Dominating Tennis

Tennis tactics drills: build and win the point

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

    The error count

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Warm up crosscourt with generous net clearance and a target beyond the service line. Agree your ending definitions before counting. A missed serve is not a point unless it is the second fault.
    2. Play 20 points. Count who won each point and its ending: winner, forced error, unforced error or unclear. Keep disagreements unclear; do not force agreement. Count the unclear points you lost.
    3. Play 20 more with no line attempts from behind the baseline. Keep the same opponent, court side and serving pattern. Compare points won and your own unforced losses, keeping unclear losses separate. Allow extra time to finish; an incomplete block is not a 20-point result.
    Number to beat
    Fewer than 5 of 20 points lost to your own unforced error in block two; count every unclear loss as a possible unforced error when checking this aim.
    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. Rehearse eight valid short feeds. Agree a comfortable feed area between the service line and baseline and a broad down-the-line target lane. Exchange two cooperative crosscourts, then feed into that area. Count a lane hit only if the line ball lands in the agreed lane. Your misses, late arrivals and skipped line attempts stay in the eight; only feeds outside the agreed area are repeated. The block scores only after eight valid feeds.
    2. Next, mix eight deep and short replies without announcing the order. Keep building on deep or awkward balls; use the line when you can meet the shorter ball in control and there is space. Count the choice and ball-in result separately. These eight mixed replies are a decision check, not the rehearsal score.
    3. Play ten live points and keep ordinary tennis scoring. After each point, notice whether an attackable reply appeared, your choice and its result; include points with no opening. Repeat the same task next session. Keep partial counts at their actual total and allow extra time beyond the 15-minute guide to finish a block.
    Number to beat
    6 line-lane hits from 8 valid short feeds in the rehearsal block
    Why it works · Play the pointHow to build a point in tennis
  4. 4

    The serve +1 ladder

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Mark a generous wide zone inside the deuce service box and keep its size fixed. Take ten single-delivery serve attempts with the same chosen serve. Count zone landings; faults and out-of-zone serves stay in the ten.
    2. Rehearse ten separate feeds, five short and five deep, in mixed order. Read each feed, then choose an attacking or building ball with margin. These feeds practise the next shot; they do not measure the effect of your serve.
    3. Play ten live service points from the deuce side, using a second serve after a first fault, then switch roles. Count serve placements, balls three reached, plans kept or changed, and point results separately.
    Number to beat
    Serve-placement goal: 6 zone hits from 10 single-delivery attempts
    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. Warm up crosscourt: three familiar balls, then change the fourth with height, pace or spin. Choose one variation for the block and keep your target consistent. Your partner names the change they noticed.
    2. Play live points, trying one changed shot when a playable chance arrives. Count ten attempted changed shots, including your own misses. A point ending before you try the change does not use an attempt.
    3. After each attempt, call short, deep, reply error, volleyed, your miss or unclear. Short means the reply first bounces in bounds between your net and service line; on the service line counts as deep for this drill. Only a clearly seen short bounce scores toward the target.
    4. Count who won each point separately. An opponent’s error may win the point without being a short reply. Keep partial blocks at their actual count; use the same partner, target and variation when you try to beat it next time.
    Number to beat
    6 clearly observed short replies from 10 attempted changed shots, including your own misses in the ten
    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. Agree on a receiving line and three height bands: below knee, knee to shoulder, above shoulder. Observe ten gentle feeds without hitting. Before each bounce, predict the band at that line.
    2. Your partner calls the observed band when the ball reaches the line. Keep unclear observations separate and repeat them; count correct predictions out of the attempts you could score.
    3. Try ten live rally attempts. Use the prediction to start moving, then adjust after the bounce. Count this block separately from the feeds.
    Number to beat
    Authored training goal: 7 correct predictions out of 10 scorable feeds
    Why it works · StrikeHow spin, arrival angle and the court shape 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, count 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