Everyone may not have the access to a tennis court. But the desire to play and improve the game must be quenched in some way. Tennis is a sport played against one or two opponents. It is also not feasible to always find a partner to practice the game with. So, if you are left all alone with a tennis ball and racquet, then all you can do is practice yourself.
Before going into the tennis court, there are a bunch of skills and techniques you need to master. All of them necessarily don’t require you to be on the field with an opponent. Rather, you can perform some drills and practices at home with the racquet and possibly with some tools.
In this guide, we shall delve into the various techniques and practice drills you can perform at home to get good at Tennis all by yourself.
How to Practice Tennis by Yourself at Home?
Since most of the people seeking to practice at home are beginners, we shall provide drills for both beginners and pros to work up their game to a better standard. Anyone can follow these and get some training with the racquet.
Improve Your Stroke
Your game depends on the way you use your hand. Whether it is forehand, backhand, serve, volley, or overhead, it is a must to properly train your hands. You need to find the appropriate grip, swinging motion, and force you need to apply.
To practice this at home, you can do something called the Shadow Swing. Without a ball, just using the racquet, you need to swing it in different tennis strokes while concentrating on the grip and action.
With the help of training videos, you can find out how to do each stroke. Play those videos in slow motion and adjust your arm action accordingly. Try to get hold of the swing motion and train your hands to actuate that way.
To get the actual feel of hitting the ball, you can tie some weight on the racquet to make it heavy. This will enable you to use the correct amount of force to use when swinging the arms in a particular stroke.
Try doing each stroke for 10 minutes at least to practice your hands to that action. While doing so, you can try to adjust the grip accordingly.
Use a Wall for Volley
The above-mentioned guide is great for forehand and backhand strokes. Even to improve the volley stroke, you can use it. But this particular drill will improve your volley stroke by giving you more control over the ball and racquet.
Stand in front of a large wall and using your ball and racquet, hit the ball back and forth on it. Initially, you can try slow and steady strokes until you get hold of the control you need for the game. Then gradually increase the speed of your strokes and try to quickly hit back and forth.
The most important thing you need to consider is the way you receive the ball in the racquet and how you use the force to your advantage. You cannot put extra force on the bounce back because it may take the ball away from your hand control. Therefore, you need to master the stroke, swing, and force applied with each bounce. You can also try different shots with your forehand and backhand to improve that game.
You can also stick some white tape to make an X-mark on the wall and try to hit it accurately. This will improve your aim and control over the ball.
Serve Practice
Serving the ball in the right way can give you an upper hand in the game. If you serve the ball with proper technique, you can make the rally difficult to continue for the opponent. Practicing serve doesn’t require a court or even a ball. Instead, you can just practice it with the racquet alone.
Just do the action of tossing the ball and swinging the racquet at the right angle and motion several times. To get the right action, you can view popular training videos that tell you the way to toss, raise, and serve.
Another method is to use a special racquet that has a basket net instead of a stiff net. This racquet will catch the ball when you serve instead of hitting it away. So, you can practice the toss and serve with a ball using this racquet and avoid hitting other objects. This drill can improve your serve a lot better.
Footwork Drills
Another fundamental in a tennis game is footwork. You have to be swift and reactive along with the proper footwork to accomplish each stroke successfully. Before hitting back, the ball, you need to place yourself in the proper position and generate the appropriate amount of force, and hit the ball at the aimed spot. This requires careful footwork and you need to master it.
Footwork includes hopping to the left and right, jumping forward and backward, sprinting to a spot, etc. You can also try this footwork with a racquet and swinging them appropriately.
You can do this drill as a part of your fitness routine. Fitness is another important part of your game and you will need the strength and stamina to accomplish it.
Benefits of Tennis Practice at Home
Practicing Tennis at Home can give you the following benefits:
- Freedom to practice any particular stroke or skill you think to improve
- Spend more time on a particular drill to your satisfaction
- Conveniently schedule a time for your practice
- You don’t have to spend a lot on equipment or tools
- Gives you more control over the racquet and ball
- Increased hand coordination and better reaction time
Disadvantages of Tennis Practice at Home
Although there are many potential benefits to practicing at home, it also has some demerits:
- If you suffice yourself only with home drills, then you cannot get hold of the actual game. So, you need to play an actual game at least twice per week.
- You may not be able to feel the actual force and intensity of the game with private home drills.
- Only some of the skills can be developed and you have to go for training with a coach on a court to become a complete player.
Conclusion
Practice tennis at home with this wonderful guide and improve a lot of skills. You can get advice from popular players and watch many games to get hold of their techniques. It is always recommended to get on-court training to become a more holistic player.