4 At-Home Tennis Drills For Practicing By Yourself

If you’re like most people in America — and really, around the world — over this past year, you’ve spent way too much time at home. While it’s been frustrating to constantly stare at the same four walls as consistently as we have, it’s also provided all of us with an opportunity to get more creative than ever before when it comes to keeping ourselves busy. 

When thinking about sports that can be played during the pandemic, tennis is certainly one of the safer ones because of the natural social distancing that happens during a match. However, a bunch of tennis players have found themselves at home and without a training partner over the past 12 months. If you’re looking for some things to do at home to keep your tennis game sharp, check out these four at-home drills to try. 

Hit The Wall

This drill is as simple as it sounds — all you need is a hard wall that can withstand the constant contact, a tennis ball, and your tennis racket. Having a volley with someone is very helpful, but it can also be frustrating if they don’t keep the volley going, which is why the wall can help. As long as you hit the ball correctly, the wall will always hit it back! 

The benefit of this drill is that you have an opponent who will always return your volley, and it’ll allow you to build your muscle strength. 

The Bounce Ball Racket

The requirements for this drill are once again simple — all that’s needed is a tennis ball and your racket. Hold your racket with the hitting side of it facing the sky and simply bounce the ball off the string as many times as you possibly can without stopping. Simple, right? That’s true, but it’ll definitely be a challenge because as you get better, you have to continue improving your endurance since you’ll be doing it for longer. 

This drill will not only help improve hand-eye coordination but also increase your forearm strength. 

Shadow Swinging

Is there a mirror in your house? Great! You’re ready to give the shadow swinging drill a try at home. This is an opportunity for you to actually see your own fundamentals when it comes to strokes while you’re actually doing them. While you’re standing in front of the mirror go through both your forehand and backhand groundstrokes and take note of the technical details for each part of the movement. This includes your hip and shoulder movement, how you transfer your weight throughout the stroke, and how you follow through. 

The Serve Toss

What makes a great serve? Well, an essential part of it is making sure you toss the ball to yourself in the best possible spot before sending the ball over the net. For this drill, you can use your racket, although it’s not necessary — all that’s needed is a tennis ball. In order to improve your serve toss, get into your regular serving position and toss the ball up with your non-hitting hand. After you toss the ball up, keep your arm in the air, and with your arm still extended, try to catch the ball. 

Doing this simple drill twice a day for 20 times each round can improve the accuracy of your serve toss, which will allow you to be more consistent with your serve once you’re back on the court!