• tennis drills

Is your footwork holding back your tennis game? Even with perfect technique, you’ll struggle to reach balls if you can’t move well around the court. But with consistent practice, you can transform your movement patterns and elevate your performance dramatically. Here are seven awesome tennis drills that will help you improve your footwork and agility.

Tennis Drills to Boost Agility & Sharpen Footwork

Ladder Drills

Place an agility ladder flat on the ground and practice these patterns:

  • Hopscotch: Jump with both feet into the first square, then one foot in each of the next two squares, and repeat
  • Lateral Shuffle: Moving sideways, place both feet in each square as you travel down the ladder
  • In-Out Drill: Standing alongside the ladder, step in with the inside foot, follow with the outside foot, then step out with both feet in sequence

Perform each pattern for 30 seconds, rest for 15 seconds, and repeat three times.

Cone Star Drill

Set five cones in a star pattern. Starting from the center:

  1. Sprint to each cone
  2. Touch it with your racquet
  3. Return to the center before sprinting to the next cone

Focus on quick changes of direction and maintaining proper tennis stance throughout the drill.

Split-Step Practice

The split step is fundamental to tennis movement. With a practice partner:

  1. Stand at the baseline in a ready position
  2. As your partner randomly tosses balls to different court locations
  3. Perform a split step (small hop) just before they release the ball
  4. Push off in the appropriate direction to retrieve each ball

Shadow Tennis

Without using an actual ball:

  1. Move through various court positions
  2. Practice proper footwork for different shot types
  3. Focus on recovery steps after each simulated shot

This drill builds muscle memory for efficient movement patterns and is also great for some visualization.

Line Hops

Using the court lines:

  1. Stand parallel to a line
  2. Perform continuous lateral hops across the line for 30 seconds
  3. Rest for 15 seconds
  4. Switch to front-to-back hops
  5. Complete 3-5 sets

This simple but effective drill builds explosive power in your legs.

Spider Drill

Place five balls in a semi-circle around the baseline:

  1. Start at the center mark
  2. Sprint to each ball, pick it up and return it to center
  3. Recover to your starting position after each retrieval
  4. Complete the pattern as quickly as possible

Time yourself and track improvement over sessions.

Multi-Directional Shuffles

Here’s what to do for this drill:

  1. Start at center court
  2. Have a coach or partner call out directions: “forward,” “back,” “left,” or “right”
  3. Respond by quickly shuffling 3-5 steps in that direction
  4. Immediately respond to the next command

This simulates actual match movement and improves reaction time.

Take Your Footwork to the Next Level With Us This Summer!

Adding these drills into your practice routine for just 15-20 minutes can help improve your court coverage and positioning. 

Want expert coaching on these drills and more? Join us at one of our 2025 adidas Tennis Camps this summer! Find a location near you and sign up today! 

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