Stroke and ball-control drills
1. Shadow swings with checkpoints
Without a ball, swing slowly through one stroke and pause at three checkpoints: the end of the take-back, the contact point and the finish. Hold each for a second. Do ten slow repetitions, then ten at normal speed, then switch strokes. A mirror or a dark window lets you check each position. Watch for: contact in front of your body rather than beside it, a relaxed grip, and a finish you can hold in balance.
2. Wall or rebound practice
If you have a solid wall with a hard surface in front of it, such as a garage, a driveway or a park practice wall, hit against it. Start close, with soft, controlled forehands and backhands after one bounce, and move back as your control improves. Then try volleys with no bounce, standing a few steps from the wall. Make sure you have permission to use the wall and that nothing breakable is nearby. Watch for: the same contact point on every ball, and a reset of your feet between shots instead of hitting from a standstill.
3. Racquet bounces and edge control
Bounce a ball up on the strings with one face, then the other, then alternate faces on every bounce. When that is easy, try bouncing it on the edge of the frame, then dribble it down to the floor and back up. Count your best streak and try to beat it next time. Watch for: soft hands, letting the racquet absorb the ball rather than punching at it, and small, controlled heights. This is hand-eye coordination and feel in their simplest form, and young players love the challenge.
Footwork drills
4. Split-step timing
Stand in your ready position. Have someone clap, or play a rally on a screen, and time a small hop so that you land just as the ball is struck, feet a little wider than your shoulders and weight on the balls of your feet. Then push off to one side for two steps and recover. Watch for: landing on time rather than late, and a small hop rather than a jump. The split step starts nearly every good movement on court, so it is worth hundreds of repetitions.
5. Crossover steps
From the ready position, turn your hips and shoulders to one side and cross the outside leg over to cover ground, as you would to reach a wide ball. Take three crossover steps, plant, shadow a swing, then recover to the middle with side shuffles. Alternate sides. Watch for: the upper body turning first, staying low, and a balanced plant before you swing. These two drills are the foundation; for the full set of patterns, see tennis footwork drills.
Serve-toss practice
6. Toss to a target
Outdoors or under a high ceiling, stand side-on in your serving stance and toss with a straight arm, releasing the ball at about head height. Put a towel on the ground just in front of your front foot and let the ball drop onto it without swinging. Do ten tosses, then ten more with a shadow swing up to the hitting position. Watch for: the ball rising straight, without spin, and peaking a little above the highest point you can reach with your racquet. A consistent toss is the simplest serve improvement there is; for the rest of the motion, see how to improve your tennis serve.
Fitness and mental rehearsal
7. Basic tennis fitness
Two or three times a week, take ten minutes for bodyweight squats and lunges for the legs, a plank and side planks for the trunk, skipping or quick feet in place for rhythm, and light band exercises for the shoulders if you have a band. Young juniors should stick to bodyweight work and active play rather than weights. Watch for: form before numbers, with knees tracking over the toes and a long, straight back. For what to build and why, read the physical qualities a tennis player needs.
8. Mental rehearsal
Sit quietly for a few minutes and play points in your head, in detail: the score, your routine between points, the serve you will hit, how you respond to missing an easy ball. Then rehearse the between-point routine itself, with the towel, a slow breath and a plan for the next point, until it runs without thought. Watch for: vividness. See it through your own eyes, at match speed, nerves included.
A 20-minute home routine
| Minutes | Drill | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 | Warm-up: easy movement, arm circles, skipping | Warm before anything fast |
| 3–7 | Shadow swings with checkpoints | One stroke, one checkpoint |
| 7–10 | Split steps and crossover steps | Timing and balance |
| 10–13 | Racquet bounces, or wall work if you have a wall | Soft hands, same contact |
| 13–15 | Serve-toss practice, outdoors or under a high ceiling | The same toss every time |
| 15–18 | Squats, lunges and a plank | Form before numbers |
| 18–20 | Mental rehearsal of one point and your routine | See it at match speed |
Change the order to suit your space, but keep the warm-up first. On days you also play, the warm-up and shadow swings are enough.
Done five days a week, that is more than an hour and a half of focused work every week without booking a court. Keep each session on one stroke and one checkpoint; twenty minutes with a single focus beats an hour of everything.
How video helps: watch the model, then shadow it
Home practice has one weakness: nobody is checking your shapes, so it is easy to rehearse the wrong movement very thoroughly. Video fixes most of that. Watch a short clip of the stroke you are working on, then shadow it straight away while the picture is fresh. Every couple of weeks, film your shadow swing on a phone and put it next to the model. Look for one difference, fix it, and film again.
The Saviano Online library has 250+ training videos organized by technique, tactics, movement and the mental side, so you can find the clip that matches tonight's drill, and it is free to join with no credit card. It also includes podcasts, articles, note taking, Q&A sessions and courses, and premium membership opens the full library, courses and 1-on-1 sessions when you want more.
When the weather keeps you indoors for weeks, home drills hold your level, but they will not move it as far as court time does. If you can get somewhere warm over the school break, a winter holiday tennis camp in Florida turns that break into real court hours. Either way, start tonight: join Saviano Online free, pick one stroke, and run the 20-minute routine with the matching video.