Best Practice

The Top 10 Hits!

Hello and welcome! Thanks for stopping by.

Have you got time for a hit today? If your tennis buddy asked you that, and you could play for an hour or so, maybe even a little bit longer, what would you do? What kind of 'hit' would you have? Play a set? Just rally? Practise? What kind of things would you do?

Hi, I'm Adrian, lifelong player and coach, and here on Personal Best Tennis we share ideas on how best to use valuable court time, how to hit with a purpose. In many people's minds there are only 2 basic choices. Rally, or play points. Today we list our top 10 ideas on what to do when you are not playing a match, but still want to have a useful workout. Choose your own mix from the following ingredients to cook up your own best hit!

LOW INTENSITY HIT

A familiar sight, where the two players just hit back and forth, straight up and down the central part of the court, with very little running to retrieve wide balls. Players often start up around the service line, to rally in the service box, and then gradually move back to the baseline. You often see players stay on the baseline and hit the ball on the second bounce, rather than move up to a ball that lands short, near the service line.

The pros of this low intensity hit:

Good to get used to the speed of the court, if unfamiliar, or you have just changed surfaces, or just been playing inside and this is a first time outside.
Useful to become familiar with the local ambience, surroundings, distractions etc.
Reinforces feeling of contact and hitting through the ball.
Low risk of injury as not much footwork used.
Less tiring than playing points. If you are returning after a lay-off, or you have a tough game coming up, and you want to conserve energy.

The cons:

The shots you hit are not really match relevant. Under pressure you may, without thinking, hit the ball back down the middle, just like you've practised!
This should not be your default intensity level, if you want to be competitive. Get used to playing at the same intensity level as your matches.
You are not practising useful shot combinations.
Since you are just hitting generally down the middle and not to a specific target, there is little helpful feedback on your accuracy.
You are getting used to waiting for the ball to come to you, rather than being 'hungry for the ball' and moving explosively off the mark to reach the ball.

2. MEDIUM INTENSITY CROSS COURT HIT

Rallying from the back court, but this time going crosscourt. Hit both forehands and backhands. Start from the Ad side. This encourages a good shoulder turn for a right-hander hitting forehands. Then do the same from the Deuce side.

Pros of cross court rallying:

Game relevant shots.
Encourages good technique
Good feedback as defined target area
Good footwork encouraged, especially to hit wide inside out forehands

Cons:

Emphasis on steadiness rather than hitting forcing shots
Limited movement required
Intensity still less than match level

3. HIGH VOLUME HIT

Let's up the tempo a bit! Let's hit more balls, and let's practise preparing and reacting quicker!

The first part of this routine involves being up close to the net, and rallying with volleys. You will hit both forehand and backhand volleys. Again, start from the Ad side. Great for the reflexes, and of course the volleys!

Once you are warmed up, then take turns to be the volleyer, the other player hitting groundstrokes from close to the baseline. Start from the Ad side, then from the Deuce side.

Pros:

High volume of balls hit.
Great practice for preparing faster.
Sharpens volleyer's reflexes and technique
Encourages solid hitting from groundstroker

Cons:

Reactionary footwork rather than disciplined
Shots hit low over the net, not good 'shape'
No real focus on placement

4. CROSS COURT DOWN THE LINE RALLYING

Here there is much more movement, side to side, the width of the court, with controlled placement. With both players in the backcourt, one player hits all shots across court, whilst the other hits all shots straight down the line. Hit at control speed to get into a good rhythm. As soon as you have made contact move fast to be ready in good time for the next shot. Change after a few minutes. Cross court player now hits down the line and vice versa.

Pros:

Good practice for disciplined footwork
Great for changing direction of the ball
Good concentration and control required for this routine

Cons:

Emphasis on controlled shots rather than forcing shots
Easier movement than a match as you know where ball is going in advance

5. RALLY P.O.P.

POP stands for 'play out the point', and so now we add an element of competition to the hit. The players rally with control, aiming to land all groundstrokes beyond the service line, in the back part of the court ( marked in red shading) As soon as a ball lands short, anywhere in either service box, then the players try to win the point, and can hit anywhere, come to the net if they want to. It's game on! The person who feeds the first ball must make it a neutral ball, one that the other player can return. This routine is getting closer to match intensity, and strategy. Play for a timed limit. Leader after 10 minutes. Or, first to reach a point total. First to 11!

6. SERVE P.O.P.

Here the server has only one serve. If a fault, the server loses the point. The receiver must return serve beyond the service line (in the red shaded area). If not, the point is lost! All groundstrokes must land in this area at control speed. As soon as a groundstroke lands short the rally becomes competitive, anything goes! Great practice to develop reliability in your second serve. It is a shot, like the return, that we rarely practise enough! This extra confidence helps you go for more on a first serve in a match!

7. HANDICAPPED TIE BREAKS

Tie breaks are the biggest test in competitive tennis. Every point is important, and must be played with full concentration, based on all the lessons learned so far against your opponent. Selecting the right shot is critical, there is no room for casual, low percentage plays! It makes sense to practise this different dynamic. And it makes for meaningful competitive practice when you don't have time to play regular set scoring to its conclusion. Regular scoring pre-supposes no time limit. How usual is that these days, unless you have access to a private court? Use the first to 7 by a 2 point margin scoring system. Play regular tie breaks or why not add some spice with some kind of handicap?

Some ways you can handicap tie breaks:

Second serves only
Must serve and volley at least twice in tie break
A winning volley counts 2 points!
The winner of the tie break starts next tie break at 0-1. If same winner then next one is started at 0-2 etc.
Return of serve error loses 2 points!

What restrictions could you come up with to make this a fun worthwhile hit?

8. EXHIBITION POINTS

Djokovic is the absolute master of retrieving and keeping the ball in play. His defensive skills are exceptional. You can practise your 'scramblability' by playing what I call 'Exhibition Points'!

The idea is to hit slower than usual, but to move the ball around the court more than usual. Both players aim to keep the ball in play to give the other player a chance to get to every shot. This is a cooperative routine, not a competitive one!

You are trying to impress the 'audience' of this exhibition match, with long rallies, amazing court coverage, great saves. Lots of short angled shots, lobs, drop shots, moonballs. You are trying to prolong the rally, and to keep your buddy moving as much as possible. No going for winners, even when that is very easy to do!

Great practice for control, placement, and movement. How long you do it for is up to you and your physical stamina.

9. REDLINING

If we only lift weights we can easily lift, how much stronger are we going to get? One thing the pros do sometimes is what I call 'redlining'.

In a practice session you may be surprised to see some uncharacteristically wild shots. Ones that would be absolutely reckless in a close match. Ones that are hit absurdly hard, or ridiculous angles. When I first saw Federer do this I was completely taken aback. Where was the discipline? The control? The precision? Then I thought there must be a good reason why arguably the greatest player of all time does this.

To improve you must keep pushing the boundaries of your shots. What is your upper limit of power and control? Take some time to define your limits. Test yourself with shots you would never dream of doing in a close match. You may surprise yourself. Explain to your partner what you are doing if you want them to keep playing with you!

10. SHOTS WE NEVER PRACTISE BUT SHOULD!

Too far behind reverse grip play

If you can return the toughest shot in the rally, then the rest are much easier! One of the toughest balls to retrieve is one that is a bit too far behind you. The secret to these is to use the opposite grip to what you would normally use.

For example: if the ball is way behind you on your forehand side the best way to allow your wrist to flick it back is to use an extreme BACKHAND grip!

Likewise, if the ball is too far behind you on your backhand side, then change to an extreme FOREHAND grip! Have your buddy feed one to you, or, it is possible to practise with a self-fed ball like this. Give that a go! How does that feel?

Bounce smash

Your opponent hits a desperate high lob. It goes so high that it comes down with snow on it! It then bounces really high mid court and it looks so easy to smash it anywhere you want. What could be easier? It is not uncommon for even the best players in the world to mess these up! Djokovic seems to be remarkably prone to errors off the overhead. You must get set up properly for these. It is very easy to get lazy! Get slightly behind the ball, it is easier to see it. Get your racket ready quickly in the 'salute' position. Hit it aggressively but aim away from the lines. Don't go for overkill! Have you buddy feed you a few of these. Feels good after a tough day!

Lob retrieve

When hitting a lob it is better to hit it too high than too low. At least, if your opponent hasn't practised the bounce smash maybe you are still in with a good chance of staying in the point, if not winning it!

A high lob gives you time to recover, and being ready puts your opponent under a bit more pressure!

Conclusion:

So I hope that has given you a few ideas for your next 'hit'. Rather than just rallying, or playing regular sets why not try something you haven't done before and see how it goes. You never know what you might discover works for you. Don't knock it till you try it. Good luck, and until next time. . . Happy Hitting!