How to Get Better at Tennis By Yourself

As the number of people who play tennis around the world continues to grow, so does the number of players on court at any given time.

Playing with other people is an ideal way to get better and have fun.

But what do you do if there are no tennis pals available?

Or you live in a city where it’s difficult to find someone else who plays?

It has happened to me many times.

As much fun as it is to hit with someone else…there are still many skills you can focus on when hitting balls alone!

In this blog post I am going to share some tips for how to practice by yourself, as well as some great drills and equipment that can help you improve your game.

Here are some of things you will learn about:

• How to Practice Tennis By Yourself
• Does hitting against a wall help tennis skills?
• Tennis Wall Drills for Beginners
• Tennis Drills to Do By Yourself at the Court
• Tennis Drills to Improve Your Serve
• Practicing with a Ball Machine
• Using a Solo Tennis Trainer
• What is a tennis rebounder net?
• Get Your Body and Mind Ready to Play

How to Get Better at Tennis By Yourself

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How to Practice Tennis by Yourself

You will want to create a plan of what you are going to do before heading off to the tennis court alone to practice.

Take a minute to think of what things you need to improve on and make some goals of what you want to accomplish while practicing.

This is a crucial step because it will help you stay focused during your practice time.

Practicing alone will be different than practicing with a partner or in a group setting. Here are some things to think about and remember when you practice by yourself:

• Focus on your form, technique, and rhythm of the stroke.
• Make sure that you’re swinging through the ball like it was an actual person standing there instead of a wall or rebounder.
• Try out being more aggressive! You have nothing to lose when playing alone.
• Focus on your footwork and running to the ball. These are things we don’t always pay attention to as much when we are playing an actual match.
• You’ll want to be sure you have plenty of balls if you choose to work on your serve or are doing some sort of drill.
• Play points at different speeds (slow, medium, fast) so that you can get used to all different types of pressure.

Does hitting against wall help tennis skills?

Can playing tennis by yourself against a wall really accomplish anything?

YES!

That was how I first started playing tennis.

I found a wooden tennis racket at my grandparents house one summer and took it over to the school next door.

I started hitting against the wall and thought to myself…this is pretty fun…and challenging!

Walls are always there…they are never too busy to play tennis so they make the perfect tennis partner. Brick walls are my favorite.

If you have a fancy tennis backboard near you…those work well too.

Tennis Wall Drills for Beginners

The first thing you can do is get really comfortable hitting forehand and backhand shots.

Play a game with yourself and see how many hits you can get in a row with out a miss.

Sometimes in tennis people get caught up thinking they need to hit a “winning shot” when really all they need to do is just focus on hitting the ball back.

You can read more about my tennis strategy tips here.

Another thing you can do is grab some athletic tape…duck tape…or whatever else you may have and create a target.

Put an “X” on the wall and see if you can hit it.

Having great aim in tennis, whether you are serving a tennis ball or hitting a return is crucial if you want to win a match.

Another one of my favorite ways to sharpen my tennis skills with the assistance of a wall is to practice my volley shots.

Tennis volleys require you to be FAST.

Stand a couple feet back from the wall and try to volley with it.

Once again…play a game with yourself and see how many volleys you can hit before the ball drops or gets out of play.

Tennis Drills to Do By Yourself at the Court

If you are at the court and someone bails on you..there are plenty of things you can do to up your game.

One of my favorite things to do is practice my serves.

Technically you don’t need anyone to hit them back…so just grab a few balls (or keep a hopper of balls in your car like this one) so that you can practice serves solo.

Another thing I like to do to condition by body for the tennis season is to run and jump the lines.

This was ALWAYS how I started tennis practice in college as part of my tennis warm up.

We would run all the “lines” practicing our shuffle skills as we went across the middle.

We would also do line jumps by jumping back and forth over the baseline.

You need to have quick feet in tennis and this is one way to help get you there.

You can find some more tennis footwork drills HERE.

Tennis Drills to Improve Your Serve

Having a powerful first serve and a consistent second serve is important when it comes to playing tennis.

Luckily, you don’t even need a partner to practice your serve with.

Here are some tennis drills to improve your serve:

Set up a box with cones like these.

Hit serves into the square as if it were an opponent on the other side of the net.

This drill will help you gauge how hard you should be hitting each ball and also build stamina for long matches.

Another useful way to improve your serve when you don’t have a partner is by focusing on your toss.

Watch to see where the ball lands instead of hitting it after the toss. You can also take some time to try out different toss heights to see how it affects your serve.

Try out these tennis serving drills to gain accuracy and power in your serve.

Practice With a Ball Machine

Using a ball machine can be a great way to practice your game without an actual person.

Many ball machines (like this one) have different settings to allow you to control the speed and placement of where the ball goes.

You can even use your phone to program what shots it feeds you…so cool!

This can be a great investment if you need to practice frequently but don’t have a person to hit with.

This allows you to really focus in on one specific tennis shot at time.

For example if you are wanting to strengthen your backhand then just have the ball fed to your backhand side.

The same goes for your forehand.

Click here for some ball machine drills to try out.

Trying Out a Solo Tennis Trainer

No practice partner?

If you find yourself trying to improve your tennis game on your own than chances are you have looked into what options are out there as far as solo tennis trainers.

These are pieces of equipment that will allow you to practice the strokes and drills that are important for your improvement even without a partner.

This is the one that I have tried.

It was a lot tricker than I thought it would be…and to be completely honest my kids saw it and immediately had to take their turn with it.

Overall I think the best benefit from a trainer like this is that it will help you improve your reaction time because the ball comes back REALLY fast.

For the price, it was fun to try out, but you could definitely get the same benefits from hitting against a wall.

Tennis Rebounder Net

Another option if you are looking to start hitting more on your own is using a net rebounder like this.

The net seems like a great option if you don’t have access to a good wall to hit off of.

You can get a smaller one like this or a larger one if you have more space.

I also like that the price point isn’t crazy expensive.

If you are wanting to try out a new technique this could be a great option to try out.

Get Your Body Ready to Play Tennis

Practicing strokes and serves is an ideal way to get yourself ready to play your next match.

There are also other things you can do that prepare your for tennis without actually playing.

Strength training and using aerobic exercise to get in shape for the court are important things to do as well.

These tennis workouts are ideal for getting your strong and fast on the court.

You can read more about how use strength training and conditioning to get yourself ready for tennis season.

Get Your Mind Ready for Your Next Match

Study up!

The physical side of tennis is important…but being in the right mental state is crucial as well.

How can you prepare yourself mentally for your next match?

Tennis Mental Training

Try using visualization to prepare for a winning match.

Get somewhere comfortable and just relax.

Once you are in a relaxed state start playing your next match in your mind.

Picture yourself stepping out on the court, hitting your first serve, or getting a strong return back.

What does it smell like? Is it bright and sunny or cloudy?

Focus on details!

Play through a few points…or the whole match…whatever you have time for.

Most importantly…picture that winning shot…make sure you end with that!

This is just one way to get pumped up before your next tennis match.

Get Inspired by Other Tennis Players

Study tennis.

You can grab a book like this one or just browse the interwebs to find out about your favorite tennis player’s strategy.

This can be inspiring and also informative as you learn what works for others.

Jot some notes down when your read something important and review them again before your next match.

Try some of the strategies you have learned and see if they work for you.

Play Tennis By Yourself: Practice Makes Perfect

I hope this post has given you some fresh ideas on how to sharpen your tennis skills even when you don’t have a mate to play with.

Practicing frequently is critical to making progress when it comes to your tennis skills.

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