Dominating Tennis

Backhand drills: one-handed, two-handed and slice

3 drills45 minutes in all0 you can do alone
  1. 1

    The early-contact ladder

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Place a cone a stride ahead of your front foot. Have your partner drop-feed ten balls at waist height, and make contact level with the cone, arm straight.
    2. Take ten feeds at chest height, meeting them at the same cone.
    3. Take ten feeds that will bounce above your shoulder. Call "rise" or "slice" before the bounce. Score only the calls made in time and hit as called.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 shoulder-high balls called before the bounce and hit as called
    Why it works · StrikeHow to hit a one-handed backhand, and handle the high ball
  2. 2

    The other-hand forehand

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Hit ten forehands with your non-dominant hand only, eastern grip, low to high. Ugly is fine.
    2. Hit ten two-handers. Feel the top hand do what it just did alone.
    3. Take ten feeds at shoulder height. Brace and drive through without backing up.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 shoulder-high feeds landing past the service line
    Why it works · StrikeHow to hit a two-handed backhand: which hand does the work
  3. 3

    The depth ladder

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Drop-feed ten slices. Count only the balls that land in the back third of the court.
    2. Have your partner feed ten balls on the move. Aim for the same target.
    3. Play the low-skid game: cross-court slices only, and any ball that rises above your partner's shoulder loses the point. Play first to seven.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 slices landing in the back third
    Why it works · StrikeHow to hit a backhand slice in tennis