What’s Your Rally Speed?

As we’ve discussed throughout our articles, if you don’t practice like you play, you’ll play like you practice.

Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to rally speeds.

The rally speed is the normal pace at which your player hits the ball during a rally. Note that we did not say the speed at which the player should hit during a rally, but the speed at which a player does hit during his matches.

If your player does not have confidence in his ability to stay in a rally, is impatient or is overconfident, his rally speed will be much higher than if the player is a defensive player or “backboard.”

Younger players often play at a much higher speed than they can control, either because they don’t have the confidence to stay in a point and try to end it with a winner, or because they are overconfident and again, try to end points with winners.

It is important for your players to determine what their optimal rally speed is (what their rally speed should be) so they can begin to develop realistic game plans which they can practice during the week, then use during their matches.

Determining Optimal Rally Speeds
Your player’s rally speed is a critical piece of information to know, because if a player knows the speed at which she can consistently and accurately hit her groundstrokes throughout a match, she’ll be able to practice at this speed, then have a reference point to use during her matches.

The optimal rally speed is the highest speed at which your player can consistently keep the ball in play. We use the word “highest” because we want to encourage players to determine their rally speed based on their confidence level, rather than on just pushing the ball back in play.

While some suggest that a good way to determine a player’s rally speed is to set a counting goal (e.g., 25 in a row in the court with a partner), a better way to determine a player’s rally speed is to have them practice under matchplay conditions (i.e., with points).

Play “21”
The classic game of 21 is a great way to determine a player’s optimum rally speed while simultaneously determining what their actual rally speed is likely to be during a match.

In 21, players rally the ball (from a drop-hit) three times cooperatively, then play out the point. The first player to win 21 points wins the game.

An observation of most 21 points will show that the first three balls are generally hit at a much lower speed than the fourth and fifth shots (each player’s first “live” ball).

This is because the desire to win overcomes a player’s desire to play percentage tennis, and this allows you see what your player will look like in a match.

A better way to encourage players to keep their rally speeds in focus during a game of 21 is to increase the number of balls to five before the “live” points begin. In addition, tell players that whoever misses one of the first five balls loses two points, since there is no pressure on them.

This will allow players to hit in a five-stroke rally at a realistic pace, which they will begin to recognize and store as their optimal rally speed. Instead of immediately trying to end points with power, players will become used to relying on depth and direction, combined with court positioning, to develop points.

Using the game of 21 to determine and practice optimal rally speeds will help your player to become not only a more consistent player, but a more aggressive player, as he or she uses confident groundstrokes to force errors and create short balls — the key to winning at the high school level.