Improve your tennis poaching skills with these 4 wall drills

Join Abigail Spears as you learn about improving your poaching movement and reaction time using the wall.

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What You'll Learn

The Workout Plan

Level
Easy
Advanced
Elite
About This Drill

Poaching is intercepting the ball at the net and helping your partner out by either crossing off a serve, a return or a rally ball.

You’ll want to improve your poaching skills because you want to either cut off the ball and put it away or put you and your partner in a very aggressive position to win that point. And moving the right way lets you become more set up after you finish crossing or poaching at the net.

What most people do wrong when they’re poaching is they cut sideways straight sideways horizontally and parallel to the net instead of going forward and then cutting at an angle.

When you do that you put yourself in a better position to cover more of the court and cut off more balls at the net.

This drill will exaggerate the movement of going forward and cutting at an angle to put you in the best movement pattern possible.

To set up this drill properly you need tape and you’re going to take five steps away from the wall marking your first spot then you’re gonna turn around and take one step forward marking the second piece of tape.

Then you’re going to cut in both directions 45 degree angles on the right and the left side marking your third and your fourth piece of tape.

How to perform this drill is you start at the first marker and you’re using your own tennis ball you will toss the ball against the wall to the right or the left. Split step towards the second marker React to your toss to either the right or the left side and cut and catch the ball, split stepping afterwards to catch your balance.

Level
Easy
Advanced
Elite
About This Drill

You’re going to feed the ball against the wall at the first tape marker, split step going forward cutting and hitting (volleying) the ball off the wall letting it go by and then repeating it with about 10 balls.

Level
Easy
Advanced
Elite
About This Drill

Another progression of the poaching drill is to utilize a partner to work on your reaction time. By going through the same movement as the other drills you stand in the first marker and take a split step forward.

Your partner is going to toss the ball where the other marker is or as close to it as possible on the wall so that you then have to hit that ball not worrying about the second ball. He or she will tell you if you need to move to your forehand or to your backhand.

Level
Easy
Advanced
Elite
About This Drill

To push yourself there’s a fourth progressive drill which is a reaction drill that challenges you even further.

Your partner stands behind you tosses the ball you and you have to react and move because you don’t know which side they’re tossing it to. This will help you work on your first step.

You move in the same position and then volley the ball back. Don’t worry about the second ball.

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Abigail Spears has enjoyed a successful career as a Professional Tennis Player while being featured on popular networks including…

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