General

Two ball tennis Coordination /...

<BR>-Without using a net, both players start with a ball. Starting simultaneously with an under arm throw they aim to keep both balls in play for as long as possible.<BR>-With more advanced players they can use the net and even rackets.

General

Waves! Rally Drills - Tennis D...

Players are playing doubles points from the hand in pairs.The pair who wins the point moves to the service line which is their starting position for the next point. Should they win the point from this starting position, players score 1 point and get to stay where there are. Should they lose the point from starting on the service line, they must move back to the baseline.

General

The Volley Train Coordination ...

- Volley to each others Forehand only.<BR>-The first pair to successfully complete the task is the winner.<BR>- If it breaks down, go to the back of the queue.<br>This then can be done with backhand volley only.

General

Tennis: Forehand Close Stance-...

Player stands behind the baseline. Coach faces the player. Coach throws the ball. Player hits forehand/backhand and moves the right/left leg forward. Player’s goal is to get to the service line without any additional steps.1-2 full repetitions (to the service line) per setCoach can line up all the players next to each other and work only with one while others imitate the same movements without hitting the ball. After the full set all players move one spot to the right and start over. To make this drill more interesting 1 player can hit with the coach, some players can imitate the shots and others can work together and replace racquet with a medicine ball (throwing and transferring the weight).

General

Tennis: Know Your Place - Back...

Coach feeds balls to the backhand side. Player hits backhand volley cross court and recovers to the cone. Proper spot after cross court backhand is on the deuce side. Coach should explain to players that they have to be on the same side where they hit the ball. This rule is crucial at the net because player has to cover first down the line passing shot (down the line crosses the net faster than cross court).

General

Rally With Footwork Rally Dril...

Coach and player rally through the center of the court.Player has to alternate hitting forehand and backhand.

General

Serve / Return Point Play Serv...

Player 1 is serving and will play a sequence of 4 points against player 2 as follows:Serving from the deuce court player 1 must serve wide. Player 2 must return the shot to player 1's forehand side.<br /><br />Serving from the deuce court player 1 must serve inside. Player 2 must return the shot to player 1's backhand side.<br /><br />Serving from the advantage court player 1 must serve inside to player 2 who must return the ball to player 1's forehand corner.<br /><br />Serving from the advantage court player 1 must serve wide to player 2 who must return the ball to player 1's backhand side.</div>

General

Gladiator Movement - Tennis Dr...

2 teams. One team has only 2 people who are gladiators. The other 4 have to balance the ball on their racquets and put it in the hoop without being tagged. When they are tagged they have to go back to the bucket to start again. Give them 2 minutes then stop.

General

Attack & Position Volley Drill...

Coach feeds easy ball around the service line.Player attacks using forehand and moves forward to the net.Player should stay on the same side where he hit the last ball too.

General

Win Without The Net Serve and ...

Players play regular points. There is one rule: return can't be hit into the net. Any return missed into the net costs 2 points.

General

Crosscourt forehands Forehand ...

Set up cones: 2 big steps in from the baseline and one from the sideline.2 players rally crosscourt on each court (first forehand then backhand), aiming to hit the cones. If you have one court and a group of Players then get Players to hit one shot and then have the next Player run in to return the next shot. Rotate in this way continuously. Rules:The first person to hit the cone gets to set a forfeit to the rest of the group.

General

Control the Depth - Backhand B...

Coach feeds balls to one side. Player hits 6 volleys in a particular pattern: 2 deep, 2 average, 2 short.

General

Learn the Drive Backhand Drill...

The coach demonstrates how to execute backhand drive in the air and emphasizes 4 major steps: shoulder turn with backswing, positioning, high point of contact and weight transfer. Players shadows the stroke to get the feeling of a motion.Demonstration of a new skill can accelerate the learning process or it can prevent players from reaching higher levels. Coaches have to make sure that all players understand technical parts of this stroke before they move to the ball-specific drills.

General

Bluff Doubles Game Doubles Dri...

Players are effectively playing a game of touch-doubles, so the ball is fed in and the point played out within the service boxes, with the tramlines being out.Players must use touch and feel as no pace or power can be use to win the point. They can volley and the ball is allowed to bounce as in normal tennis.However, each player only has to look after their own service box quarter. Balls which land in their zone are the only ones they are responsible for retrieving. If they so wish, they can poach and intercept balls in the other players' box, but the player next to them is not going to cover their back and switch sides as in normal doubles.

General

Tennis: Keep the opponent on t...

Player A serves to the T from the ad side. Player B hits forehand cross-court return and both players rally using only backhands cross-court.

General

Five Alive Coordination / Fun ...

Separate the whole group into teams of around 5-6. Each team nominates a player to feed first. When ready the feeder throws the ball to each player consecutively until the team has caught 5 balls. The team getting to 5 first shouts Five Alive and win the first point. A new feeder is selected by each team, and the next round begins.

General

Unfortunately there were no results for your search! Please try again
rules ANSWERS
View All

How to run try-outs, getting 50 students down to 32?

There are 50 students, and I need to select 32 of them. How will you plan your try-out? Test for accuracy? Fitness?

Farhad Roshanaie Coach, United States of America

If the ball hits player's body...

If the ball hits player's body and returns over the net, whose point is it?

Vincie Abbott Coach, England

Psychology in tennis HELP! My ...

Psychology in tennis HELP!!! I have a daughter who is an excellent player who only started playing tennis seriously last yr at the age of 13. She is a much better player than all the people she has completed against in matches but always loses due to over hitting and getting upset if the wrong call is made (which happens frequently due to how fast she hits and serves) do we need some sort of psychological help for this. what is the best way to get this... books, councilling ??? any help would be most appreciated thanks

Archived User Coach

JOIN SPORTPLAN FOR FREE

  • search our library of 1200+ tennis drills
  • create your own professional coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested plans
LATEST FROM THE BLOG
Banish Your Coaching Nightmares with Sportplan

Banish Your Coaching Nightmares with Sportplan

Save yourself a scare this Halloween and ensure your session runs smoothly. No chaos, no fright, just structure.

October 30th, 2025
|
Cam Hughes
The 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour: What To Expect

The 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour: What To Expect

As the Lions tour approaches with their first tour game this Friday against Argentina, we look ahead at what the fans can expect to see from both sides as the tour in Australia approaches...

June 18th, 2025
|
Cam Hughes
Transform Your Coaching: Discover the Power of FootballBot!

Transform Your Coaching: Discover the Power of FootballBot!

Introducing the Sportplan FootballBot. Your new coaching partner that has all the answers to the questions you may have...

June 12th, 2025
|
Cam Hughes
VISIT THE BLOG TO READ MORE
Tennis POPULAR SEARCH TERMS
forehand drillsservingdoublesbackhand drillsdrop shotfootworkgamesbackhandvolleybeginnerforehandservewarm upmini tennisdoubles drillslesson plansconsistencykidsslice

What our users have been saying...

Coaches from around the world look to Sportplan for coaching confidence.

Sportplan has been very helpful in guiding me through my first year as a High School Coach.

Bill O'Neill Newly qualified coach, America

Your tennis drills are extremely useful coaching tools.

Nail Tennis coach, Bangalore

Thanks for everything! Sportplan has helped me to improve my tennis lessons, making them more interesting and fun.

Andrea Tennis coach, England

Wow what a great website, I have found sportplan an important tool for me when planning my netball sessions with my netball team. There are alot of very helpful tips/ideas/skills that I can learn and teach to my team. Thank you sportplan I hope to continue to use your helpful tips and to learn more about improving my teams netball skills. Thanks again....keep it up....

Monique New Zealand

I have been using Sportplan now for 3 years and can honestly say that I have never repeated the same session twice. My girls are always focused and are improving every year. Thanks Sportplan.

Debbie Cross Australia

What a fantastic tool. The Chalkboard and session tools make an unbelievable difference in making training plans in both time and organization. I will be instructing all of my assistant coaches that this tool must be used for all sessions during the season, so that we may build a club coaching resource library.

Wes Campbell Rugby Coach Canada

I can't get enough of the Sportplan, It has given me back the enthusiasm i was starting to lose. My girls are so keen and are ready at 14 to take the next up in their game. Sportplan will help no end.

Cornel Basketball Coach, South Africa

SIGN UP NOW FOR FREE

  • search our library of 1200+ tennis drills
  • create professional tennis coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested tennis plans

Sportplan App

Give it a try - it's better in the app

SPORTPLAN USES COOKIES

Sportspeople like cookies too! By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. More info

Privacy Policy
We are committed to privacy and support current industry initiatives to preserve individual privacy rights on the Internet. Protecting your privacy on-line is an evolving area and this website will constantly evolve to meet these demands.


Cookies
Some of our web pages utilise "cookies". A "cookie" is a small text file that may be used, forexample, to collect information about web site activity. Some cookies and other technologies may serve to recallPersonal Information previously indicated by a web user. Most browsers allow you to control cookies, includingwhether or not to accept them and how to remove them.

Some cookies are necessary for the operation of our website, if you choose to block them some aspects of the site may not work for you. Non necessary cookies are only set when you have given your explicit consent to their use. Such cookies included those set by our statistics package Google Analytics.

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.

More info
Tennis POPULAR SEARCH TERMS
approach backhand backhand drills badminton beginner donkey doubles doubles drills drills drop shot football footwork forehand forehand drills games kids lesson plans lob mini mini tennis search serve serving short slice smash tennis volley volley drills warm up
YOUR SESSION IS STARTING SOON... Join the growing community of tennis coaches plus 1200+ drills and pro tools to make coaching easy.
LET'S DO IT