How many of you want to play tennis but can’t pick up the racquet because you don’t have a partner to play with? Or it’s your busy schedule that creates a hindrance in keeping up with your coach’s timings.
There are plenty of drills out there for you that can use to practice tennis alone. These drills will not only help you in working on your weaknesses but also in getting the upper hand in your game. So why wait for a partner when you can start on your own?
For those of you who had planned to become the best tennis player by 2021, then we have the finest tips and tricks for you. The best part about these tips and tricks is that you won’t need a training coach to practice them. Sounds good to me if I were to opt for playing tennis.
What’s more, is that you won’t have to also look for another partner. That means just by practicing these simple guidelines while staying at home, and you can play tennis just like another pro. Let’s get started then.
Tips to Practice Tennis Alone
In case you’re new to tennis and don’t know where to start from, then kick off by building strength and conditioning. Building your strength and condition through workouts is necessary. These workouts will help you get the right power, endurance, and speed for tennis.
You can attain this kind of strength through exercises that involve the major muscles that are involved when you’re playing tennis, for instance, picking up weights. Also, when you’re playing tennis, you can often end up with injuries because of the repetitive body movements involved when you’re swinging the racket for the perfect shot. Strong muscles and joints will definitely reduce your injuries.
Moreover, getting to know tennis is equally important. When you’re a beginner, you don’t have an idea about the things you really need to focus on while you’re training for tennis. So read as much as you can about tennis and gather all the important information about the dynamics of the tennis court. This will give you a headstart with your tennis practice.
Further, you can also check out different styles of the world’s best players to get to know which style will exactly work for you. After knowing these styles, you can even come up with your own style that turns you into a tennis Champion.
Basic Solo Drills for Practicing Tennis Alone
Now that you have become a lot familiar with the beginner drills for tennis let’s move onto some of the most basic drills. These drills will also work for players that wish to improve their tennis game so that they can give a tough time to their opponent. There are a total of five drills that are necessary for tennis.
1. Usage of Ball Machine
When you don’t have a partner to play with you and also want to ace all types of swings, then you must make use of the Ball Machine. It is tennis training equipment that can serve various types of shots. These include forehead shots, backhand shots, and, last of all, overhead shots. For a machine to provide you all the swings that a partner would feed, you just make your training easier more than you could ever imagine.
In addition, many ball machines come with other useful features as well. With these features, you can get the desired speed at which you want the machine to serve you with the Ball. In case you want to change the angle for getting good body movement on the tennis court, you can also change it. Time can also be set, which just adds up to all the other advantages.
Also, you won’t have to take a pause in your game training just for switching to other types of shots as these machines have an alternate mode. This alternate mode will give you non-stop tennis training. In brief, Ball, machines can take your swings and tweak them at your best with hard practice. The following three drills can boost your level when you’re playing tennis.
Double Alley Drill – You will place the ball machine in the double alley of the tennis court. And just one step ahead of the base of the court, you have to return the ball towards the double alley. Your position should be sideways while you’re opening up for returning the Ball. For beginners, it can be 5 in a row; for intermediate, it should be ten, and at last for advanced players, it should be 15 in a row.
Cross Court Drill – Setup the ball machine at a crosscourt position for getting the forehand side feeds. After this, you can switch the crosscourt position of the ball machine so that it feeds towards the backhand side. And you want to return the Ball so that it busts your ball machine. The total score for beginners should be 3, for intermediate, it is five, and advanced it is 10.
Back Court Drill – This drill can help in adding pressure on your opponent during the gameplay. During this drill, you have to make sure that your returns are strong enough to hit the baseline. For this, your shoulder must have a complete turn for accelerating the Ball. The total score for beginners should be 3, for intermediate, it is five, and advanced it is 10.
2. Practicing With a Wall
Don’t worry if you don’t have a tennis court in your area or a partner to play with. All you need is a good wall for hitting your Ball. This means you won’t have to spend an additional sum of money on getting ball machines. Brick Walls or even standard walls with no windows around can easily be found across your streets.
You can even use a backboard in case you want an easy setup in your garage. While hitting against the wall, you must practice your form and consistency. The following are the best drills that can improve the form while building your consistency.
- Catch the Ball Drill – In this drill, all you have to do is catch the tennis ball with your racket ten times in a row. In order to do this, you must give it good strong so that you can easily fetch the Ball when it returns to you. And while you must take more than one step just for building up your consistency.
- Recoil Drill – It is the type of drill that involves all your muscles because you hit the tennis and recoil. So you will hit the tennis coming at you and get ready for hitting the next return. In other words, you’re practicing speed and time.
- Over Head Drill – This drill allows you to get serving practice, shoulder strength form. All you have to do is give over headshots to the wall. Further, it will also enhance your ability to judge the spacing and get better footwork, which is necessary for playing tennis.
3. Practicing the Serves
Equally important are the serves when it comes to tennis games. After all, you do want to have the capability to hit your opponent with a good serve. You can practice with ease as neither will it require some sort of machine or a partner. For this, you can design your own scoring system. The right service can actually change the outcome of your game, changing it in your favor. Here are some of the drills that can give you that right serve.
- Body Rotation Drill – For getting a long-range serve, this drill is really handy. The serve should not exactly aim for the service box. All you have to do is to stand at the center of the base, and without turning, you have to swing your body using the left foot and then turn again with the Ball. Practice this drill, and you will get the right body rotation for your server.
- Reach Drill – This drill helps you achieve the power you put in to serve when the Ball comes in contact with the racket. First, toss the ball into the air and reach towards the Ball, and hit as much as high you can with your arms extended, swinging it across the tennis court. Make sure you serve the Ball at the right point. This will add power to your serve.
- Snap Drill – For an extra powerful serve, you can make use of this drill. The main concept of the drill is to hit when it’s at its maximum height. After the tennis ball reaches its maximum height, hit it by snapping your wrist down. Your aim is to serve the ball in the service box on your side. Combine all the drills after practice, and you will serve like a pro.
4. Self-Feed Balls for GroundStrokes
In tennis, there are different shots that you have to play because of the tennis court dynamics. If you can’t master these shots, then tennis can really give you a tough time. The Self-Freed Balls drill is perfect for practicing with groundstrokes. For this, you need to improve your aim to handle the different shots. So you need to set a target on the wall. You can set this target by using athletics tape or simple duct tape and mark an X on the wall.
After setting your aim, you have to make sure that you are hitting that aim consistently. Or you can achieve this by making different areas of the tennis court your target. These areas can be deep corners, centerlines, or the back area of the court. But before deciding your area target, you must decide what type of shot you want to practice. Because this drill offers you practice for eight types of shots, for instance, the forehand shot, backhand shot, overhead, or drop shot.
5. Footwork Drills
Besides working on your serves and tennis shots, footwork is also as much as important working on. Strong footwork is a quality that is commonly found among the best players of tennis around the world. So if you are following their footsteps, then you also keep footwork drills in your checklist. Single run drills, double run drills, and sidestep up drills can enhance your footwork.
Further, the most effective technique to upgrade your footwork on the tennis court is to make use of the cones. Firstly you will have to divide the tennis into sections to keep track of your feet movement. While staying in these sections, you can practice sidestepping, stopping, and sprinting.
Other Drills
Moreover, tennis requires body conditioning. There are many drills for achieving such body conditioning drills. Running drills can increase your body’s stamina for playing sports. Other drills involve gym workouts. With a healthy body weight, you can acquire the right power for fetching the tennis ball and serving it.
Advantages
- Non- stop Practice Routine
- Setting Your Pace is Easy
- Suitable Drill Selection
Disadvantages
- Bit Difficulty in Skill Assessment
- Lack of Competition
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, you can practice tennis solo. There are a number of drills that can help you. One of them is playing against the tennis Ball machine.
There are plenty of ways to play tennis without a partner. Playing against the wall or backboard is the best way to play tennis without a partner.
Yes, you can learn tennis on your own. You don’t need a coach or a partner to teach you tennis. With a little background search on tennis and after buying tennis equipment you’re all ready to learn tennis on your own.
Yes, it does. There are many drills that are very effective when you’re playing tennis against the wall.
By using the body rotation drill, reach drill, and snap drill, you can practice your serve.
Conclusion:
In brief, I have provided all the tips and tricks you can use for playing solo tennis. As you can see, it’s far easier to practice tennis even when you don’t have a partner. After getting to know all these drills and how you can practice them, you won’t be needing additional guidance.
It is thus saving you from all the expenses that come with hiring a coach. With these drills, you can start practicing tennis today. I wish you all the best in your tennis training. Hoping that you have found this article helpful, you will keep visiting our website for such content that will be further useful for you. Happy Regards.
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