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Ultimate Tennis Practice for Two Players You can’t wait to hit the courts for a tennis work-out after a long day at work; or it’s week-end and you are looking for a fun time playing tennis with a friend or a family member. Tennis is fun; it is a good way to release the stress from a week that just ends and, why not, get involved in some healthy competition. While for most of the tennis players, warming-up then playing a couple of sets is enough, for those who are looking for more fun exercises and better work-out than the simple tennis sets, we have put together a series of drills and games that will make two tennis players get the best of their time on the court. ***The following drills and games are designed for intermediate and advanced tennis players (but the beginning players can find suitable practice ideas as well).
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WARM-UP IDEAS FOR TWO PLAYERS W-U1 Both players (A and B) begin at the service line (opposite sides). - The two players rally, gently, cross-court having both hit forehand ground-strokes only (assuming they are right-handed); keep a controllable pace so that no winners or errors are made. (see graphic below) - After about two minutes switch to backhands cross-court. - After another 2 minute session one player hits only down-theline, the other player only cross-court. - Switch after another 2 minute having the previous cross-court player going down-the-line this time and the previous down-theline player hitting only cross-court. Work on footwork, hand-eye coordination and consistency.
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W-U2 Both players (A and B) are just inside the service line (opposite sides). - Repeat the previous exercise (W-U1) but this time they volley or half-volley the balls coming to their side: volley forehand crosscourt, volley backhand cross-court, cross-court vs. down-the-line and down-the-line vs. cross-court. The pace of the ball should be cooperative so that long rallies and fewer errors should be encouraged. Work on footwork, hand-eye coordination and consistency.
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W-U3 Both players begin the drill from no-man’s land (half way between service line and baseline). Once they put the ball in play (with a drop-and-hit) they will count each 3 ground-strokes they hit over the net. After the third shot, one of the players (A) advances toward the net proceeding to hit half-volleys and volleys until the rally is over. For the next rally, it will be player B’s turn to move up to the net after a 3 balls rally. Hit the ball at medium pace emphasizing control and accuracy. Do this for about 5 minutes.
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W-U4 For this drill, each player begins the rally having one ball ready to feed; both players at the baseline (opposite sides). The two begin a rally from the baseline but after the first ball, player A will move up to the net. The rally continues as the players try to hit it back to each other working on consistency and control. Once player A gets inside the service court, he practices volleys and half-volleys. When the first ball is out of the rally, the second ball is put in play while the baseline player (B) hits only lobs and the net player (A) practices overheads. Next rally, finds both players having a ball ready and B moving up to the net. Do this drill for about 7 - 10 minutes.
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W-U5 For the last piece of warm-up the two players should practice their serve and return of serve. Have player A serve, from the deuce side, while B returns back to him. Switch roles after 2 minutes. Then player A serves from the ad side while B returns back to him. Switch after about 2 minutes.
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DRILLS FOR TWO PLAYERS D-1 The two players rally, from the baseline, forehands cross-court aiming for a specific number of times that the ball should travel over the net (we assume they are both right handed players). Example: Try to keep the ball in play until it crosses over the net at least 15 times. (for more advanced levels, go for 25-40 times). Once this is achieved, switch to backhands cross-court (same drill).
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D-2 The two players rally down-the-line as follows: player A hits only forehands down-the-line and player B only backhands down-theline (assuming they are both right handed). After about 5 minutes players switch sides (left and right) so that player A hits only backhands down-the-line and B only forehands down-the-line.
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D-3 This next drill is all about consistency and control. One of the players will hit every ball down-the-line while the other player hits only cross-court shots. (see graphic D-3) After about 5 minutes, players switch roles so that whoever hit cross-court before now goes for down-the-line and vice versa. This drill is challenging for players who are not yet very consistent but I would suggest to give it a try anyways.
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D-4 For this next drill, both players are using only half court (alley included) - see graphic below. Player A is at the net while B is playing from the baseline. Both players should have their pockets full with tennis balls ready to feed. For this drill player A works on volleys and overheads consistency (hitting every ball back to player B) while B practices groundstrokes consistency. Once in awhile, player B should hit a ball up for A to practice overheads. Switch roles after about 5 minutes.
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D-5 For this drill, both players use only half-court. A basket of balls (or any number of balls available on the court) is next to player A who plays at the baseline. Player B is at the net ready for overheads. The drill begins with player A feeding a lob for B. B will hit an overhead (medium pace) back to A who will block it as another lob which B, this time, will hit aggressively as a put-away overhead. Switch roles after about 5 minutes.
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D-6 This drill is called Alley Rally. That means the two players will attempt to rally making the ball land inside the alley as often as they can. Players A and B begin every rally from behind the baseline and between the singles and doubles lines. One of them will feed the ball then the two players rally attempting to land the ball between the singles and doubles lines, opposite side. Count every time the ball lands in the alley and once one of the players makes it successfully 25 times, they can stop. Variation: One of the players can try to hit only backhands while the other player hits forehands. Or they can all go for only forehands or only backhands.
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D-7 Two players position about half way between the service line and net and trade volleys back and forth. After every shot, they move one step back and keep moving back; eventually they will get to rallying half-volleys and then groundstrokes once they get closer to and then on the baseline. Once they make it to the baseline, they continue the rally but this time moving back towards the net. They continue the rally using only one ball as they move from the net to the baseline and back. Note: Good drill for consistency and control.
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GAMES FOR TWO PLAYERS G-1 The two players rally from the baseline. Players count the number of times the ball goes over the net during the rally. The player who wins the rally gets the number of points equal to the number of times the ball crossed over the net during the rally. Example: If the ball traveled 22 times over the net, the winner of the rally gets 22 points. If the next rally is won by the other player and, as an example, 14 balls went over the net - then the score is 22-14; and so on... Add the number of points from each rally the players win. Play first to win 100 points. Note: This is a good drill for improving consistency and focus.
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G-2 The two players compete against each other. One of them is the server, the other one the receiver positioned on the opposite side. Each one starts from 0 points. Scoring: If the server wins then the score increases by 1 point (+1); if the receiver wins the score decreases by 1 point. Example: If the server wins first two points, the score would be +2. If the receiver wins the next point then the score goes down to +1. Keep playing until the score becomes +3 (server wins) or -3 (receiver wins). Then switch players’ roles and or sides of court. Great game to learn concentration and how to keep the momentum going in your favor.
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G-3 The two players rally from the baseline. They both should be looking for opportunities to go to the net because if they win the point and their last shot was a volley or overhead they receive 3 points instead of one. If they win the point in any way other than a volley or an overhead, they receive only one point. Play first to 21. Note: This game encourages transitioning to the net; also for the baseline player it teaches them to hit the ball low to the approaching net player.
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G-4 Two players on the baseline on opposite sides. One of them is the server, the other the receiver. Each game consists of 10 points; the server keeps serving until the game is over (when one player wins 10 points by a margin of two). Trade serves after the game is over. Play first to win 3 games.
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G-5 Player A is the volley player and starts from the service line, having a bunch of balls nearby. Player B is the ground-stroke player who begins the rally from the baseline, opposite side. Both of them cover only half court (alley included). Player A practices volley control, consistency and transitioning to the net; player B works on ground-strokes consistency, accuracy and quick preparation. The rally starts with player A taking a ball from the basket and feed it to B while moving up towards the net. The ball is hit back and forth between the two players until one of them misses. Once the rally is over, player A goes back to the service line, picks up another ball and starts a new point. Play to 11 then switch sides and roles. Note: This is a very simple tennis drill yet very efficient for practicing volleys and ground-strokes especially for improving doubles play.
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Challenging Match Play These following games are meant for spicing up the regular way of playing the tennis sets. CMP - 1 The two players play a set using regular scoring. The only changes are: servers are allowed only one serve per point and the “let” is played. The game promotes serving under pressure knowing that only one serve is allowed and also that the receiver will attack it. CMP - 2 Two players play a regular scoring set where the server must follow the serve to the net on every point. Variation: The returner must follow her return to the net also.
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CMP - 3 Two players attempt to win a set against each other by playing as follows: either player who gets to 40 will have to win the next point; otherwise he/she will go back to the score of 0 (within the game). CMP - 4 Two players attempt to win a set against each other by playing as follows: every ace wins a game; every double fault loses a game; everything else works as dictated by the rules. CMP - 5 Two players play a regular set with one “little” exception: every time a player serves she should do it from inside the baseline (feet should be inside the baseline). This game will force the returner to react faster and shorten the back-swing.
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Bonus: Footwork and Conditioning Drills F-C-1 This is a drill that should be done fast and against the clock. The player starts at the baseline center and at command, he shuffles sideways to the left corner (of the baseline and singles side line), then shuffles along the baseline to the other corner (right). He gets back to the baseline center from where he sprints to the left corner of service line and singles side line; from there he back-pedals back to baseline center. He sprints straight ahead to the service-T (center line and service line); back-pedals to the baseline center. One more sprint to the right corner of the service line and singles side line; back-pedal to the baseline center. Repeat this patter 2-3 times depending of player’s athleticism and conditioning. Note: Do this drill as fast as you can; it is great for speed and stamina.
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F-C-2 The player starts from the back fence, facing the net. He will sprint to the baseline and then back to the fence. From there he’ll sprint to the service line and back to the fence. One more sprint, this time all the way to touch the net and back to the fence. Rest for 25 seconds and do the cycle again.
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F-C-3 The player starts at baseline T; upon command, he sprints in the following directions: 1. to the service court T (service line and center line), 2. shuffles sideways along the service line to the left singles side line, 3. shuffles sideways along the service line to the right singles side line, 4. shuffles sideways back to the service court T, 5. back-pedals towards the baseline T. All this running has to be done while facing the net.
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About the author Name: Cosmin Alin Miholca
I am a certified professional tennis coach who traveled the world teaching amateurs and aspiring pros alike. My coaching abilities are built on 25 years of playing experience and teaching over 13,000 hours of tennis lessons. Introduction:
As a result of my passion for the game and willingness to offer my students an enjoyable way to learn tennis, I founded WebTennis24.com and WebTennisDrills.com, two very well-known tennis instructional sites. If you have questions or feedback, do not hesitate to visit our websites WebTennis24.com and WebTennisDrills.com, or write me at
[email protected]
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