Best Tennis Drills for All Skill Levels

Trying to figure out what tennis drills best suit your game and your needs can be a big challenge. Do you find yourself always getting tied up with your feet or late to the ball? Is your technique a little shaky on your forehand or backhand? Drills offer a fun way to get a ton of practice in on a part of your game that may be weaker or need extra care. Most of the time, you can do these drills alone, or at least a variation of these drills, and you do not need a partner.

1. Kids Drills (5-10)

Rotating Forehand Drill: With two or more kids, one of the simplest drills you can do with a basket of balls is the rotating forehand/backhand drill. Have the players form a line at the T (the baseline), and drop feed one stroke. Once a player hits a shot, they will run to the back of the line. Keep this simple yet effective drill going until you run out of balls, then switch sides!

Fruit Salad: This is a fun game for a group of kids. Have each player pick any fruit–no repeats. Each kid is lined up along the back fence, and the coach will feed a ball and call out a fruit. Whoever picked that fruit has to run forward and hit the ball in the court. If the ball is out or in the net, that player is “out” for the round. If the coach yells “fruit salad”, all players have to run and touch the net as fast as they can and run back.

Beat the baseline: This drill requires a group of kids all eager to work on their volleys and groundstrokes. Everyone starts out at the net, spread out. The coach will hit a ball to each kid  in order from right to left. If the player hits their ball in the court, they take a step back. If not, they stay put up on the net. As the players keep moving back, the first to hit a ball in from the baseline wins.

2. Footwork Drills

No tennis game can exist without proper footwork. Being able to move around the court in an agile, comfortable way sets the stage for good strokes and better recovery. If you find yourself struggling trying to get from ball to ball, out of breath quickly, you might want to focus your energy into footwork tennis drills. The best part about the majority of these drills is that you can do them alone with minimal equipment.

The Timeless Sprint

 You can do this alone or with a friend. Clear out a space of about 30 feet, either on a tennis court, track, or even in the grass, and you will sprint to the “finish line” and back for about 10 minutes in this drill. Take a 10 second breather between each sprint. Even though sprinting may seem like a very basic footwork drill, this lets you really focus on explosive movements essential to  tennis. If you get a drop shot, or a shot far out wide, you have to be ready to react quickly. If you can get a friend or coach involved, have them yell, randomly, “forward”, “backwards”, “right side”, or “left side”. Follow their cues and sprint in that direction until  they say stop. This tests your ability to move in different directions on a dime, rather than just moving forward or backward.

Agility Ladder Training

For this drill you will need a rope ladder that you will need to purchase or use  at your local gym. If not, take to the street and use chalk to make a ladder. This tool lets you practice footwork in motion. One exercise you can do is “out-in” going forwards and backwards. Then, take this to the next level and do “in-out” forwards and backwards. Try both three times each. “Out-in” means the first movement on the first throng of the letter should be both your feet outside, one to the left of the ladder, one to the right. The next movement, on that same throng, will be both feet inside together. Then, the next step is moving to the next throng, both feet outside. Same throng, inside. Next one. You get the drill. “In-out” reverses this and has you start with both feet inside. Use this drill to practice your split step and quick feet.

Jumping Rope

Yup, it’s as plain and simple as jumping rope. For beginner to intermediate players, jumping rope helps you build endurance with your feet. Oftentimes when we get lazy and can’t get to a ball on the court, it’s because our feet are becoming tired. By jumping rope, you improve your endurance, and you also become more alert with your lower body. Use this drill as a warm-up to your tennis or just for fun.

3. Groundstroke Drills

Deep Cross-court

If you have another player or partner with you,  do the deep cross-court drill. This is one of the most important shots in tennis as you progress your game because it lets you really start to control a point and move your opponent around. Have both players start on the ad side (then switch to the deuce side). Starting out, have one player feed, and have both players try to hit as many cross-court shots behind the service line as you can. Cross-court shots behind the service line are crucial, because short shots let your opponent take control.

At-home Drill

Do you have a wall either in your house or at a local park? Mark a square on your wall with tape, or if you’re outside chalk, and stand about 5-10 feet away from the net. Your goal is to utilize as much topspin as possible and try to hit the square. The idea here is to isolate your strokes and focus on top spin. This way you can work on your control of the ball, and when you move to the real court, your strokes will be stronger.

Baseline Game to 11

Don’t feel motivated playing unless there is a little competition? With a coach or friend, play out a baseline game to eleven. If you really want to focus on groundstrokes, no coming into the net to volley is allowed, unless you get a drop shot and have to. The idea here is that one player will feed the ball, with both at the baseline, and then you play out a groundstrokes-based game, focusing on positioning and solid strokes. Usually, the person with less unforced errors will win in tennis, so this drill lets you really focus on getting the strokes down. If you want to be more cooperative, have the first five shots be friendly then progress into a real game.

4. Volley Drills

Volleys are one thing that  distinguishes a beginner player from an advanced one. If you can confidently come into the net and volley with ease, you will be a more successful all-around player. At the beginner level, a player who can go into the net and hit volleys immediately intimidates their opponent.

Mini Tennis (no drop)

If you have a partner and want to work on your volley game, try out mini tennis. Both players will be at diagonal points on the service line (ex. Both on the deuce side or ad side). One player will feed the ball and start a rally. The goal is to volley back and forth on a diagonal as long as you can, producing strong volleys. Try this one out if you want some repetition! It’s perfect for focusing on footwork and the integrity of your volleys.

Volley Til You Drop

This drill requires a coach or a friend and a hopper of balls. The student will stand about two to three feet away from the net, whatever feels most comfortable. The idea of this drill is to run, slide, and use quick feet to hit as many solid volleys as possible while the feeder speeds through a hopper of balls. As soon as the student hits one ball, the coach (or your friend) will feed the next one. With this drill, you will get quick, fun repetition and focus on having to react to the ball without unlimited time. If you’re looking for a challenge, this drill is perfect for you!

Left-to-Right

With a partner, this drill really emphasizes your hand-eye coordination and ability to be gentle with the ball. Start with both players about two feet away from the net on the left-most side of the court. With a light feed, both players will volley back-and-forth while moving to the other side of the net. It should take about 10-15 seconds to get from one side of the court to the other. If this is too hard to begin with, take your time. The goal is to not stop moving and keep your feet in position at all times while hitting solid light volleys. See if you can go from one side of the court back to the other side. Keep repeating until you feel content with your volley repetition!

5. Lob and Overhead Drills

Lobs and overheads can be the least practiced parts of one’s tennis game. In a match setting, being able to hit an overhead and a solid lob can be the difference between winning and losing. Learn some ways to improve both shots!

Doubles Lob Drill

You need four players for this drill. Here, players 1 and 2 will both be positioned up at the net, ready to volley, and players 3 and 4 will be split. One is up at the net, one is back. This drill simulates a doubles point when one side has brought both their players to the net whereas the other is still in their original position. The coach, or a fifth player, will feed a lob to player 1 or 2, and they will play the point out. This drill really puts players 3 and 4 on the defensive. Play 5 points then rotate.

3-part Overhead Drill

This drill focuses on position and contact for overheads. With overheads, you want to get your body behind the ball. To make the best contact possible, your non-racquet hand should reach out, aimed up and pointing at the ball. This drill has three parts: block, catch, and hit. A ball machine, a partner, or coach, will feed you three lobs in sequence. Your goal first is just to block the ball with the palm of your non-racquet hand to make sure that you’re able to make contact with the ball and that your feet are in position. The second feed, catch the ball with your non-dominant hand. On the third feed, complete  the overhead smash. Repeat this process until you feel comfortable with your overhead. This drill slows things down so that you can see the step-by-step process and focus on isolating different elements of this shot.

Half-court Lob/Overhead Drill

This drill combines both lobs and overheads. It starts out cooperative, and then it moves into a fun point. With two players, one at the baseline and one at the net, the goal here is to hit five cooperative, or non-competitive shots. The player at the baseline will feed the opposing player a lob, and the player at the net will hit a cooperative overhead back. Once you count five shots, start trying to win the point. Play to 5 points then reverse roles. Only use half the court so that you can really focus on these shots. This drill works well because it embraces the difficulty of playing against a live person, versus just simulating the shot.

6. Serve and Serve and Volley Drills

Worried about your serve? This is a make-or-break part of your tennis game. It either starts off a given point on a high, letting you dictate your opponent’s strategy. If you give them your best serve, you set yourself up for success. If your opponent gets a weak second serve, then you are going to have to work harder at that point to regain leverage. Let’s look at some drills for getting your serves and volleys to their strongest.

Wall Pronation

One serve drill that is quick and only requires a wall is “wall pronation”. This is a quick, easy fix drill for those struggling with pronation and the serve motion itself. Toss the ball, as you would your serve, a few inches away from the wall. Simulate your serve, making sure that when you make contact with the ball, you have pronated your wrist and the racquet is hitting the ball correctly. Although this drill may sound simple, it is super helpful to see your serve up close. This way, you can see where you usually go wrong when contacting the ball as well as judge your toss.

Each-Line Drill

A service drill that requires no partner or equipment at all, besides a basket of balls, is the each-line drill. If you are struggling with getting your serve in, whether it be going too far out in straight in the net, this drill can let you get your rhythm back in no time. You will start out and serve about 15-20 balls from the service line. This close to the court, you should be able to pinpoint what is going wrong. Once you get that distance down, move about halfway between the service line and the baseline. Serve 15-20 more from there, and wait til you get your serve down to move back. If you need extensive repetition, this drill is for you!

Ghost Doubles

A fun serve-and-volley drill is “ghost doubles”. You need two people for this drill, a server and returner. For those who don’t like solo drills because they don’t feel like it’s “real”, ghost doubles will simulate a real point for you. The server’s goal here is to serve and volley–after he or she serves, the player must charge the net. No exceptions. The goal is to move in as quickly as possible. The returner tries to stop the server, but both players are only using one half of the court, either the ad or deuce side, making this even more challenging. The drill would look like this from the server’s perspective: serve , rush to the net, and volley or hit an overhead shot until  the point is over. If either player hits the ball into the net, out, or to the wrong side of the court, it is a point for the other player. Play to 10 then reverse rolls.

7. Best Overall Tennis Drills

Cross-court, down-the-line: This groundstroke drill is essential to improving your tennis game. It requires two players. One player hits everything cross-court, the other player hits everything down-the-line. Start out on a diagonal, with both players on the ad side for instance, and have the cross-court player feed the ball to the down-the-line player. Once the down-the-line player hits it, the cross-court player will have to quickly move to hit a solid cross-court shot. Then, the down-the-line player has to slide quickly to the other side of the court. The process repeats itself. Try to get 20 shots in a row before reversing roles. This drill encapsulates the fundamentals of tennis–footwork, groundstrokes, and explosive movement–all into one.

Ping-pong: If you have four or more players, try out ping-pong. Say there are six players on the court; divide into three and three. Have both sides each form a line behind the center of the baseline. The first player feeds the ball and waits for the first shot from the other side. The other side’s first player hits the ball and runs to the back of the line. On the other side, the player hits their first shot and then runs to the back. If that was not clear, the idea here is that you alternate shots with your teammates. This drill makes you focus on hitting the ball without preparation, and you also have to use quick footwork to get off the court. Play till 7 points then mix up teams!