Tennis Drills For Four Players

1. Four for Four

Setup

There are two teams positioned in the one-up-one-back formation: A and C at the baseline, B and D at the net.
The coach (F) is on the same side as team A – B, ready to feed balls to team C–D, who start each point.

Drill

1. Coach feeds the first ball to player C (at the baseline) short inside the service box to bring him up (and join his partner D at the net). The two teams play the first point out: one team at the net versus the defending team in the one-up-one-back formation.
2. For the second point, team C – D stays up at the net and the coach feeds a volley to player D. The point is also played out.
3. The third point begins with a ball for the volley to player C (who is now at the net).
4. The fourth (and last point of the sequence) will be a lob for either player C or D; net player B must retrieve to the baseline for his team to defend against the overhead.
After the 4th point was played, the players take up the original one-up-one-back position and repeat the pattern.
For every point played, the teams keep track of the points they win; first to 11 wins the game/drill and everyone moves one spot clockwise to play again.

2. Move Up on Short Ball

Setup

There are two teams of players: A-B vs C-D, at the baseline (opposite sides).
The coach is outside of the doubles alley, close to the net and on team C-D’s side of the court (see graphic above).

Drill

The coach will begin every point by feeding the ball so that the first bounce will be on the same side of the net, then the ball should land as a short drop on the team A-B side.
Team A-B move up together to get the ball while team C-D steps inside the baseline ready to react.
Teams play the point out, then move back to the baseline to start another one.
Play first to win 5 points, then either rotate players one spot clockwise or have teams switch sides.

Note

The purpose of this drill is to teach players to work as a team, communicate, and learn to anticipate the next shots.

3. Zig-Zagging

Setup

This is a drill that allows players to practice groundstroke accuracy and consistency.
Four players are positioned at the baseline, two on each side (see graphic above) – players A and B on one side hit all the balls cross-court; C and D on the opposite side hit all the balls down-the-line.
The coach (F), having a basket of balls to feed from, is at one of the net posts.

Drill

Coach (F) feeds a ball to player A to start the rally. He sends the ball cross-court to C.
Player C sends the ball down-the-line to B.
Player B sends the ball cross-court to D.
Player D sends the ball down-the-line to A.
The pattern continues for as long as the players consistently hit the ball in and to their respective target (cross-court or down-the-line).
As soon as a player misses (hits into the net or outside the required target area), the coach quickly puts another ball in, sending it to the player who just missed.
Continue this drill until they hit 30 balls over the net (the coach counts), then players move one spot clockwise, practicing different targets and strokes.

Variation

If a player misses, the other team gets a point; play first to win 5 points, then players switch places (right with left, and vice versa).

These are part of Tennis Drills and Lesson Plans, with 900+ drills and lesson plans that coaches need.