Deep Serve, Deep Return
Four on one court? Only one ball may be hit hard at a time.
Serve Deep
A serves 10 balls deep, and B calls each one in front of or behind the mark and counts the deep ones.
How to play
- Mark the back third: put a shoe or bottle on each sideline, about 1.5 m in front of the far baseline.
- A serves 10 balls cross-court, as in a game. No hurry: take your time between serves.
- B stands outside the far sideline next to the mark, calls each serve "in front", "behind" or "out", and counts the deep ones out loud.
- Behind the mark counts as deep. A serve past the baseline is out.
- B collects the balls and rolls them back to A. After 10 serves, swap roles.
Too easy? Too hard?
Too easy: 9 of 10 land deep: keep the depth and change the spin, flat first, then topspin, then slice.
Too hard: Serves keep landing short: hit the first few on purpose past the baseline, then pull back until they land just inside.
Good looks like: Most serves bounce behind the mark, and nobody is afraid of serving too long.
Return Deep
A serves, and B returns 10 balls deep behind the mark, with the paddle back before the bounce.
How to play
- Move the marks to A's end, about 1.5 m in front of A's baseline. A return past the baseline is out.
- A serves from the right side. B returns from just behind the far baseline, in the half diagonally across.
- B aims all 10 returns deep, behind the mark. A calls each return "deep", "short" or "out" and counts.
- Beat the bounce: take your paddle back early, so you are set before the ball bounces.
- After 10 returns, swap roles.
Too easy? Too hard?
Too easy: 8 of 10 land deep: aim deep and to the middle, and A mixes the depth and pace of the serves.
Too hard: A serves easy balls, nobody counts, and after each return you just say where it landed.
Good looks like: Returns land deep, and the returner is set before the bounce instead of falling backward.
Don't Let It Bounce
Two against two: from the third shot on, the receiving team must volley every ball. Any bounce on their side is the servers' point.
Only two of you?Play Drill 2 again: it only counts once 8 of 10 returns land deep.
How to play
- Four players, two teams of two, regular doubles. Serve and return as usual, and both bounce, as always. The serving team's third shot is a drop.
- From the third shot on, the receiving team may not let any ball bounce on its side. Every ball has to be volleyed. As always, no volleying while standing in the kitchen.
- If a ball bounces on the receivers' side, the serving team wins the point. The servers can also win it any other way. So after the return, get to the kitchen line fast.
- The rule belongs to whoever receives, so it switches sides with the serve.
- Rally scoring to 11, so every rally is a point. The team that wins the rally serves next.
Too easy? Too hard?
Too easy: The servers aim every drop at the returner's feet. Still easy: the servers may also drive the third shot hard, so the receivers have to read drop or drive while moving in.
Too hard: The rule starts one ball later, with the fifth shot. Still too hard: the servers play an easy drop as the third, the receivers practise getting in and volleying it, and nobody keeps score.
Good looks like: The returner is at the kitchen line before the drop lands. At the line, balls are taken out of the air instead of left to bounce.
That's 30 minutes.Good rally, everyone.