Alright folks, grab some water ’cause this took effort. Been grinding on the court lately trying to sharpen my tennis game, especially after getting wrecked by my buddy Dave last weekend. Figured I’d share exactly what I did, no sugar coating.
The Ugly Start
Honestly? My swings felt wrong. Like really off. I watched a bunch of flashy YouTube clips promising instant fixes. Big mistake. Felt overwhelmed. So I dug around, found some old-school drills focused on fundamentals. Five specific ones stuck out. Decided to commit a whole Tuesday afternoon to just hammering these down at the local park courts.
Drill #1: Just Hit the Ball Dammit (Wall Rally)
Sounds stupid simple, right? Wrong. I stood maybe 8 feet from a solid brick wall. Goal? Hit the ball forehand, let it bounce once off the wall, hit it again. No fancy angles, no power. Just clean contact. Consistency was brutal. First try? Maybe got 3 hits before it flew sideways. My wrist felt weird, hand cramped a little. Took probably 15 minutes just to find a rhythm, focusing only on keeping my eye on the ball and a loose grip. After 30 mins? Managed a shaky streak of 20 hits. Felt basic but crucial.
Drill #2: Playing Pretend (Shadow Swings)
Okay, looked kinda dumb. Right there on the court, no ball, just me and my racket. Stood in the ready position. Split step like I saw the ball coming. Pretended a shot came to my forehand. Turned shoulders, stepped forward, swung slow motion like buttering toast. Did it again… and again… Focused ONLY on form. Where my feet went. Where my hips pointed. How my weight shifted. Way harder than it sounds. Did 10 slow-mo forehands, then 10 backhands. My legs felt it! Learned I was leaning back too much. Fixed that.
Drill #3: Ball Machine Blues
Local courts finally fixed the ancient ball machine. Thank god. Loaded it up with dead balls. Set it slow, aiming straight down the middle. Just forehands first. Goal? Not to crush it, but hit it deep and controlled. Pointed where I wanted it to go, used the smooth shadow swing motion. First 5 balls? Popped them way up like fly balls. Awful. Slowed everything down. Stood farther back. Reset. Next 10? Still mostly trash. Focused on footwork – small steps to get right behind where the ball bounced. Finally started feeling that sweet spot more often. Deep drives near the baseline? Felt satisfying. Did 25 forehands, then 25 backhands. Pure repetition.
Drill #4: Serve Toss Torture
Oh, the serve. My nemesis. Walked away from the machine. Picked up a single ball. No racket. Just stood at the service line (easier than baseline). Took my stance. Tossed the ball straight up with my left hand. Watched it. Just tossed. Goal? Make it land perfectly inside the baseline every time, just ahead of me. Sounds easy. It’s NOT. Wind grabbed it. My arm felt stiff. Maybe tossed 50 times? Half went left, half too far back. Finally dialled in: arm straight up, loose fingers, minimal wrist, aiming for a spot. Marked a spot mentally near the baseline. Kept tossing until 10 landed near it. Arm felt tired! Then grabbed the racket, did slow-motion serve motions without hitting the ball, just mimicking the toss and motion.
Drill #5: Mini-Tennis Hell
Dragged Dave back out. Stood inside the service boxes, close to the net. No smashes, nothing hard. Just gentle forehands and backhands, keeping the ball in the service box diagonally. Short swings. Felt ridiculous at first. Like ping-pong. But forced me to react quick, move my feet fast, and really control where the ball went. Slipped on a wet spot. Missed easy balls. Laughed a lot. After 10 minutes of chaos? Started seeing angles better, learned to soften my grip, and moved way more on my toes. Played points just within the boxes first to 5 points. Won one! Big deal for me.
The Sore Reality
Called it quits after almost 2 hours. Muscles I forgot existed screamed. Blister forming. But damn, felt different hitting balls the next day. Smoother. More confident hitting deep. Serve toss? Actually landing where I wanted sometimes. Dave noticed too. Won’t make me pro, but those basics? They matter way more than fancy tricks. Just gotta put in the boring hours. Back at it Thursday. Hope my knees hold up.