Singles Tactics Drill: Wide Serve - 1

How the Drill Works

Setup

Player A is positioned at the baseline, deuce side, ready to serve; a basket of balls is behind him.

The coach (F) is ready to return serve from behind the deuce baseline.

A line of cones divides each service box into two halves: wide and center (see graphic above).

Drill

Player A will practice serving wide (between the line of cones and the singles sideline); if successful, the coach will return the ball. The player will step into the shot and hit it to the open court left by the coach.

Do this until 3-5 successful combinations are achieved, then switch to the ad court.

Notes

• To place the serve wide, the player should use slice serves to the deuce side and kick or flat for the ad side.

• Through this drill, the player learns to use the wide serve for opening the court and controlling the groundstroke placement to take advantage of the respective opening.

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