Dominating Tennis

Which tennis drills actually work in matches

Audit any drill in thirty seconds. Fix it with one constraint.

Traced from real footage

See it, eight instants at a time.

Every frame is traced from real match footage, so you see the shape of the stroke, not a drawing of an idea.

Federer’s forehand, instant 5 of 8
FIG. 57 · FEDERER’S FOREHAND
Contact
Federer’s forehand: eight instants traced from the footage, frame for frame. Hover or tap to flip; the dot marks contact.

Key facts

  1. 01

    Preserving match information and movement demands is a useful design principle. Transfer still needs a later test in the setting where the skill will be used.

  2. 02

    The guide’s rally-to-20 example is an authored coaching task. Change the target to suit the players and purpose.

  3. 03

    There is no established universal repetition count or blocked-to-live ratio here. Choose a manageable dose and test it.

  4. 72.1%

    At Wimbledon 2015–17, the mean share of points per match lasting 0–4 successful shots was 72.1% for men and 65.9% for women. Errors were excluded from the shot count.

    Fitzpatrick (2021), Table 7.3 and rally-length definition

Why it works

A feed can reduce the choices while you work on one movement. It can also start a live exchange, as the Championship Productions demonstration shows. Inspect what players must read, decide and recover from after the first ball; the basket alone does not classify the task.

The three questions describe your practice task: does it start from a read, include recovery, and carry a consequence? The answers help you choose a change; they are not a measured transfer score.

Keep one observable success rule. Count live points before practice, the drill itself, and live points in a later session before repeating the drill. Keep the warm-up and conditions comparable where practical.

Try another partner as a separate check. A score can change because of the opponent, fatigue or conditions as well as learning. Repeated observations are more useful than one best set.

The line to say on court

“Start from a read. End with a recovery. Keep a score.”

Drill: The drill autopsy

20 min · with a partner
  1. Choose one match task and one observable success rule. After your usual warm-up, count the first 20 relevant live chances before changing the drill. Include misses, and keep partner, balls and court in mind. This baseline sits outside the twenty-minute practice slot.
  2. Run your usual drill for five minutes. Identify what the player reads, how they recover and what outcome is counted. A predictable feed can still serve an isolation goal; a missing tick is not automatically a fault.
  3. Use up to five minutes to choose and rehearse one change that fits the match task: an unannounced reply, preparation for the next ball, or a clear scoring rule. Keep the other conditions as similar as practical.
  4. Practise the changed task for ten minutes, resting as needed. Keep its three checklist answers separate from performance. Count the first 20 relevant drill chances with the same success rule; if you stop early, a partial count isn't a 20-chance score.
  5. At the next session, after the same usual warm-up and before repeating the drill, count 20 live chances with the same rule and partner where practical. Compare the live counts first. A later check against another partner is a separate observation; the twenty-minute slot does not include these follow-ups.
Number to beatFor the selected live task, include a read, recovery and score; count its checklist out of 3 separately from the 20-chance live checks

More drills like this: practice plans

Faults and fixes

Living in dead-ball drills
A fixed feed gives you little practice choosing from an opponent’s action.
FixUse a predictable feed when it fits the purpose, then test the skill with the decisions and recovery that match play requires.
No target, no count
Without a defined outcome, it is hard to compare sessions.
FixChoose an observable outcome that fits this task and count it consistently.
Three cues at once
You end up fixing none of them.
FixOne focus per drill.
Staying cooperative forever
The skill never meets pressure.
FixAdd a manageable decision or scoring constraint when it serves the goal, then check what carries into live points.
Practising the run, not the reset
It leaves the hole your opponent uses.
FixPrepare for the opponent’s next options. Use the reply angle as a reference, adjusting for contact position and time available.

Questions players ask

Why do I play well in practice but not in matches?

Practice may simplify the incoming ball, decisions, movement or scoring pressure. Check which demand changes in matches, then design a manageable task that includes it.

Are dead-ball drills a waste of time?

No. A predictable feed can isolate a movement. Add the information and choices needed for your match goal, then test it in live points; no fixed feed-to-live ratio is established here.

What makes a good tennis drill?

A useful drill has a clear purpose and an observable outcome. Include the reads, movements and consequences needed for that purpose, then test the skill later in live points.

Why should a drill start with a serve?

Short-point prevalence depends on the competition and the counting rule. The Wimbledon study above supports including serves, returns and the next-ball read in practice.

What this doesn't cover

The three questions describe task design; checklist ticks do not measure learning. A drill designed to isolate one movement need not contain every match demand. The five-, five- and ten-minute blocks and 20-chance checks are authored practice structures, not validated doses. Partners, fatigue, court and balls can affect comparisons. Keep one rule fixed and repeat observations before attributing a change to the drill.

Sources

Read next

TrainHow to practise tennis so it holds up in matchesPractise with a target, a constraint and a scrambled order, then retest cold at the next session. Blocked practice, the same ball over and over, looks better on the day but loses on retention tests. Random practice, where the shot changes each ball, looks worse today and holds up better later. Fade the feedback and cue the target, not your body.TrainHow to plan a one-hour tennis practice sessionA good one-hour tennis session has a skeleton: an eight-minute ramp, one technical block with one cue and one constraint, live-ball transfer, and a short scored close while you can still move in control. Pick one priority before you start. Then count three numbers before you leave, such as first serves to a target, depth hits and unforced errors, and try to beat them next time.Move and reactWhere to recover after your shot in tennisUse the angle bisector as a recovery reference, then adjust for the opponent’s position, likely replies and the time available. The reference depends on which reply lines you include; it is not always toward the same side of the centre mark. Prepare for the next strike instead of chasing a fixed spot through contact.Know the gameHow long are tennis rallies, and what to practiseMost tennis points are short: about two points in three end within four shots, and more than 70 % on grass, and the most common rally length is one shot. By surface the share runs from 65% to 77%. That means the serve, the return and the next ball decide most points, so they're worth a bigger share of your practice time.