The player begins this drill from the baseline. The coach, having a basket of balls to feed from, is just inside the service line, opposite side.
Drill:
1. The coach feeds from inside the ad service court, down-the-line. The player must redirect the ball cross-court (to the open court, away from the coach). If the ball is in (cross-court) the player gets +1 point; if he misses (hits the ball into the net or out) he gets -1 point. His goal is to get to +5 and avoid -5. (see graphic below)
2. The coach feeds from inside the ad service court, cross-court. The player must redirect the ball down-the-line (to the open court, away from the coach). Same as before, for a ball in the player gets +1 or -1 for a miss. Do this pattern until the player gets to either +5 or -5.
3. & 4. The coach feeds the same patterns from inside the deuce service court, player redirecting the balls away from the coach attempting to reach +5 points.
Note:
– This is a very good drill for practicing groundstrokes placement under pressure.
– To make it even more competitive, advanced players should be required to send the balls to certain spots/areas of the court: deep beyond the service line, fast pace (no more than two bounces until the ball hits the back fence) etc.