The tennis drill book-2e

16. TWO-ON-ONE BACKHAND BUSTER
Objective
To improve players’ shot tolerance (how many types of shots a player can hit
consistently), depth, and ball control off the backhand side.
Description
This simple, but disciplined, technique helps players develop a sense of ball
control, direction, depth of shot, and stamina, while helping to develop a killer
stroke by isolating the backhand groundstroke and forcing the footwork necessary
to hit consistently crosscourt and down the line.
Execution
Players A and B start at the baseline on one side of the court, and player C begins
on the opposite baseline. Targets should be placed wide and 3 or 4 feet (about
1 meter) inside the baseline in front of players A and B. This gives player C a
visual target to hit toward in order to keep the ball deep in the backcourt. Any
player can put the ball in play and only the singles court is used. Players A and
B hit shots to Player C on the backhand side exclusively. Players A and B should
have an imaginary line extending from the center service line to the baseline
in order to segment the backhand side. Imagine a line drawn from the service
line center (T) to the baseline center (T) on the opposite side of the court. This
imaginary line will segment the court to help keep the ball on the backhand side
of the court. Player C should hit backhands to both sides of the court, crosscourt
and down the line. Play out the drill for 5 minutes, then rotate players.
Variation
Players can spice up this drill by requiring a set number of shots to be hit in the
targeted area of the backcourt. This results in player A fully concentrating on
footwork to maintain good positioning on the court and to obtain maximum
depth on each backhand shot. Players try 5 shots to the backhand side of the
court, then 1 shot to the forehand side. Repeat until the point ends.
A
X
C
B
X
22 The Tennis Drill Book
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