practicing by yourself?

[newbie123]

Assume that you do not have a partner, ball machine, or a wall. Are there any drills you can do by yourself on a tennis court? The only things I can think of are serves and overheads. Other suggestions?

[Cypo]

Start by smashing the ball straight down or hitting it straight up in the air, then hit it over the net as a drive volley or after the bounce.

[brijoel]

wind sprints, lunges, suicide runs, and ofcourse any other running drill you can come up with. i have too many to even bother describing.

[jings]

Stand near the net facing the other side. Hit the ball lob-like over your head then turn and chase and practice the between the legs shot.

[Tim Tennis]

I like to just take a basket of balls and work on my forehand and backhands. From behind the baseline I will just toss the ball up, let it bounce and hit what ever shot I am working on. Like a golfer, I will take a couple of practice swings, some in slow motion and some at full speed, paying close attention to how I load for the shot, the swing path and the follow through. Then I will actually hit some balls and see if the results are what I expected. By doing this, using my beloved Semi-Western grip I have been able to fine tune my strokes from being able to drive the ball fairly flat with lots of pace but still have a good draw, to hitting a big, heavy, looping forehand that kicks up high. It looks like something you would see from someone using a Western grip but I am using the SW. Another reason I like this so much is you can get outside the box and practice hitting with much greater swing speeds then you normally do in play.

You got to love the game.

[Cigo]

In addition to what Tim said put out targests and try to hit them with you groundies and serves. You can always get close to the net and hit heavy spin angles on different height balls that you toss up for your self.

[Tim Tennis]

Cigo, great point about the targets and moving in closer and practicing the short angles. When I practice a stroke I usually start out being very nonjudgemental. The only bad thing I can do is hit the ball into the net. I don't care if the ball lands 4 feet behind the baseline. I pay more attention to the flight of the ball and the action that I can put on it. As I start to groove the stroke to some extent then I will start focusing on going cross court hitting deep in the corner. I don't use targets but that certainly would be a good idea. The next step is to modify the swing path slightly to be able to hit down the line from the same position. This simple way of practicing has really helped me develope new strokes and improve my existing ones. I also use this to help me get outside the box and get used to swinging with greater racquet head speed.

[Cigo]

Not sure what the proper name for these things is, but the plastic(tube) rings that can be twirled around ones waist make perfect targets. I use them in different drills with my friends(as targets ).

[normnmiles]

Originally Posted by Cigo

plastic(tube) rings that can be twirled around ones waist

Hula Hoops?

[Plawan]

Toss a ball over your back then turn and run to hot it to a target. You can start from the net, toss the ball back and chase a lob and hit a lob back or a passing shot back or you can start from the baseline and chase a dropshot. You can count longer after tossing the ball befor turn back and run to the ball.

[John Jung]

I think Tim has a good idea. I have used a variation of it and an very happy with what a I have learned from it. With a basket of balls, I drop each ball at the baseline in the doubles lane and try to hit it consistantly in the same lane across the net. As I get consistant, I go for depth and pace. By doing that and experimenting with the stroke, I developed the topspin forehand and backhand strokes that I now use in games.