Keep yourself fit and active with the best tennis drills you can do at home. We have a number of them on our site. Take full advantage of our research.
It’s best to know that most tennis players doesn’t have the luxury of having a partner to play with when they are in the mood to hit the court to improve their skills. With that said, there are still a few ways in which you can practice tennis and learn some of the skills needed to take your game to the next level.
All of the drills that we have mentioned below are relatively easy to do and you can either do them as a warm up before match or a full workout session. You should also take the time out to be creative and find the best place to practice so you can be completely focus.
The first couple of drills listed are definitely for people who has no one to practice with, but they do have access to a tennis court. After that, you’ll notice that we have mentioned a few drills that you can practice even without a tennis court. With all of these unique drills a player can never complained about not having the ability to play tennis on a particular day.
Best Tennis Drills You Can Do Alone
A. Drills on the Court
One thing that we are sure about is having direct access to a tennis court and not having a partner by your side will certainly open up a lot of superb opportunities for tennis players even if he’s a complete newbie. Not only will the player get a great workout session, but they will also be able to focus on a few key components.
1. Serving Drills
This is considered to be one of the best drills out there when it comes to practicing on your own. The server is known to be that one shot that the player has full control over, so it doesn’t really matter if their is anyone else on the other side of the net.
You have a lot of people that continuously hit hard serve after hard serve when practice, but the best move is to make it more into a game-like-scenario. What you can do is try your best to hit the first serve and second serve and then switch around each time you land one. If you are more of an advanced player then you can work on placement inside the box and spin that works best for you.
It is really hard to practice serve if you don’t have a tennis court to practice on, since it requires a lot of precision. However, if you have anything in your surrounding that have a net line on it, you can start by practice hitting a specific spot of the net to mimic landing the balls.
2. Ball Machine Work
Out of all the methods we have mentioned on this list, this might be the most challenging one since it requires a ball machine to get the job done. However, base on experience we think it is one if the best training method for a player without partner, so it must be included.
It is safe to say that a person can literally get almost the same workout as playing against an actual opponent if they have an ball machine in their possession. There are numerous amount of workouts a person can try today with a ball machine and there are even advanced options that is capable of mimicking almost any type of player out there.
You have a handful of player that is fortunate to own a ball machine and it’s without a doubt a great investment especially for people who are planning on training a lot by themselves. If not, then it’s best to go for a rental instead, as most place will have ball machine that can be rent to the general public. If you are thinking about getting a ball machine, then you can read my guide on the best ball machine on the market today.
3. Drop Feeds to Yourself
With this you can work on your stroke without having to use a ball. Well a ball is used in this workout, but the purpose of it is to dropped it in front so that the player can practice their form without having the need to react.
This is superb when it comes to helping the player with a specific skill so that they are feeling charged up when they are ready to take on their next opponent. It’s always a good idea to experiment with different grips and putting spin on the ball so that when it is time to play against your opponent you can try everything that you’ve learned. This is another way to built muscle memory and it only works great if you have a tennis court to practice on. This way, the player will be able to work on hitting the ball into a specific areas on the court, giving them an advantage.
4. Cone Drills
This is known to be the advanced version of drop feeds. Placing cone around the court, the player will have the ability to move around the court and hit different shots while moving, which will cause you to feel more and more tired as you go.
It’s good to know that this will not be the same as if you were to play against your opponent, but it is worth doing for those who are bored of just standing around hitting a lot of solo shots. It is by far a better workout than one might expect.
B. Drills For Anywhere
If you don’t have the luxury of having a tennis court to practice on, you’ll have to get creative if you want to improve your tennis skills. These drills below can be done in the comfort of your home or anywhere with a little bit of space to move around. You have to be creative and there are always ways to improve, even if its just the basics.
1. Bounce the Ball on the Racquet With Different Grips
At first this might seem like a workout for only beginners, but it is something that even advanced players can do to warm up. It may look a bit simple, but it’s a bit of an challenge for most people and it can be done literally anywhere to improve the hands.
You can start out by grabbing a forehand grip and try to hit as many balls up as possible. If a player is capable of doing this without ease without actually putting a spin the ball, then the next step is to cut each ball so that you’ll be able to mimic topspin or underspin.
Not only that but switching to the backhand can definitely help a person develop a general feel towards the ball coming off a racquet. It might not seems like a big deal, but it surely helps the player when it comes to having control of the shots. It’s also considered to be a great workout, even if most people doesn’t see it that way.
2. Shadow Swing and Practice Footwork With Video
One thing that most people should really appreciate is the fact that they are living in a time when video is available to the public. This provides the player with the opportunity to watch video training or taking a video of a player, these options are available without having to put in too much effort.
You can easily find videos of instructors as well as top professional on YouTube. Once a person begins to study the strokes that they have learned online, the only thing left is to practice that footwork and shadowing exactly what they do. In order to know if everything match up, you can record while at home.
Footwork and proper stroke that is done without the ball might not seem like much, but it does help in terms of building up the muscle memory. By watching the videos, it will let you identify where you are going wrong and fix it as soon as possible.
3. Wall Drills
A lot of people will have a wall nearby where they can hit against if they want to improve their game without actually playing with a partner. While these setups are ideal, the downside is that not everyone will have one close by. That is when you have to improvise something and absolutely any wall will work for some practice.
Once you have the wall, you can easily practice different types of strokes. It’s best to start up close and work on volleys, but you should also take the time out and step back and hit some ground steps as well. One thing you will notice is that the wall tends to hit the ball back a little faster, which will eventually help a person improve on their timing and put themselves in a vulnerable position as well.
You can also practice serving on the wall, the only thing you will have to do measuring things off properly. Before practicing on the wall, you should stop by a tennis court and measure off to see just how many steps it takes from the baseline to the net. The wall will eventually become the net, so you will have to lineup similarly to mimic it as best as possible.
4. Ball Toss Practice
Since the serve is very important you have to ensure that the ball toss is perfectly done. There are many people who actually overlook this part of the serve and what they don’t know is that it can be practice literally anywhere.
In order to achieve a good serve toss you have to be consistent as much as possible every single time. Instead of just randomly throwing the ball in the air, you have to make sure that it’s lifted and pushed in a very controllable sense. A lot of people face difficulties whenever they toss it too high, as it can be very difficult when it comes to having any level of consistency on the serve.
You can practice at the court, in the comfort of your home and even without a racquet. Your main focus is to get it as consistent as possible that a person does not even think about it when serving.
5. Stamina, Fitness and Footwork Drills
The final work out on our list does not require a tennis racquet, but it can certainly increase a player’s game by working on a specific movements that are found on the court. You can go about doing your tennis workout at home or the gym and I can guarantee that you will notice a substantial change immediately.
The more advanced you get in tennis, the more fitness becomes important. Players must should be able to last hours on the court and because of this you have to train for these considered. You can try these exercises starting today that are known to be good for tennis:
Agility ladder workouts, Jumping jacks, Burpees, High knees, Hip rotations, Squat jumps
When it comes to breaking down points, it has a lot to do with fast movements with just a little bit of rest. When practicing these exercises, you should do a few rounds with a few reps each time. This will definitely help in building up the stamina that’s required for tennis.
Here’s why tennis drills are important
In this article, we have listed some great tennis drills to help perfect your gameplay. Tennis drills are not a one time thing. Similar to going to the gym, you can’t just be fit for a day. In tennis players need to keep their stamina lasting, shots consistent, their movement fluid, muscles healthy and their control precise. Tennis drills have to be an ongoing process to keep their momentum going and keep them strong.
There can be dozens of variations for the same exercise, but the best ones usually keep you focussed on the key areas you want to improve. Tennis drills have proven to be both efficient and effective in building a player’s core skills in the most productive manner. They are highly recommended as warm up exercises too.
You could categorise tennis drills into two types:
On court drills – They help players practice their shots and control the ball so they are better able to dictate the direction of the game.
Off court drills – These help players with their movement around the court, increase their stamina, strengthen their muscles and improve the flow of delivery.
To conclude
Mastering any sport you play can be really challenging at first and tennis is no exception. Being a fast-paced sport, players need to consider shots from different angles and different play shots and styles that compliment their gameplay. Perfecting techniques is no child’s play and requires rigorous training through extensive tennis drill sessions. Tennis drills give you exactly what you need, a simulation of situations you may encounter on the court. You get the experience to build your muscle memory to tackle certain situations and respond to them quickly and efficiently. We have therefore highlighted some great tennis drills above that you can consider to take your game to the next level.
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