Using the ball machine can be one of the most efficient way to improve your tennis technique, footwork, and movement. The key is to consider all the variables and patterns that arise in a tennis match and to systematically set up the ball machine to deliver balls that will allow you to practice the entire range of strokes, situations, and variables that the game of tennis has to offer.
If you have access to a Playmate ball machine with the iPlaymate receiver, you can utilize the full set of drills I have programmed. All you need to do is purchase Playmate’s LikeMyDrill app (99 cents through the App Store) and send a Friend request, from within the App to michael @ mytennisquest.com (That’s me!). You will have immediate and free access to the full set of drills described below. Here are complete LikeMyDrill Setup Instructions.
If you don’t have access to the App, that is fine. You can still set up drills on your own, using the structure suggested on this page to maximize your ball machine practice time.
Player/Ball Machine Position
In a tennis match you need to learn to hit from all spots on the court (including beyond the baseline and sidelines. And, you need to respond to balls coming from many different angles. Always positioning the ball machine in the rear center and positioning yourself in the rear center gives you very limited exposure to the range of angles and positions that are part of a tennis match.
Start Slowly
One key to improving quickly is to start slowly. If you cannot execute your strokes and footwork at a slow speed you will likely be unsuccessful at a faster speed. So, set the ball machine at a slow speed until you can become proficient in the basic skills. Then you can slowly increase.
Utilize Targets
Accuracy is the most important characteristic of a correctly executed tennis stroke (with spin and speed coming next). With this idea in mind, it is important to practice with targets. These can be cones, piles of balls, hoops, a five gallon bucket, or anything you can find.
Ball Variables
You will want to consider the following five ball characteristic variables when practicing.
- Height
- Depth
- Spin
- Direction
- Speed
You want to practice becoming proficient hitting your shots through a range of each of these variables. And, you also want to be able to handle balls delivered through the range of each variable. For example, if you only set the ball machine to send you balls at one trajectory you are limiting your ability to learn to handle balls that have different paths. You want to practice receiving high balls, low balls, and medium-range balls.
Movement, Footwork, and Recovery Points
Playing high level tennis is about movement, footwork, and recovery. So, working on these skills should be of primary importance when you practice with the ball machine. Yes, it is harder work to hit and recover to a spot on every shot. But that is what tennis is all about.
Unless you are trying to isolate some specific aspect of your technique and give it compete focus, you will want to integrate movement into your ball machine drills. This means setting up sequences of shots that require you to move to the ball, execute the stroke, and recover to a specific point on the court.
If you are a beginner, it could make sense to keep your movement more contained. But you still want to understand that executing a tennis stroke does not end until you are recovered for the next ball. And also, you want to understand that the skill which will get you to the higher levels of the game is your ability to move to the ball, get on balance, execute the stroke, and then recover for the next shot. This is the sequence you want to be practicing with the ball machine!
We recommend utilizing vinyl circles with a “gripping” surface as recovery points. You typically will want to offset these recovery points away from the center of the court, depending on the specific drill you are doing.
Suggested Drills
Groundstrokes Level 1
Short Court Straight
Intent: This is a simple pattern of short balls in the center of the court. It is ideal for beginners or players who want to warm-up with easy, straight-ahead shots.
Short Court Narrow
Intent: Warm up. Go through “self-checklist”. Set your topspin and slice swing path at an easy pace. You should only need to hit a max of 40-50 balls in this drill.
Short Court Wide
Intent: Work on hitting tight shortcourt angles with lots of topspin and moving side-to-side. Move side to side. Loosen wrist so you can generate spin and hit tight cross court angles.
Baseline Narrow
Intent: Find your range for the opposite baseline. Utilize basic front-foot pivot footwork pattern.
Baseline Wide
Intent: Work on dynamic movement and recovery. Hit and immediately push off to be ready for the next ball. Do 3x 10-20 ball sequences and rest between sets. Commit to recovering past the center mark before the next ball is released.
Low Ball / High Ball
Intent: Alternating low and high ball in the center of the court. An easy introduction to adjusting your swing path based on the trajectory of the ball.
Short Ad Court
Intent: Practice moving forward on a diagonal on the ad side and recovering back to the baseline.
Short Ball, Deep Ball
Intent: Focus on front and rear movement and recovery.
Short Deuce Court
Intent: Practice moving forward on a diagonal on the deuce side and recovering back to the baseline.
Straight Ad Court
Intent: Hit a set of balls cross court. Then a set of balls down the line. Then alternate.
Straight Deuce Court
Intent: Hit a set of balls cross court. Then a set of balls down the line. Then alternate.
Groundstrokes Level 2
Center Stepback
Intent: Deep alternating balls to forehand and backhand to work on stepping back from the baseline near the center of the court to execute your groundstrokes.
Consistent Defending
Intent: Deep, high balls from corner to corner, giving you the opportunity to put up defenses high balls/lobs so you have time to recover.
Deep and Short Ad
Intent: 3 ball sequence of high and low balls. Move in to attack the short ball. Move back to the recovery point.
Deep and Short Deuce
Intent: 3 ball sequence of high and low balls. Move in to attack the short ball. Move back to the recovery point.
Fast Feed Rally Drill
Intent: Deliver moderately paced balls at a very rapid frequency near the center of the court. Allows you to work on your instant recovery between shots.
Handling Pace
Intent: Balls delivered at high velocity in a random pattern near the center of the court. Work on your reflexes and quick preparation.
Inside Out Inside In Ad Court
Intent: 2 ball sequence, with one ball wider. Practice running around the ball and getting your body in position to recover off-center between each shot.
Inside Out Inside In Deuce Court
Intent: 2 ball sequence, with one ball wider. Practice running around the ball and getting your body in position to recover off-center between each shot.
Lob on the Move
Intent: Practice lobbing with a range of deep balls across the baseline sent with a random pattern.
On the Rise
Intent: Alternating slow, high, short balls so you can practice your attacking shots from inside the baseline. Ideal for practicing the transfer move footwork pattern.
Tight Angles Easy
Intent: Move side-to-side and execute rolling forehand and backhands with tight angles.
Topspin Slice Alternating
Intent: Balls are delivered with alternating spins so you can get used to seeing the ball rotation and adjusting to the varying bounces.
Groundstroke Footwork
12 Pattern Footwork Sequence
Intent: A complex sequence of shots that will allow you to practice all twelve groundstroke footwork patterns.
Crossover Recovery
Intent: Medium pace moving side-to-side. Focus on the cross-over step when moving to the ball and recovering. Continuous movement on the turnaround.
Mogul Move
Intent: Challenging wide side-to-side balls. Hit with an open stance and immediately push off to move across the court to the other side. Do sets of 20 balls and rest.
Two Forward/Two Deep
Intent: Learn to alternate moving forward to hit off front and moving backward to hit off the back foot.
Two Narrow/Two Wide
Intent: Alternate through the hit and recover on narrow and wide bals. The narrow balls will require shuffle recovery, while the wide balls will likely require crossover recovery.
Transition Drills
Approach, Volley, Volley, Volley, Lob
Intent: A 5-ball sequence so you can practice approaching the next, hitting three varying volleys, and putting away a challenging lob.
Ad Approach Deuce Volley
Intent: A short ball to the Ad side of the court followed by a passing shot to the Deuce side of the court.
Deuce Approach Ad Volley
Intent: A short ball to the Deuce side of the court followed by a passing shot to the Ad side of the court.
Midcourt Simple
Intent: A series of shots intend to land near your feet if you are standing just behind the service line.
Midcourt Advanced
Intent: A series of low shots, high shots, and lobs intended to challenge you if you are standing right behind the service line.
Short Ball Attack
Intent: High, short balls that you can either attack in the air or after the bounce.
Transition Dropshot
Intent: Short balls intended for you to move forward and execute a drop shot off both forehand and backhand.
Volley Overhead Drills
Easy Overheads
Intent: Gentle lobs alternating deuce and ad court so you can work on your basic overhead timing without moving back.
Advanced Overheads
Intent: Challenging lobs in random directions that will force you to move backward in order to reach them.
Hard Volley Drill
Intent: High velocity volleys delivered near the middle of the court.
High Volley/Low Volley
Intent: Alternating high and low volleys in random directions
Poach Ad
Intent: Shots at slow intervals delivered to the Ad side so you can practice getting set and timing your poach
Poach Deuce
Intent: Shots at slow intervals delivered to the Deuce side so you can practice getting set and timing your poach
React Fast
Intent: Volleys delivered in rapid succession to help you work on your recovery between shots.
Short Hop
Intent: Low balls designed for you to work on getting down and using touch and spin to control your shots.
Volley Close
Intent: Medium-paced sitter volleys delivered in random directions so you can practice moving forward and putting the ball away.
Volley Overhead
Intent: Alternating volleys and overheads so you practice your front and back movement and recovery.
Directional Drills
The directional drills below are intended to use a ball machine set-up on the sides of the court, rather than in the center.
Ad: Set up the ball machine three feet in from the baseline and three feet in from the sideline in the Ad court. The ball machine should be centered on a point 3 feet off the center strap on the same half of the court.
Deuce: Set up the ball machine three feet in from the baseline and three feet in from the sideline in the Deuce court. The ball machine should be centered on a point 3 feet off the center strap on the same half of the court.
Intent: Practice changing the angle of the ball, utilizing the following patterns. The idea with these patterns is that you get used to different sequences of hitting one or multiple balls in one direction and then changing that direction. Recovery is also key. You can vary your own cross court and down-the-line responses to the patterns.
Ad Cross
Ad Straight
Ad Cross Straight
Ad Cross Cross Straight
Ad Cross Cross Cross Straight
Deuce Cross
Deuce Straight
Deuce Cross Straight
Deuce Cross Cross Straight
Deuce Cross Cross Cross Straight