Dominating Tennis

Return of serve drills

4 drills54 minutes in all0 you can do alone
  1. 1

    Split and call

    15 min · With a partner
    1. After warming up, watch five manageable serves to one known side. Coordinate preparation with the strike and land ready to move. Review the sequence with your partner; do not judge exact milliseconds by eye.
    2. Use five more serves for calls only. Predict T, body or wide from the preparation, then check the flight. Count correct, wrong and missing calls separately; do not combine this score with the return score.
    3. Return twenty legal serves in two sets of ten. Count a balanced start when you move toward the actual ball and stay controlled through the swing and recovery. Count returns in play and unclear observations separately; faults and lets do not use an attempt. Use the same side and manageable pace next time.
    Number to beat
    20 of 20 balanced starts toward the incoming serve, reviewed with your partner; an authored practice target
    Why it works · Serve and returnHow to return a fast serve: split, read, commit
  2. 2

    First and second positioning

    12 min · With a partner
    1. Mark two spots: 1.5 m behind the baseline and half a metre inside it.
    2. Use a normal first-then-second sequence at a manageable pace. Start each point on the deep mark. After a first-serve fault, choose the inside mark for the second delivery before the toss. Reset to the deep mark for the next point.
    3. Complete two blocks of ten legal serves to return; faults and lets do not count as return attempts. In each block, count returns that land in the singles court and began from the intended mark. Keep each count out of ten separate. Keep any depth tally separate from this score.
    Number to beat
    8 of 10 returns in play from the correct mark
    Why it works · Serve and returnWhere to stand to return serve in tennis
  3. 3

    Block only, then swing

    12 min · With a partner
    1. Take ten first serves from your partner. Use zero backswing and punch each return deep through the middle. Count the returns that land past the service line.
    2. Take ten second serves. Step in and take a full swing to a cone in a deep corner.
    3. Have your partner mix first and second serves at random. Call out block or swing before contact.
    Number to beat
    8 of 10 blocked returns landing past the service line
    Why it works · Serve and returnHow to return a fast serve in tennis
  4. 4

    The rise ladder

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Your partner feeds second serves. Hit ten returns from behind the baseline, letting the ball drop. Count the returns that land past the service line.
    2. Hit ten from on the baseline, making contact before the ball's peak. Count the deep ones and the errors.
    3. Hit ten from a step inside the baseline, taking the ball on the short hop. Count the deep ones and the shanks. Drop back a rung if the errors outnumber the deep balls.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 deep returns on rung 2 before you climb to rung 3
    Why it works · Serve and returnHow to return serve early and rush the server