Tennis drills for youth programs, with video, setup and coaching points, grouped by groundstrokes, serve, net play and live points. For 5U to 14U.
5 drills · 36 minutes if you ran them all
Set up a few cones or lines and run the agility, balance and coordination games from the episode: one foot balances, hopscotch patterns, lateral hops and quick feet in place. Give each move about a minute and keep the group moving.
Land soft and stay on the balls of the feet. Good tennis players are good athletes first.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Spread the kids out on the baseline and lead the dynamic moves from the video: high knees, butt kicks, side shuffles, skips and lunges, each one to the service line and back. Finish with a few short sprints to the net.
Knees up and arms pumping. Move the feet like you would chasing a ball.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Players bounce a ball down on the court with one hand and hop in a frog squat each time it comes up, following the pattern in the clip. Go for 30 seconds, rest, and repeat three or four times, then switch hands.
Bend the knees and land soft. Keep the ball bouncing about waist high.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Kids jog around the court in a line, each with a ball balanced on the strings of their racquet, as the video shows. Add turns, side steps and a slow jog backward once they can keep the ball on.
Racquet flat like a tray and eyes up, not on the ball. Quiet hands keep the ball still.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Partners stand a few feet apart and pass a ball with two hands, catching with two, as shown in the video. Move the pair farther apart after every ten clean catches, then add a bounce catch and a toss over the net.
Watch the ball into your hands and catch out front. Soft hands, the ball should not pop out.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)8 drills · 74 minutes if you ran them all
Coach hand feeds or tosses balls to the backhand side from the service line and players hit backhands crosscourt using the grip and stance cues from the video. Ten balls each, then rotate.
Turn sideways with the shoulders and keep both hands on through contact. Hit out in front and finish high.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Partners rally in the service boxes trying to keep a ball going as long as they can, counting out loud, as in the video. Reset after a miss and try to beat the last count; add a target like ten, then fifteen.
Aim high over the net with a soft touch. Move your feet so the ball is always in front of you.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Coach drops balls to a player standing sideways on the service line, who hits forehands over the net into the open box as in the video. Each kid hits ten, then rotates to pick up balls while the next one hits.
Turn the shoulders, racquet back, and hit the ball out in front of the front foot. Finish with the racquet over the shoulder.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Feed balls to the backhand corner and have players run around them to hit forehands, first inside out crosscourt, then inside in down the line, following the pattern in the video. Six of each per player before rotating.
Move early and get the ball in front of you. Pick the target before the ball bounces.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Pairs stand close across the net in the service boxes and rally with a bounce and a soft hit, as shown in the clip. Every time they reach five in a row they take one step back until they are rallying from the service line.
Soft and up over the net. Let it bounce, then step in and hit.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Players rally in the service boxes but must catch the ball on the strings, like a lobster claw, before hitting it back, as the clip demonstrates. Count how many in a row, then take the catch away once it looks easy.
Watch the ball land on the strings. Then one smooth swing back over the net.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Coach feeds balls quickly from across the net to one player who hits forehand after forehand with a small recovery step between, as in the clip. Ten balls each, then rotate, with the rest of the group picking up.
Little steps between hits and get the racquet back early. Breathe and keep the swing loose, do not muscle it.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Partners rally and before each hit the player bounces the ball on their strings three times, then two, then one, then hits it straight back, as in the video. Keep score of the longest rally.
Soft wrist on the bounces and keep the racquet face flat. Then turn and hit cleanly.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)4 drills · 42 minutes if you ran them all
Each player serves ten balls into a box and keeps score as shown in the clip: a made serve is a point, a miss costs a point, and they must finish above a target number. Run it twice, once to each box.
Same routine before every serve: bounce, breathe, toss. Reach up and let the arm swing through.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Run the serve progression from the video: trophy position holds, toss and catch, toss and hit from the trophy, then the full serve. Give each stage six to eight reps before moving the group on.
Hold the trophy with the elbow up and the toss arm straight. Toss to the same spot every time.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)One player serves and the coach or partner immediately feeds a second ball to the open court that the server has to run to and hit, as the clip shows. Six reps each, then rotate.
Serve, land inside the court and split step. The serve is the first shot of the point, not the last.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Players work through the six serve progressions from the video, from an underhand serve to a toss and hit, about eight serves at each level. Move each kid up a step when the one before it is consistent over the net.
Toss in front and reach up to hit. Start simple and only move up when it is going in.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)5 drills · 44 minutes if you ran them all
Coach feeds a short ball, the player steps in and hits an approach shot, then moves forward and volleys the next feed, as shown in the clip. Six sequences each before rotating.
Hit the approach on the move and keep coming. Split step before the volley and punch, do not swing.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Players form a circle with one in the middle who volleys a ball tossed by each person around the circle in turn, as in the video. After a full lap around, the next player goes in the middle.
Racquet up in front and a short punch. Turn the shoulders toward every toss.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Coach tosses or feeds lobs to a player at the net who turns sideways, points at the ball and hits an overhead, as the video shows. Six overheads each, then rotate through the line.
Turn sideways right away and point the free hand at the ball. Reach up and hit it in front.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Partners stand across the net in the service boxes and volley to each other, trying to keep the ball in the air with soft touch, as in the video. Count the rally and then try to drop volleys just over the net.
Loosen the grip and let the racquet absorb the ball. Short backswing, the ball already has pace.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Players stand at the net and the coach feeds alternating forehand and backhand volleys from the other service line, following the pattern in the clip. Ten balls each, then rotate.
Racquet head above the wrist and hands out in front. Step into the volley with the opposite foot.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)3 drills · 28 minutes if you ran them all
Run the athletic moves from the clip as a circuit: lateral bounds, skips, single leg hops, quick feet and short sprints, 30 seconds on and 20 off. Two rounds, then water.
Quick feet and quiet landings. Push through the ground, do not shuffle through it.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Coach holds a ball out and drops it; the player standing a few steps away sprints and catches it after one bounce, as shown in the video. Move the player back a step after every catch until they miss.
Ready position with the weight on the toes. Go on the drop, not on the bounce.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Set up cones or use the court lines and run the footwork patterns in the video: split steps, crossover steps, side shuffles to the sideline and back, and recovery steps to the middle. About 30 seconds each, two rounds.
Split step every time, then first step is explosive. Recover to the middle before the next ball.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)5 drills · 63 minutes if you ran them all
One player is the champion on one side and the rest line up on the other, each playing a point from a coach feed, as in the video. Win the point and you take the champion spot; the champion stays while they keep winning.
Play every point like it is the last one. Get the ball in and let the other kid miss.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Coach feeds tough balls to one player who has to run them down and get them back over the net while a partner across the net tries to put the ball away, as in the video. Five balls each, then rotate.
Keep the ball in play no matter what. A high deep ball buys you time to recover.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Mark four squares with the service boxes and play the playground game with racquets and a foam ball, as in the clip: the ball must bounce once in your square before you hit it to another square. Miss and you move to the last square.
Soft hits that bounce in a square beat hard ones that sail out. Keep your feet moving between hits.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Two players rally crosscourt from the baseline while a third player at the net tries to poach and intercept the ball, as the video shows. Rotate the net player after five rallies.
Net player moves on the hit, not before. Baseline players keep the ball low and crosscourt.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Two teams line up on opposite baselines and play points from a coach feed, with the next player in line jumping in right after the point ends, as the clip shows. First team to 15 points wins.
Be ready before the point ends. Hit deep and move the other side around.
Watch: United States Tennis Association (USTA)Videos are linked, not hosted, and belong to United States Tennis Association (USTA). Drill write-ups are by Cheat Code Coaching. Durations are what we run them at with a youth team; adjust for your group.
Every drill here is already in the Cheat Code Teams Practice Builder for Youth Tennis. Drag them into a plan, tap Start practice, and the clock, the whistle and the next drill are on your phone and your lock screen.