On this page I want to provide some general tennis groundstroke drills that should help anybody improve their game!
Click Here To Go Straight To The Drills!
But first let’s talk a little bit about groundstrokes in general, groundstrokes in the pro game, and groundstrokes in the recreational game!
It is often said that the serve is the most important shot in Tennis. I certainly agree with this but the importance of the serve also depends a lot on the level of play!
At most recreational levels, players are not able to win many points with their serve and often groundstrokes become the deciding factor!
In the pro game hard serves and incredible groundstrokes are dominating these days!
Check out this incredible rally between Nadal and Federer
These intense rallies are very typical for todays game!
The groundstrokes of top level professional players have improved a lot over the last couple of years. Players are using the improved equipment combined with better athleticism to hit incredibly powerful shots from the baseline.
The forehand has become more and more important with plenty of players running around the backhand a lot!
There are only very few players left in the professional game that have a weakness on the forehand or the backhand side!
Andy Roddick with his backhand is one of the few examples. Most players though have great technique on both wings and can generate incredible power because of that!
I believe that players are able to generate more power with the forehand because larger muscle groups are at work and therefore they try to run around often!
I am not sure if there are scientific studies to prove that the pros generate more power with their forehands than their backhands but simply looking at how the game is played answers that question in my opinion!
In recreational Tennis weak backhands are still very common!
Many players struggle in developing a consistent backhand. On the forehand side players can often compensate weak technique to a certain degree with using their muscles. On the backhand side this is much more difficult and bad technique can leave you with a real weakness!
Since players are hitting more and more forehands this also makes them more confident about their forehands. As a result I think many times players at all levels run around too many backhands!
How often you should run around your backhand depends on many factors. The strength of your forehand compared to your backhand is very important of course but also factors like your game plan, court surface and opponents strengths and weaknesses play a role
Tennis Groundstroke Drills
Tennis Groundstrokes Drill #1: 20 balls deep cross-court
Every Tennisplayer needs to be able to hit the ball reasonably hard cross-court and deep to be successful! One of the best drills for this is the 20-ball cross court deep drill!
With this drill a coach or partner feeds you balls alternating to your forehand and backhand. The goal is for you to hit 20 balls in a row cross-court past the service line without missing. Every time you miss you start again at 0!
If you can consistently hit the ball cross-court deep you will beat a lot more players than usual!
If you are a beginner or don’t have a partner you can also drop/toss the ball for yourself. A ball machine could be a great alternative as well.
Tennis Groundstrokes Drill #2: Baseline Game To Eleven
Baseline Games to eleven are extremely popular among tennis players. In this game the ball is fed by a coach or one player, the other player then hits the first ball cross-court and afterwards the point is played out. You can alternate feeding and also alternate feeding to forehand and backhand.
Many players play this game with the feed and the first ball down the middle; I prefer the feed and the first ball cross-court because I think it is more realistic. This game will lead to plenty of groundstroke rallies and therefore is great for improving your game from behind the baseline!
Tennis Groundstrokes Drill #3: Rallying with a higher net!
The majority of all tennis matches are won by the player that hits less unforced errors!That means that if you can hit the ball over more often than your opponent you will most likely win the match!
Coaches often say that the net is your biggest enemy on the tennis court and I definitely agree. Almost all players except for the pros miss too much in the net!
To work on missing in the net less, I highly recommend getting something like a higher net!
The simplest way to do this is to place a high pole on each end of the net and hang some kind of rope over it. This will give you a visual goal to hit over! Make sure you use something with a colour that is easily visible! Alternatively you can buy higher nets on many tennis internet sites!
With your higher net you can now rally over it; try to hit a certain number of balls without missing or even play points with the higher net! Doing this on a regular basis will most likely improve your Tennis very quickly!
Tennis Groundstrokes Drill #4: Points for depth!
You put a line halfway between the service line and the baseline to divide the backcourt into two areas. Every ball that bounces behind that line counts for two points and every ball that lands behind the service line but in front of the other line counts for 1 point. Shots that land in the service box do not give you any points. You can now rally with your partner and play up to 50 or 100 points. This is a great drill to work on depth!
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