Warm Up Tennis Drills

Warm up tennis drills are a great way to structure a tennis warm up at all levels of play. We have all seen a group of friends or a family step out onto the tennis court and start hitting groundstrokes from the baseline for a few minutes and call out, “Let’s play first good serve.” There has to be a better way to get warmed up on the court prior to match play.

In order to perform at your best you have to have a game plan to get you there. Today, it is common practice to have a dynamic warm up routine to get your body ready to start hitting the ball. But what are some quality warm up tennis drills you can use to get your timing and feel for the ball prior to your match?

Below are 5 warm up tennis drills that Chris Ferguson-Mcintyre and I, both former Division 1 college tennis players, do prior to playing our matches.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #1: Short Court

Warming up with short court helps you get your feel for your spins and timing established prior to moving back to the baseline. Both you and your partner start behind the service line and rally groundstrokes as if it were the baseline.

• Key Areas of Emphasis

  • Establish your footwork and keep the proper distance between you and the ball.
  • Stay loose and meet each ball out in front.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #2: Reflex Volleys

To get your eyes and timing adjusted to a fast pace of play do the reflex volley drill. You and your partner will start behind the service line and volley to one another, aiming for each others chest, while closing toward the net after each volley when appropriate.

• Key Areas of Emphasis

• Split step and turn your feet sideways as much as possible on each volley.
• Keep your center of gravity low.
• Step forward into each volley as often as possible.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #3: Groundstrokes 2 Feet Inside the Baseline

To get use to taking the ball early, which is a best practice in doubles, stand 2 feet inside the baseline and adjust your feet to take the ball on the rise. This drill will help you pick up deep hard hit balls that occur during match play and build your confidence taking the ball on the rise.

• Key Areas of Emphasis

  • Keep your center of gravity low.
  • Stay level throughout your stroke.
  • Stay intense with the legs and loose with the upper body.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #4: 2 Volleys and an Overhead

For this drill you will start behind the service line and your opponent will start behind the baseline. To simulate match play, you will get the first volley near the service line and close in toward the net for the second volley, followed by an overhead, and repeat.

• Key Areas of Emphasis

• Split step and have your center of gravity low.
• Keep your shoulders over your hips as you close toward the net so you can adjust back for the overhead effectively.
• The net man closes toward the net as often as possible.

Warm Up Tennis Drill #5: Serve and Return Drill

The server and returner set up as normal. Once the server serves the ball the returner aims to return the ball deep where the servers feet land near the baseline. The server hits his first ball as he would in a match.

• Areas of Emphasis

• Server adjusts back quickly after hitting the serve.
• Returner aims for the specific area on the court. Aim small miss small.
• Returner prepares his racket low and takes it back as early as possible on hard hit serves.

Tennis Drills to Come

That concludes the match preparation tennis drills for this post. Be sure to subscribe to the blog to receive the most recent posts from Tennis Nation Racquet Sports. The next tennis drills will be for a dynamic warm up routine so stay tuned. See you on the court!