So I'm still stuck at home and I bet a lot of you are too. But I'm still working on keeping my tennis sharp and focused by doing some at home, Do-It-Yourself drills that I can do by myself inside or right around my house.
I'm using low compression red and orange tennis balls for these drills but all of these can be done with regular tennis balls too. So listen in for my favorite Do-It-Yourself, or "DIY," at home tennis drills.
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SHOW NOTES
So I have a few drills I am doing at home to keep working on my tennis and to keep me from going completely stir-crazy. These are tennis drills I can do all by myself.
Using Low-Compression Tennis Balls For Your Drills
When I do these drills, I am using low-compression red and orange tennis balls. I know I have previously talked about these. I have them in my stash of tennis stuff. The red tennis balls and the orange tennis balls are usually used for junior players. But they're really good to use for practice.
The red balls are 25% of the compression of a regular yellow tennis ball. And the orange balls are 50% of the compression of a regular ball. So these balls move slower, they don't bounce as high, and that means they give you more time to set up to do things.
You might be able to get these balls right now if you don't already own them. You might be able to order them online, although they're clearly not essential things and I know a lot of online retailers are not selling these types of things for rapid delivery right now. You also might be able to find them at big box stores. I recently bought some of these at Target. So if you're going to a store that has grocery shopping or a pharmacy and also has a small sporting goods section, you might be able to find these kind of balls.
You can do these drills with regular tennis balls. Especially if you have some old balls that aren't quite as bouncy. That might be a good way to use those. But any regular tennis ball will work. I just like these low compression balls because, as I said, they're less bouncy and it gives me a little more time.
1. Practicing The Toss
So here are three ways I am practicing tennis at home using tennis balls in and around my house all by myself.
First, I am practicing my toss. This is an easy one. It doesn't even matter if you have the low compression balls. I'm practicing my toss because I know that when I toss, as I move through a tennis game, my toss gets worse and worse. And one of the ways that it gets worse is that I start flicking my wrist, which means the ball gets some spin on it. And I also have a tendency to toss the ball in a way that it moves, not in a straight line like I'd like, but it can almost go backwards over my head. So I'm practicing keeping my toss smoother, with less spin on it, moving in a straight line.
Now, I'm the first person to tell you that, once you stick a racquet in your hand and toss the ball, it's a lot different. But just practicing the toss, nothing else, no racquet swing, nothing like that, is a great way to work on this feeling of controlling the ball. Controlling your toss.
So that's one thing I'm doing. There are tennis balls in several areas of the house because that's easy to just do on the fly.
2. Bouncing The Ball On The Tennis Racquet
Another drill I'm doing is bouncing the ball with my racquet. Just holding my racquet out, almost like I'm holding a frying pan in front of me, and bouncing the ball up and down. It doesn't have to be very high but it's a good way to work on wrist strength, controlling the ball, keeping it in the sweet spot. And also flipping the racquet, and going back and forth between a forehand bounce and a backhand bounce.
I used to do this when I taught kids a lot. It takes some eye/hand coordination. It seems like it's easy and simple. But you'd be surprised how much it helps with that movement in your wrist, doing it quicker and quicker and getting some control over the ball.
3. Hitting The Tennis Ball Against A Wall
Finally, the third thing I'm doing is hitting against my garage out on my driveway. This is just kind of fun and those low compression balls mean the ball is coming back to me with a lower bounce, at a slower speed so I actually have more time to move around and work on different shots. Me, personally, when I use a regular yellow ball that has a lot of bounce to it, I am usually hitting forehands and moving quickly to try and get to those. So I like these low compression balls when I'm hitting against the garage because they give me more time and allow me to work on other shots. Not just my forehand.
That's it for this week's Tennis Quick Tips. I hope that gives you a few things you can be doing at home, all by yourself, to improve your own tennis game.
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Thanks so much for listening and, as always, . . . Happy Tennis!
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