Hi friends!

Here’s a solo drill to help you improve a shot that’s often tricky: the half-volley. You’ll learn to handle low, fast balls right after the bounce so you can turn a defensive situation into a controlled reset.

The goal of this drill is to master the half-volley—on either forehand or backhand—to secure difficult balls, buy time, and stay in the rally while varying depth.

Drill execution:

Set up the ball machine at the back of the court and program it to send short, low-bouncing balls just behind the net. Set an interval of 6 to 7 seconds between feeds.

Start near the baseline in a ready position. On each feed, explode forward, bend your knees deeply, and take the ball just after the bounce with a short, smooth motion. Play the half-volley on forehand or backhand with a slightly open racquet face, guiding the ball to maintain consistency and depth even at low speed.

After each shot, recover quickly back to the baseline to prepare for the next ball. Perform sets of 6 half-volleys followed by 30 to 40 seconds of active recovery.
This solo tennis drill boosts your safety in defensive situations and allows you to stay in the rally even against difficult balls.

(Image created with ETDM software – Download it here)

Quick tip: Slightly slow down your approach before contact to stabilize your footing, and guide the ball with an open racquet face to produce a short, controlled bounce.