About This Practice Partner Thing . . .

[Cindysphinx]

I have a teammate and sometime doubles partner who is . . . wait for it . . .

Actually willing to go out and practice! Woo-hoo!!

So we were out yesterday, and we did 90 minutes. We warmed up and then hit volley-to-volley. Then we hit groundstrokes. Then one volleying and one hitting groundstrokes. Then overheads and lobs. Then drop shots. Then mini-tennis.

There was one persistent issue. My understanding of practicing is that you want to hit the ball back to the other person, and they should hit it back to you. Her understanding is that you shouldn't practice shots you wouldn't hit in matches, so it makes no sense to hit a groundstroke right to the net person or volley a ball deep to the baseline person.

As you might imagine, this led to some frustration on my part. She would be at net practicing volleys, and I would try to hit a topspin groundstroke to her. She would hit a ball that bounced about two feet from the net. This might be a winner in singles, but it slowed down the drill tremendously and didn't give me much practice hitting topspin shots from the baseline.

Another example. We were hitting forehands crosscourt. Every couple of shots, someone would hit a ball out. I said, "Good Lord! We really need to work on our consistency. I'll bet we couldn't hit 10 balls across the net." She said, "Sure we could." We tried, and we easily passed 10 balls over the net crosscourt. Then we went right back to the drill, and back to our habit of missing every few balls. I think the difference was that she was hitting hard and with a lot of angle, which made her miss sometimes, and when she didn't miss, then I would miss or couldn't reach the ball.

Another example. When she hit a short ball, I would approach by hitting it to whatever side of the court she was on. Then I would try to volley subsequent balls deep back to her for as long as I could. When she approached, she spanked the ball to the corner out of reach.

OK. Is this the way it should work? Should I try to do anything to make these practice sessions a bit more balanced? Are there some conventions we need to know? How do you reconcile the goals of learning to hit winners, learning to be consistent, practicing new techniques or problem areas, and keeping the drill running so you're not constantly chasing balls?

One more quick thing: Can someone remind me how mini-tennis is supposed to work? I remember that you "serve" by putting the ball on the net strap and letting it fall to the other side. What I can't remember is what happens next. Does mini-tennis require you to let the ball bounce each time in the service box (no volleys allowed)? We were clearly doing something wrong, because when I did it with my pro, he didn't crush balls into my body.

 

[raiden031]

In my opinion 3.5s should spend alot more time cooperatively hitting the ball back to their partner because it gives more repetition. Plus the deep rally ball / deep volley is much more important than the winner or angled volley because you hit more of them, since you don't have offensive opportunities at all times. I have paid the price for not doing proper cooperative practice and will say that my rally ball breaks down before my winner ball. Sometimes I am lucky for a rally to progress long enough to have an offensive opportunity before me or my opponent hits a UE. Needless to say I have changed my practice over the months and refuse to practice with a partner who won't hit the ball back to me. There should certainly be drills to work on those aggressive shots, but certainly shouldn't be the main part of the practice. But that would make sense to me at the higher levels since they already have grooved strokes.

 

[Loco4Tennis]

i have this same problem, people going for winners when you should be hitting back and forth, this however only goes on for me until i get pissed and start ripping down the line shots and see them scramble trying to get them
while people will sometimes hit out of lack of control, most of the time i find this is because lack of discipline and not enough practise with hitting partners like ourselves

 

[raiden031]

i have this same problem, people going for winners when you should be hitting back and forth, this however only goes on for me until i get pissed and start ripping down the line shots and see them scramble trying to get them
while people will sometimes hit out of lack of control, most of the time i find this is because lack of discipline and not enough practise with hitting partners like ourselves

Yeah I can tell the difference between people incapable of hitting the ball back to their partner and those who purposely won't do it. Alot of times both apply. It is much harder to hit to one spot (your partner) than to hit in any random spot (away from your partner). Alot of people go for the winners because they don't know any better or don't care about maximizing the repetitions.

 

[cak]

Warmups you definitely hit it back to your partner. On the other stuff maybe you just don't have enough rules. For instance, when practicing groundstrokes, only groundstrokes between the service line and baseline count. And the goal is both sides are trying to get a rally of 20 hits. (And after that you can go for winners, as long as they are beyond the service line.) If you are practicing volleys for doubles, they need to stay on one side. And you are trying to get a rally of maybe 10 hits. So the start of each rally allows both sides to get into the groove, but when you both are actually in the groove, go for the winners. I'm not sure how the back court/net person drill is supposed to go. I've seen it used to warm up the net person, but it never really warms up the groundstroke person. So I'd be curious to hear people who use that as a drill how to get it so both people get something out of it. (And yeah, in timed warmups I hit my volleys back to the baseline person so I can get more volleys. People that don't I suppose don't want as many volleys.)

And to get her gametime winner jones out, you might end the session playing out points. Maybe each side gets to serve 10 serves.

 

[Loco4Tennis]

while practising i'll often make the player work while still on the center, i'll hit left and right of the person purposely, but all with in the range of their racquet, this puts enough pressure on them and me to have a target, but going for down the line shots or lobbs when they are up at the net stops the drill, no good
if you have trouble controlling the feed to the volleyer, you can try to back up about 6 feet or so from the base line and take full strokes at the ball, but full strokes does not mean hard shots, just enough to keep your strokes steady and on target without having to use so much topspin that can be erratic/inconsistent at slow speeds

 

[tbini87]

i think the main goal of most those drills is to get the most repetitions possible, which happens by hitting to each other. there is not point in standing at the net and having someone at the baseline hit ridiculous shots around you all day. the baseline player should hit a quality groundstroke in your general direction (within a few feet on either side). same goes while at the baseline, you shouldn't have to be running more than maybe 5-6 ft to get to the ball, and there definitely shouldn't be any short angle winners or anything.

the only time i could see hitting winner is towards the end of each drill. if you have been hitting at the baseline for a while, and have moved to each side to work on cross court shots, then at the end i don't see anything wrong with hitting all out for 5 minutes or something. but in general it is best to keep to ball consistent and generally around your partner. you get more shots in and there is less wasted time.

 

[peter]

I'm not sure how the back court/net person drill is supposed to go. I've seen it used to warm up the net person, but it never really warms up the groundstroke person. So I'd be curious to hear people who use that as a drill how to get it so both people get something out of it.

Me and one of my regular practice partners tried something new regarding just that last Monday. Instead of the back person standing behind the baseline and hitting to the net guy, the baseline guy moved inside of the line which increased the tempo of the drilling a lot (rules: baseline guy: max 1 bounce, net guy: deep volley, but in range of baseline guy). Fast fast fast for both guys. Only really works when the net guy has good enough control on his volleys though.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Me and one of my regular practice partners tried something new regarding just that last Monday. Instead of the back person standing behind the baseline and hitting to the net guy, the baseline guy moved inside of the line which increased the tempo of the drilling a lot (rules: baseline guy: max 1 bounce, net guy: deep volley, but in range of baseline guy). Fast fast fast for both guys. Only really works when the net guy has good enough control on his volleys though.

Cak, when I do it, the idea is for the volleyer to start at the service line. The volleyer then gets to practice half-volleys and low volleys. The volleyer should try to return the ball deep to the baseliner, demonstrating good control and underspin.

The baseliner is to play at the baseline and work hard to hit quality groundstrokes back to the volleyer. The best are groundies with topspin, with a goal of getting the ball to bounce in the service box (which requires a lot of topspin). The baseline should try not to let the ball bounce twice, but can if a double-bounce will allow a better shot so the drill can continue.

It also works great with two volleyers, who they must call the middle ball and shift laterally as they would in a match.

 

[Drona]

You should try not to alienate this practice partner otherwise you'll be left out in the cold. If she doesn't want to hit easy shots, then just use the time to work on simulating match play.

I do agree w/ you though that in general I like to work on establishing rhythm an deep groundstrokes. But then I also like working on mini-tennis. I think my partners and I usually mix it up enough. Before tournaments or big USTA matches, we do play out sets and/or tiebreakers though to get used to "not-nice" shots.

 

[Tennisman912]

Cindy,

Mini Tennis is where you play normal points with a short court; from the service line in to the net. Most people play you have to let it bounce. Just start with a feed from one player and go to whatever you agree on. It is also a great way to warm up when you just start playing. A lot of elite juniors I know warm up just hitting back and forth and it has to land short of the service line, like in mini tennis (no volleys). Seems simple but most people have a lot of trouble doing it consistently. Give it a try and see if you like it. Most swing too hard and can't keep it short of the service line. It will really help you understand brushing up the ball (because if you don't brush up, you can't consistently rally and keep it that short). Also this should be done with topspin off of both sides, not using slices or underspin.

Dropping the ball off the net is a game I have haven't played in a long time. We always played that the first one has to bounce and then anything goes. For example, you and I are at the net, I set it on the let cord and it falls on your side. You hit it after it bounces and then we play out a point. You will be doing a lot of running playing this. The ball is so close to the net you can either hit an angle or hit a lob. It is easier if you stipulate it has to bounce on the first two shots (yours after I drop it off the net and mine returning your shot). If you don't allow this and you are playing with good players, they will wait for you to hit it up to clear the net and then smash it.

Both are good for your control development, especially mini tennis, either playing or warming up that way. Oh and for reference, when just warming up using the mini tennis sized court, you want to work up to rallying 30-50 times each, letting it bounce and hitting back and forth (bouncing before the service line only). It will take practice. By the time you can get to 50, you are becoming a solid player (Most can't get to 10 or 20).

Good luck and let me know how it goes if you give it a try.

TM

 

[North]

Practise should definitely be about developing consistency. I like to see how long we can keep going crosscourt on forehands and backhands. I like to S&V so 10-20 ball rallies are not something I EVER want to do in a match. But if I can do it in practise, then I can more readily take control of (and hopefully shorten) a baseline rally in a match to get to the net.

Same with practising vollies. Doing volley drills definitely improves technique and reactions.

After the groundstroke and volley drills, I like to play practise points and work on patterns. We'll start the point the same way with the same goal in mind (eg: hit way out wide to the deuce court and step in to hit the angled return down the line for a winner or approach shot) - the ball is obviously never hit exactly the same way each time so each person gets practise with handling this type of situation. Same with any other pattern - that way in a match, your reactions will be more automatic because you've played points like that pattern (in variations) many times before.

 

[TennisDawg]

Cindyspinks

I'd recommend working on drills with shots that allow both players a chance to groove their strokes and volleys, overheads, etc. I would do that for about 45 minutes.
The remaining 45 I would work on drills where you go for the point. Example-start a crosscourt drill using the Wardlaw directionals, keeping the ball crosscourt until, you get a sitter or a short ball you change directions and go to net. Either player can go for a winner. Their are many variations to these drills, but your partner is right to say that you play how you practice, in the real match you won't get any easy placements.

 

[TennisDawg]

I really meant you won't get easy placements from your opponent that are deliberate.

 

[Nellie]

I think it would help you to discuss the practice routines before starting the drills.

On one hand, you want to get repitition. On the other hand, she wants does not want to get too used to hitting back to the opponents.

Personally, I am guilty of over-drilling, so I end up hitting every thing back to the opponent.

I would suggest doing the drill along the lines of hitting two/three shots before playing to finish the point. You could even keep score, for example of starting with a soft feed that the other hits approach shots and then play out the point.

 

[Kaptain Karl]

Drills which lack purpose usually lack good results. I "set the stage" with my drilling partners, so we both know what to expect. The drills we do are both cooperative AND competitive.

SEARCH on TT. There are plenty of drills described. (But if YOU think "drill" means one thing ... and SHE thinks it means something else ... that could be a problem.

- KK

 

[shell]

Mini tennis = ball bouncing inside service box. Otherwise it is volley drill. The whole idea is footwork and racquet head control. Topspin is your friend.

Baseline drills - I always think of crosscourt and down the line rallys. The goal is not a winner, but instead, depth and consistency. The occasional winner will happen, but if it happens too often I wonder if the consistency part is not there.

One up one back - I always think "shrink the court". A winner off side is out of control. The goal is back at opponent with depth and consistency, or topspin to the net person.

Open court - acknowledge 5-10 balls within some parameters, then shoot to end. Practice put aways, practice running shots, whatever. All free after 10 controlled shots. This is my favorite drill.

 

[zapvor]

i am pretty selfish with this. if the other guy is good, i will let them do whatever they want. but if they suck, i rather they hit the ball back to me. which they may not be able to do though....hah

 

[duketennisgal]

My approach with practice/hitting partners is a little different but something that I think a lot of people do. For the first 10 or 20 minutes we just groove the ball back to each other, just working on our strokes. After that we decide you must hit a certain number of balls back consistantly before you are allowed to go for a winner. This way you don't get complacent and just hit balls back to your opponent all of the time.

 

[skiracer55]

Just like playing with a doubles partner...

...the key to a good practice partner and a good practice session is...drum roll...communication! There is no set way to train for tennis. Some people do really well just going out and playing sets, others do well doing drills, and so forth. The main thing is, if you want to structure your practice sessions a certain way, you kind of have to do one of two things:

- Go through a bunch of partners until you find somebody who floats your boat.

- Tell your practice partner how you're going to structure the practice sessions. Either he/she will go for it, or not, but at least you'll know, and you won't waste any time.

One of my main requirements for a practice partner is that it be somebody with whom I can get a real physical workout and have some fun. A buddy, in other words. Okay, so maybe I'll improve my game, but it probably doesn't mean I'm going to get a wild card into Wimbledon. Yep, even in practice, I'm there to compete and do my best, but if I'm playing against Robbie the Robot who last smiled in 1979, that ain't a happening thing for me.

There are way too many people, IMHO, taking their games of tennis way too seriously. If my practice partner and I can't, in the course of trying to knock the cover off the ball and run each other into the ground, share a few laughs, and maybe a beer or two later on...well, I'll go ride my bike instead...