Dominating Tennis

Forehand drills: contact, power and spin

7 drills105 minutes in all6 you can do alone
  1. 1

    Out front

    15 min · Alone
    1. Put a cone a racquet-length in front of your front foot.
    2. Drop-feed 20 forehands and make contact above the cone every time.
    3. Count the clean ones. Beat that number next session.
    Number to beat
    14 of 20 clean contacts out front
    Why it works · StrikeHow to hit a modern topspin forehand
  2. 2

    Hit and freeze

    15 min · Alone or with a partner
    1. Hit ten drop-fed forehands. Freeze at contact for a count of one and check, with a partner or a phone, that the racquet is in front of your lead hip.
    2. Take twenty fed balls to alternating depths. Adjust with small steps and freeze on every fifth ball.
    3. Film ten rally forehands from the side. Mark the contact frame on each and count how many are in front of your hip.
    Number to beat
    8 of 10 filmed contacts in front of the lead hip
    Why it works · StrikeWhy you hit the ball late in tennis, and how to fix it
  3. 3

    Hold the shoulders

    15 min · Alone
    1. Tie a band to the fence at hip height. Do twenty reps: open the hips against the band while the shoulders hold, then release.
    2. Shadow twenty forehands with your off-hand on the throat of the racquet through the turn. Count "hips, shoulders" out loud.
    3. Drop-feed twenty forehands with a phone filming from behind you. Count the swings where your belt buckle turns before your chest.
    Number to beat
    15 of 20 swings with the hips visibly first on video
    Why it works · StrikeHow to use hip and shoulder separation for a heavier forehand
  4. 4

    The chain count

    15 min · Alone
    1. Shadow-swing 20 forehands, counting out loud: legs, hips, torso, arm, racquet.
    2. Drop-feed 20 forehands starting from a deep knee bend. Let the legs start the swing.
    3. Count how many land past the service line without you trying harder.
    Number to beat
    12 of 20 deep balls from the legs
    Why it works · StrikeHow to hit harder in tennis without swinging harder
  5. 5

    Drop and let go

    15 min · Alone
    1. Hold the racquet with your thumb and two fingers. Make twenty shadow forehands and feel the head fall behind your hand as your hips turn.
    2. Take a full grip, held loose. Hit twenty drop-feed forehands. Listen for the sound at contact, not before it.
    3. Film from behind. Count the swings where the racquet head is visibly behind your hand as your chest starts to face the net.
    Number to beat
    14 of 20 swings with visible lag as the hips fire
    Why it works · StrikeHow to get racquet lag on your forehand
  6. 6

    The low-to-high ladder

    15 min · Alone or with a partner
    1. Hit ten drop feeds. Start the racquet head below the knee, finish over the opposite shoulder, and clear a rope 1 m above the net.
    2. Hit ten fed balls with the same path, now landing past the service line.
    3. Hit ten rally balls. Keep the finish. Count the balls that clear the rope and land past the service line.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 balls over the rope and past the service line
    Why it works · StrikeHow to hit topspin in tennis
  7. 7

    Two targets, one swing

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Take ten deep feeds and load them: over a rope 1 m above the net, landing past the service line.
    2. Take ten short feeds and flatten them: under the rope, landing past the service line.
    3. Take twenty mixed feeds. Call "load" or "flat" before the bounce, then hit it.
    Number to beat
    14 of 20 called right and landed past the service line
    Why it works · StrikeWhen to hit flat and when to hit topspin in tennis