How beneficial is hitting on a wall?

[The Wreck]

I wish there was a decent wall to hit off of around here. The one at the local park is plastic and slightly wavy/uneven. The plastic just doesn't send the ball back at a decent height/trajectory. I'm a fairly hard hitter and the ball comes off the wall so fast I wind up hitting weird out of position shots rather than being able to setup, yet if I don't swing as hard, the ball won't make it anywhere near me off one bounce. Such a bummer since I'd really love to have a good wall workout.

 

[mightyrick]

I wish there was a decent wall to hit off of around here. The one at the local park is plastic and slightly wavy/uneven. The plastic just doesn't send the ball back at a decent height/trajectory. I'm a fairly hard hitter and the ball comes off the wall so fast I wind up hitting weird out of position shots rather than being able to setup, yet if I don't swing as hard, the ball won't make it anywhere near me off one bounce. Such a bummer since I'd really love to have a good wall workout.

Outdoor racquetball or squash courts. Excellent for tennis wall work.

 

[LeeD]

Parking garages, office buildings, schools, especially local junior colleges with tons of tennis courts.

 

[rkelley]

Gotta be brick or similar, and fairly smooth, otherwise it gets really hard to get a decent ball back.

 

[WildVolley]

I'll give my standard advice about hitting against the wall, which can be very good practice: mix it up.

You reach diminishing returns after doing the same drill for some time. So remember, you can use the wall for volley practice, hit targets, practice different spins, overheads, etc. I'm convinced your overall game will progress more quickly if you work on many different things in a single practice session.

 

[dozu]

Parking garages, office buildings, schools, especially local junior colleges with tons of tennis courts.

I have done all of them.

During rain/snow, my buddy actually goes to a highway underpass and hit off the side wall there... so far he hasn't been run over by a car yet.

 

[Gemini]

I love hitting on the wall. It helps me to re-discover my timing a "lost" grounstroke by improving my footwork or refining my swing. I'd say it's highly beneficial. You get to hit a lot of balls in a very short period of time.

 

[Limpinhitter]

Relative to actually hitting with a partner, how helpful do you think hitting against a wall is for one's tennis game?

I suppose any time you're working on your strokes and working on hand-eye coordination it will be beneficial. However, the ball bounces very differently, the foot work changes pretty significantly, and I remember ol' BungaloBill saying you can't (or shouldn't) work on hitting hard shots against a wall.

So, considering all the limitations, how much do you think wall hitting can help your tennis game? Is it worth it in the end?

You know, I've read numerous accounts of past and present greats, such as Sampras and Federer, who have said that as juniors they hit against a wall for endless hours at a time almost every day. Imagine the benefits of that amount of repetition. If repetition is the key to a great stroke, as many coaches in this section have said, and, assuming your technique is sound, then hitting against a wall is a much more efficient way to gain that repetition. I would think that, in the same time period, you could hit 2 to 3 times as many repetitions against a wall as you could on a court with a hitting partner - unless he's feeding balls to you. But, unless you're paying a pro to do it, it's not easy to find someone willing to spend their tennis time feeding balls to someone. Absent a drilling partner, access to a good high wall with a deep backcourt is a great resource.

Of course there are limitations to hitting against a wall. A cross court shot ends a rally. No matter how hard you hit, the speed of the ball coming back is still relatively slow compared to a hard hit ball on a court. You can work on your depth via the height of your ball, but, you don't really know where it would have landed on a court. Etc.!

Bottom line, I think that hitting against a wall is much better than not hitting at all. You can use your imagination to maximize the benefits and the skills you want to work on.

PS: I just saw Gemini's post above. Hitting against a wall definitely helps with footwork and shot preparation.