If you’re looking to hone your forehand skills, these tennis drills will help improve accuracy and placement of shots as well as develop footwork and reaction time in pressure situations.
This first drill requires you to return shots back into the center of the court by moving side-to-side and drawing closer towards the net as time goes on. A key aspect is making use of unit turns – turning both your hips and upper body simultaneously as one unit.
1. Side-to-Side Drill
Running uses muscles that operate in the sagittal plane (flexion and extension) to propel athletes forward, but stabilizing muscles like abduction and adduction play an equally vital role. Side-to-side skips work these stabilizing muscles by strengthening and training coordination for running efficiency. To perform the drill, find a line on the ground, jump from both feet at once while crossing over each other before beginning to skip across it; continue this exercise for an allotted amount of time or distance; you could also perform this exercise on one leg to develop balance and stability as well.
Lateral running drills help build knee and ankle strength, which in turn enhances agility and quickness. One such lateral running drill, commonly referred to as the carioca or grapevine drill, requires two cones placed 15 steps apart. Once started, cross step with a lateral shuffle between each cone before rapidly changing direction in a quick sprint toward the far cone before stopping abruptly before rapidly accelerating in reverse to resume your original shuffle direction and complete three sets in total around each circle.
Increase the difficulty of this drill by increasing your speed and following a set pattern, such as jumping between sets. It serves as an effective warm-up exercise and would benefit athletes competing in field sports, racket sports or basketball–which require swift direction changes without losing speed or momentum.
2. Backhand to Forehand Drill
Table tennis’ forehand serves as a powerful stroke that allows players to control play and influence the result of points, making it a key part of any player’s game. A strong forehand not only helps win points but can also improve technique and serve.
Practicing forehand is best accomplished when closely watching an opponent and looking for clues as to where they will strike the ball. Their body posture and shoulders, arm movement and wrist angles provide useful clues as to where the ball may land – this helps you read their style and plan accordingly: whether to move quickly into forehand position or stay back and loop the ball.
Counter-drives can also help to strengthen your forehand. In this drill, your partner will hit several shots toward the net while you attempt to use your forehand to counter them all with your partner. This practice helps develop reaction time and footwork skills by forcing you to adjust your feet in order to follow each shot towards your forehand.
Once you feel comfortable with this drill, consider expanding it further by having your training partner push the ball towards your forehand side and practicing forehand topspin consistently; and have them push it onto your backhand so you can practice backhand topspin at the same time.
The third variation on this drill involves playing a rally using both your forehand and backhand simultaneously. This drill can help improve your ability to switch sides quickly while controlling the flow of a rally; especially helpful for newcomers who struggle to play backhands on their dominant side regularly.
In this drill, you and your training partner will engage in a rally where one player serves while the other attacks with either their forehand or backhand until randomly switching positions of serving and attacking.
3. Rally Drill
An effective forehand shot can help players win points by controlling the depth of the ball. To master this technique, topspin should be used on their shots – this drill provides an ideal opportunity to practice this skill and develop consistency. Two players taking turns hitting forehands back and forth creates an ideal setting to work on shot consistency as well as footwork while increasing court positioning and decision-making skills while strengthening core and upper body muscles at once!
To perform this drill, players should place markers on the ground in a T shape and move towards each cone from right to left before running back to base of T. The drill can then be repeated as many times as desired while focusing on speed and form; perfect for practicing forehand and backhand footwork with partners!
Drop and Hit Drill is another tennis drill designed to develop forehand skills, similar to Figure 8 Drill but tailored specifically towards this area of play. The Drop and Hit Drill focuses on developing consistent contact point by dropping the ball in front of players before hitting it; this provides an effective opportunity to strengthen timing and coordination that are typically weaker with backhand strokes.
Forehand strokes are essential parts of tennis and can often determine the outcome of a match. By including these tennis drills into your practice regimen, you can develop an efficient forehand that adds confidence and power to your game.
By adding these simple tennis drills into your routine, you can significantly boost both your forehand and overall game. As you work to incorporate these drills, remember to have fun while remaining focused. Over time, your forehand may become an integral part of your game – good luck and keep playing!
4. High Ball Drill
Handling high balls on the backhand side requires players to think strategically instead of technically when handling high balls – this includes getting their hands in position sooner, hitting lower and pulling across more. A good coach will use drills like this one that help retrain these aspects of their stroke, such as one which improves depth perception.
Footwork is also essential, enabling players to quickly move around the table and get into position for powerful shots. Jim Stone offers this forehand footwork drill which teaches players how to prepare for passes while maintaining proper posture; this allows them to create angles necessary to direct balls correctly to setters.
This drill is perfect for anyone having trouble hitting high topspin balls, as it focuses on maintaining a controlled contact point while increasing power. Combining it with the TopspinPro can help develop muscle memory necessary to hit powerful topspin forehand shots under pressure.
Players often drop the first few high balls they receive in competition due to stress-induced nerves; therefore, it’s imperative that they learn early how to control the ball and stop allowing their nerves ruin their performance. There are a variety of effective drills you can run to help players with this challenge.
One easy and effective forehand drill involves practicing with a partner. By switching up between this drill and having their partner feed them, players can become familiar with both types of shots under various levels of pressure, honing both types of forehand shots at increasing levels and improving consistency and placement. As players gain more confidence they should add in increasingly difficult feeds and rallies until their forehand becomes successful under pressure; doing this will equip them with skills they’ll need for any situation on court while giving more freedom and enjoyment of playing tennis than ever before!