Tip of the Day: Turn the practice court into your laboratory

The practice court is a special place. Many players view it as a necessary evil; something to tolerate between matches. But smart players, ones looking to continually improve, know it’s where the real work is done. It presents an opportunity to hone your strengths, sure-up weaknesses, and experiment with new tactics and techniques.

With that in mind, here’s a simple, yet effective 1.5 hour practice session you can do with a partner. How effective? That all depends on you. Keep the effort level high and the water breaks to a minimum, and you’ll see results.

0:00-0:10 — The Warm-up

It’s a bad idea to start a practice session cold. Before you even step on the court you should do some jogging, jump rope, or any light cardio to get the blood flowing. Follow that up with stretching to loosen up the major muscle groups. If you get this done before your practice session starts, all the better. Otherwise you’ll have to use some of these minutes to that end.

Once you hit the court, start out with mini-tennis. Just like you’d start out with layups, short jumpers and free throws before attempting 3-pointers when playing hoops, it’s always good to start in the midcourt to build some confidence. Shorten the backswing, but still finish your strokes and maintain good footwork. Gradually work your way back to the baseline and lengthen your swings.

After working into a groove on the ground strokes, take turns at the net hitting volleys and overheads. Remember to keep the feet moving. It’s a warm-up, but it shouldn’t be casual. Once you’ve both had turns at the net, loosen up your serves.

0:10-0:20 — Confidence Building

While you’re still fresh before hopping into the nuts and bolts of the practice, spend a little time smoothing out a rough edge. The last match you played there was undoubtedly something in your game that was misfiring. Perhaps your backhand volley kept popping up, or your second serve kept landing too short in the service.

Whatever the problem, take this early portion of the practice to isolate that stroke and in an non-competitive situation, with a low degree of difficulty, focus on getting the groove, rhythm, and belief back. Both you and your partner will have a particular issue to work on, so dedicate at least five minutes apiece to right that wrong.

0:20-0:30 — Crosscourts

Now the work begins. Crosscourts may not be sexy, but they’re the bedrock of any sound ground game. Using only the singles court hit the ball back and forth crosscourt with your partner.

For the first six balls of the rally, try to hit with more control; basically nothing more than rally shots. Then you can amp up the pace and spin. Still, since you don’t have much room to hit the ball passed your partner, it’s a great opportunity to manipulate depths and angles. It doesn’t do you any good to rips balls if it’s right at your opponent. Don’t neglect your footwork—recover towards the middle of the court and keep the footwork crisp.

Spend half the time on deuce side, then switch courts.

0:30-0:40 — Down the lines

These are your point-changers. Andre Agassi likes to say he paid a lot of bills thanks to his down the line backhand. If you want to open of the court, or pass an opponent at net you need to be proficient hitting shots down the line.

Just as with the crosscourt drill, take your time before switching into higher gears. Since angles aren’t available, concentrate on the length of your shots. Think about getting five feet of clearance over the net and plenty of topspin on the ball rather than simply mashing the ball. It’s a much more efficient and consistent means of achieving depth.

To keep things interesting, turn it into a game: keep the ball in between the service and baselines or else lose the point. First player to 10 wins. It can be boring hitting the same shot for 10 minutes, so if you set up a little incentive it makes it more fun.

0:50-1:00 — Workshopping a Skill

Now that you’ve got the core shots out of the way, take this block to refine a stroke or tactic you’ve been developing. For instance, if you’ve got a two-handed backhand, you could spend some time honing your one-handed slice. This will make that side more versatile since the slice is a great change of pace shot and a lifesaver on defense. Or, if you’re playing a lot of doubles, use this as an opportunity to work on your volleys and finishing points at the net.

Again, you can gamify it by playing out points with one of you feeding balls from the service line and the other trying to hit passing shots from the baseline. Play to a set score, then switch roles.

1:00-1:10 — Serves and returns

The starts of points are crucial. Get ahead with a commanding first strike and you’re in control. Play points out with one player serving and the other returning. To make this time truly worthwhile, test out new material; spray serves around to different parts of the service box and apply different spins. Don’t be afraid to follow them to net to practice volleying in real point situations. It’s a much more effective way to improve your net game.

Experimentation is equally important with the return of serve; vary return positions and tactics. Look to run around your backhand, or take the ball early and follow it to net. You can switch servers halfway through, or alternate after a certain number of points.

1:10-1:30 — Showtime

Here’s where you take everything you worked on up to this point and apply it to competition. You can play out games, tiebreakers, or use ping pong scoring—play up to 21 and switch servers every five points. It’s up to you.

Since it’s practice, you don’t have the same pressure of a tournament or team match, so take chances using new shots and strategies; especially when the game score is in your favor. There’s nothing wrong with experiencing a little failure. Still, don’t go so completely out of character that you’re gifting points. You’re friends when you walk off the court, but between the lines take no prisoners.