Dominating Tennis

Return of serve drills

4 drills49 minutes in all0 you can do alone
  1. 1

    Split and call

    10 min · With a partner
    1. Have your partner hit twenty serves at three-quarter pace. Don't swing. Start your hop as their racquet meets the ball and land just after, while they count landings that come early or late.
    2. On the next twenty serves, call "T", "body" or "wide" out loud before contact.
    3. On twenty more, take only the first step, to the side you called, and let the ball check you.
    Number to beat
    20 of 20 splits started on the server's contact and landed just after, judged by your partner
    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. Your partner mixes first and second serves at random. Start every point on the deep mark. Move to the inside mark only when the first serve misses.
    3. Return twenty serves. Score the returns that land past the service line.
    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