Dominating Tennis

Tennis tactics drills: build and win the point

10 drills150 minutes in all0 you can do alone
  1. 1

    The error ledger

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Rally cross-court over a string tied 1 m above the net tape, with every ball landing past the service line. Count who misses first, best of five rallies.
    2. Play 20 points. After each one, both of you call how it ended: winner, forced error or unforced error. Keep a tally.
    3. Play 20 more with one rule: no line attempts from behind the baseline. Compare the tallies.
    Number to beat
    Fewer than 5 of 20 points lost to your own unforced error in the second block
    Why it works · Play the pointWhat is percentage tennis and how do you play it
  2. 2

    Cross-court, line on a short ball

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Rally cross-court forehands with every ball landing past the service line. Count consecutive balls.
    2. Let your partner feed a short ball at random. Take the line only if the ball is short and you're inside the baseline.
    3. Play points. Count a line winner double, and a line error double against you.
    Number to beat
    8 of 10 cross-court balls past the service line
    Why it works · Play the pointWhen to hit cross-court or down the line in tennis
  3. 3

    Cross, cross, line

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Trade two or three cross-court balls. Have your partner feed a short ball on the third or fourth, and take it down the line. Do 8 cycles.
    2. Have your partner mix it up so the third ball is sometimes deep. Go cross again on the deep one and take the line only on the short one. Do 8 cycles.
    3. Play live points. Score a bonus point whenever you take the line off a short ball and it lands in.
    Number to beat
    6 of 8 line balls taken off a short ball and made
    Why it works · Play the pointHow to build a point in tennis
  4. 4

    The serve +1 ladder

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Serve wide to a cone on the deuce side. Hit ten serves and count the ones that hit the cone.
    2. Have your partner feed the short cross-court reply. Hit ball three into the open court. Do ten reps.
    3. Play it live, serve +1 only, first to seven points. Then switch roles.
    Number to beat
    6 of 10 wide serves on the cone
    Why it works · Play the pointWhat is serve plus one in tennis, and how to use it
  5. 5

    Two modes

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Rally cross-court with both of you building. Every ball must land past the service line. Rally to 20.
    2. Your partner throws in one short ball per rally, unannounced. Step in and finish into the open court, two metres inside the line.
    3. Play points. You may finish only off a ball that bounced inside the service line. Your partner calls any early trigger.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 short balls finished, with no early triggers
    Why it works · StrikeWhen to go for a winner in tennis
  6. 6

    One changed ball

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Rally cross-court. Every fourth ball, change one thing: height, pace or spin. Your partner says which change they noticed.
    2. Your partner plays normally. After each changed ball, log the reply: past or short of the service line.
    3. Play live points with one changed ball per point. Count the points where the reply after it lands short.
    Number to beat
    6 of 10 changed balls draw a reply short of the service line
    Why it works · Play the pointHow to break your opponent's rhythm in tennis
  7. 7

    The guess

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Hit ten deep backhand slices with your partner at the baseline. Groove the takeback.
    2. Hit ten drop shots from the same takeback. Only balls that bounce twice inside the service box count.
    3. Mix all three: drive, drop and lob. Your partner calls the shot as early as they can. Score the ones they called late or wrong.
    Number to beat
    6 of 10 drops bouncing twice inside the service box
    Why it works · StrikeHow to hit a drop shot and a lob with disguise
  8. 8

    Call the bounce

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Your partner feeds ten balls from one spot, mixing topspin, flat and slice. Call up, through or low before each bounce. Don't swing.
    2. Take ten more. Set your racquet at the called height before the ball lands. Your partner scores whether the ball rose into your strings or you chased it.
    3. Rally ten live balls with mixed spins. Count the set-ups you made before the bounce.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 called right with the racquet set before the bounce
    Why it works · StrikeWhy topspin kicks up and slice stays low after the bounce
  9. 9

    The nine-ball sort

    10 min · With a partner
    1. Have your partner mix three new balls, three balls from one session and three dead ones.
    2. Watch your partner drop each ball from shoulder height and call it from the bounce: new, used or dead. Your partner keeps score.
    3. Rally five balls of each type and note where your usual rally ball lands relative to the baseline.
    Number to beat
    8 of 9 balls called right from the bounce
    Why it works · Play the pointHow to tell a new tennis ball from a dead one
  10. 10

    The surface audit

    20 min · With a partner
    1. In the warm-up, call five of your partner's feeds "skid" or "kick" before they bounce, and check.
    2. Set your plan: how many shots before you attack (more on clay, fewer on grass, in between on hard) and a margin inside the lines.
    3. Play ten points. After each one, note whether you attacked on plan and whether your contact was in your strike zone.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 points where the attack came on the planned shot count
    Why it works · Play the pointHow clay, grass and hard courts change your game