Dominating Tennis

How to structure a tennis practice session

4 drills200 minutes in all0 you can do alone
  1. 1

    The one-hour template

    60 min · With a partner
    1. Minutes 0–8: run a short warm-up ramp and finish with mini-tennis to 11.
    2. Minutes 8–20: run one technical block with one cue and one constraint. Give feedback every five balls.
    3. Minutes 20–45: play live transfer, a pattern block then figure-8, with targets and a count on both.
    4. Minutes 45–60: play the close. Start every service game at 30–40, or race to 21 serves.
    5. Write down first-serve % to target, depth-band hits past the service line, and unforced errors in a 20-ball live drill.
    Number to beat
    3 numbers written down at the end of every session, each better than last week's
    Why it works · TrainHow to plan a one-hour tennis practice session
  2. 2

    The drill autopsy

    20 min · With a partner
    1. Run your usual drill for five minutes. Score it on the three questions out loud: read, recovery, consequence.
    2. Add the one constraint that fixes the lowest score: a live feed, a recovery to the bisector, or a score to 20.
    3. Run it for ten minutes. Count the balls that had a target and a consequence.
    Number to beat
    3 of 3 checklist ticks on every drill in the session
    Why it works · TrainWhich tennis drills actually work in matches
  3. 3

    The interference ladder

    30 min · With a partner
    1. Warm up blocked: hit 15 cross-court forehands with one cue. Take feedback every five balls, and assess yourself first.
    2. Go random: your partner calls forehand, backhand or approach at the last moment for 30 balls. Count your hits to a deep target.
    3. Play representative points where you must hit one down-the-line ball per point, first to 7.
    4. At the start of the next session, repeat step 2 cold and compare the count.
    Number to beat
    Match or beat your step-2 count out of 30 when retested cold at the next session
    Why it works · TrainHow to practise tennis so it holds up in matches
  4. 4

    The stolen week

    90 min · With a partner
    1. Session one: warm up, do one technical block with a single cue, then a serve block of 60 to 120 quality serves to cones with a make count.
    2. Session two: warm up, play a 20 to 30 minute pattern block on one pattern, then a scored game played tired, starting every service game at 30-40.
    3. Session three, before the match: half the volume, full intensity, one scored game, then stop.
    4. Write down a block plan before each session and one number after it.
    Number to beat
    3 of 3 sessions each week with a written block plan and one number recorded
    Why it works · TrainHow do tennis pros practice, and what can you copy