JR. TENNIS TIMES

The Best Tennis Drills to Practice at Home or With a Wall

You don't need a court to improve your tennis. Some of the best practice happens at home, in the driveway, or against a wall. Here are drills that will make a real difference in your game.

Wall Drills

A flat wall (garage, racquetball court, or dedicated hitting wall) is one of the best training partners you'll ever have. The wall never misses, it always returns the ball, and it makes you hit in rhythm.

Forehand/Backhand Rally: Stand about 15-20 feet from the wall and rally forehands. Count how many you can hit in a row without the ball bouncing more than once. Try to beat your record. Then switch to backhands.

Alternating Rally: Hit forehand, backhand, forehand, backhand — alternating every shot. This builds the ability to recover and prepare for the next shot quickly.

Volley Drill: Stand 6-8 feet from the wall and practice volleys. Start slow and increase the pace. Focus on keeping your wrist firm and punching through the ball.

Target Practice: Put a piece of tape on the wall at net height. Try to hit every ball above the tape — this trains you to clear the net consistently.

Serve Toss Drill (No Wall Needed)

A consistent toss is the foundation of a good serve, and you can practice it anywhere.

  • Stand in your serve stance and toss the ball up
  • Let it drop — it should land about 12 inches in front of your lead foot, slightly to the right (for right-handers)
  • Do 20 tosses in a row and see how many land on target
  • Place a target (hat, towel, or coin) on the ground to aim for

Footwork Drills (Driveway or Yard)

Ladder Drills: If you have an agility ladder, do quick feet, in-and-outs, and lateral shuffles. If you don't have a ladder, use chalk lines or tape on the driveway.

Split-Step Timing: Jump rope for 2 minutes, then practice your split step — a small hop that lands on both feet at the same time. This is the most important movement in tennis and needs to become automatic.

Shadow Swings: Without a ball, practice your full stroke motion. Stand in ready position, split step, move to the ball (imaginary), set up, swing, and recover. Do 10 forehands, 10 backhands, 10 approach shots to volleys.

Ball Handling (Coordination)

  • Bounce the ball on the racket face (ups) — forehand side, backhand side, alternating
  • Edge the ball along the racket frame
  • Bounce the ball on the ground and catch it on the strings without it bouncing
  • Juggle 2 balls with one hand

How to Structure Home Practice

Set a timer for 20-30 minutes and rotate through drills. A sample session:

  • 5 minutes of wall rallying (forehands and backhands)
  • 3 minutes of wall volleys
  • 5 minutes of serve toss practice
  • 5 minutes of footwork drills
  • 5 minutes of ball handling

Consistency beats intensity. Twenty minutes of focused practice 4-5 times a week will improve your game more than one marathon session on the weekend.