Deep-Ball Rally

As the article on Tactical Priorities for High School Players shows, control is a much more important skill when hitting a tennis ball than power is. In order to force errors, create weak and short responses from opponents, and open up the court, players will need to be able to control the ball left and right, deep and short.

One skill which many players lack is the ability to hit deep. More than almost any other weapon, depth will cause opponents more problems (at the recreational level) than any other single reason. Players who have to move backward to hit shots often address the ball at an awkward angle and can’t get their weight back into the shots. At best, this produces errors. At worst, it produces a poor return from the opponent.

Help your players practice their depth by using the following drill which rewards depth, rather than power.

Step #1 — Player line up at the baseline. The drill can be done as a singles drill using the full court, or with players limited to one-half of the court (straight ahead or crosscourt).

Step #2 — Players begin a rally, with the point “live” after each player has hit the ball once. Players must hit balls past the service line, or they lose the point.

Step #3 — First player to a predetermined number of points wins.

Step #4 — As players become more skilled, coach may use chalk to move the deep line back (3/4 court, for example).

Step #5 — Play “King of the Court” with winners moving up one court, while losers move down one court.

Step #6 — Coach may require players to stand in front of the baseline for all shots to keep players from running backwards to play deep balls and to learn how to “short-hop” or half-volley balls. Coach may draw a chalk line one or two feet behind the baseline instead, to make this more realistic.

Step #7 — Many players will struggle with this drill. After five or more minutes of the drill, it may be a good time to bring players together, review the mechanics required to hit balls deep, and even run one or two technical (dead-ball) drills to work on depth. Have players resume the drill using their new-found technical knowledge.

Using this drill will immediately demonstrate to players whether or not they have the groundstrokes to put an opponent under pressure. Players will also see how deep balls they receive affect their ability to make shots and they will be able to judge how effective their positioning is.

Players will also soon see the importance of using combinations of shots to win points and will begin thinking two and three shots ahead, rather than trying to win the point with the next stroke.

Finally, as players quickly lose points trying to end points with power, they will realize the importance of patience, how to develop points and at what rally speed they feel comfortable playing.