Tennis Drills For Two Players

1. Down-the-Line Finish

Setup

Both players (A and B) rally down the line: A hits forehand groundstrokes, B backhand groundstrokes (assuming both are right-handed) – see graphic above.

Drill

After the ball travels 6 times over the net, player A will change direction and hit the ball cross-court, to which player B will chase and attempt a put-away shot down the line.
Player A will not chase this last shot; the drill ends with B’s down-the-line to the open court “winner/finish”.
After about 3 minutes, players change roles: B will change the direction of the ball for A to practice down-the-line put-away winners.
This drill should also be done with players rallying on the other half of the court (player A with the backhand side, B with the forehand).

2. Angled Put-Away vs Chaser

Setup

There are two players: one is at the baseline center (B), and the other begins the drill just inside the baseline, opposite side (A).
The coach (F) is on the same side as the baseline player (B) and inside the ad service box – see the graphic above.

Drill

The coach feeds a short ball inside the opposite deuce service box (1) for player A to move up (2), attack, and hit it aggressively, attempting a short angled put-away (3).
On the other side, player B will have to wait until the ball (fed by the coach) bounces, and just before player A hits it, he must sprint and chase the incoming ball (4) to hit it back over the net (5).
So we have two players: A, who practices short ball put-away (angled shots), and B, who will chase the ball down and practice ball control and returning aggressive shots.
After 10 balls, the two players should switch sides and roles.
Do this drill on both the forehand and backhand sides.

Note

The short ball put-away should be aimed so that it hits the side fence after it bounces inside the court.

3. The Lob Game

Setup

Player A is at the net, player B at the baseline; the coach (F) is in one of the doubles alleys having a basket of balls to feed from.

Drill

The coach will feed a lob over player A, who’ll turn around, chase, and hit it after the bounce. Once she puts the ball in play, the two players will rally the ball until one wins. The winner gets 1 point.
The two players get back to their initial positions and play again – each point beginning with a lob over player A.
After one player wins 5 points, they switch sides and roles.

Notes

– The baseline player can choose to stay back or move up to the net while the opponent chases the lob.
– The coach should advise the net player regarding movement and set-up to get to and around the lob early, in balance, and to control the shot.

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