The best technique to enhance your tennis game is to practice your strokes on a court on a regular basis. However, for certain persons, arriving at a court can be difficult. Maybe you don’t have the time, don’t have a willing partner, or it’s the winter and the weather isn’t cooperating.
If you are privileged sufficient to have your own tennis court, there will undoubtedly be occasions when you are unable to practice or train on one. There are, however, numerous ways to improve your tennis skills without allowing recourse to a court. The majority of tennis players have collided with a wall at some point in their careers.
If you don’t have a clear objective for your tennis game, it will be very difficult to see the improvements you want to see in terms of outcomes. Writing down three major goals you want to attain with your tennis game is a fantastic place to start. Post your aspirations on your bathroom mirror or wherever else you’ll see them every day to keep you motivated to become the player you want to be.
How to Play Tennis without Tennis Court
You must first obtain the necessary equipment. You’ll need to utilize foam balls instead of regular balls, and a smaller tennis racquet should be used than a full-size tennis racquet. Afterward, you’ll need to pick a spot at home with a wall and enough room to roam around and hit the foam ball.
You can begin practicing tennis as if you were playing against a tennis wall at your local club after you have the necessary balls, racquet size, and location. I’ll give you precise suggestions on what you’ll need and how you may practice tennis against a wall in the privacy of your own house.
- Location and space
- Types of balls
- Racquet size
- “Net” and targets
- How to practice?
- How to get started, if you’re a beginner?
1: Location and Space
We need to figure out how much space you have at home before we can talk about the sort of ball and racquet size you should use. You’ll need to pick a spot near a wall where you can hit the ball back and forth. You’ll need an area near a wall that’s about 13 feet long and 10 feet wide from side to side because you’ll be hitting the racquet and moving around.
It’s even preferable if you have more space; nevertheless, it can also be less than that. If you’re short on room, you can still practice hitting the wall, but in a more gentle manner. You can utilize your garage door, window, or even door instead of a wall. It should be okay as long as there is room around it. It’s not an issue to hit a window with a foam ball.
2: Types of Balls
Although I anticipate most of us to practice against the wall with foam balls (because of the space limits of using other balls), I have approximated how much space each type of ball requires. The key variations between these six types of balls are their travel speeds and bouncing heights.
Red balls, orange balls, green balls, and ordinary balls are the slowest and have the lowest bounce, next to foam balls. Regular balls have the highest bounce and move the quickest.
Foam balls by Zsig.
From the wall, 13 feet long
From side to side, 10 feet broad
First, there are 36 foam balls and 36 red balls.
From the wall, 18 feet long
From side to side, 15 feet
Balls of orange
30 feet from the nearest wall
From side to side, 20 feet
Regular balls and green balls
From the wall, 40 feet long
From side to side, 20 feet
These balls are typically utilized by young children between the ages of 4 and 7. They don’t jump too fast, too far, or too high because they’re composed of foam. In comparison to a standard ball, which will be extremely difficult for most kids of that age to use in a movement, its modest bounce allows them to strike the ball on time.
We may hit the ball against the wall in a little space by using this tennis ball. You’ll be able to play full groundstrokes, whether forehand or backhand and the ball will bounce back near enough to resume the combo. Tennis foam balls come in two varieties. The Zsig foam ball is one, while the Qst 36 foam ball is the other.
Which one you should use will, once again, be controlled by the quantity of space you have accessible. I recommend utilizing the Zsig foam ball if you are short on space. It’s a lot smaller and has a lower bounce than a Qst 36 foam ball. It will enable you to control the ball in a limited amount of time.
I’ve seen youngsters as young as 5 years old score some incredible goals with these miniature foam balls. As a result, utilizing this ball in a small space at home should be no issue.
3: Racquet Size
If you just have a tiny practice space, I suggest using a smaller racquet. This is due to two key factors. For starters, a smaller racquet will allow you to spin more easily in tight situations, as the racquet would be smaller. The second reason is that you will produce less power while striking the ball with a smaller racquet, which means the ball, will bounce and travel less.
Although it is not required to use a smaller tennis racquet, I believe that practicing with a smaller racquet will be beneficial if you have a small capacity.
Available space is 18′ long and 15′ wide or less.
- Size of racquet: 23″ or less
Available space: 19′ long x 15′ wide – 30′ long x 20′ wide
- Size of racquet: 24″ or 25″
31′ long x 20′ broad or more space available
- Size of racquet: 26″ or 27″
4: Net and Targets
A standard tennis court stands 3 feet tall in the center and 3’6″ tall at both net posts. As a result, you may draw a 3-foot-tall diagonal line on your wall. Even though an imaginary line can be used to practice, I recommend drawing a physical line. This will condition your mind to hit the ball at a proper height above the net.
You can use any tape, chalk, or marker to draw the net line on the wall. I recommend using sticky tape that is 1.5″ thick. This type of tape will not harm your wall if you keep it there for a long time. Ensure the vertical line is straight while drawing it. In tennis, striking hard with high topspin is significant, but positioning and guiding the ball on the court may be even more critical.
When training, you should add targets to your wall. Aside from that, placing targets on your wall will keep you focused on the task at hand and encourage you when things become monotonous. You can use the same tape to create your targets as you did for the lines (net) on the wall.
As your targets, you can draw an “X” or a “square” on the wall. I recommend including three separate targets, one in the center and two on the flanks. Another approach is to create a single large target in the wall, such as a large square.
5: How to Practice
Start with hitting forehands when training groundstrokes. After you’ve mastered forehands, go on to backhands. It’s crucial to isolate each hit. This allows you to concentrate on the details of each shot. Change both forehands and backhands throughout the same set once you’ve mastered both strokes.
It’s simple to practice your serves by serving against the wall and repeating. If the roof in your house isn’t high sufficient for you to toss the ball, you can train sitting down or on your knees. If you’re practicing outside or if your ceiling is high enough, you can practice striking against the ground first, so the ball hits the ground before hitting the wall.
Any ball, from foam balls to ordinary balls, can be used to practice volleys. You can start with foam balls and work your way up to red, orange, green, and real balls. Make sure you’re at least 3 feet from the wall. It’s critical to keep oneself engaged by challenging yourself.
Set goals for each practice session if possible. For example, you may set a target of hitting 20 balls against the wall in a row for each stroke, such as forehands, backhands, and volleys.
6: If you are Beginner
If you’re a tennis fanatic but have never played the game before. This is undoubtedly an excellent place to begin. Certainly, it will not substitute learning from a tennis instructor; nevertheless, with all of the free resources accessible, you should be able to get a good start by practicing at home.
While the technique is important in tennis, I recommend concentrating first on ball timing. Before you simply focus on the particular ways to hit each stroke, you should be able to strike the ball back and forth with fairly basic swings. You’re learning experience will be more fun if you achieve accurate ball timing and great eye synchronization.
Watch Video Tutorials:
Small changes to your methods can often make a big difference in your game. Video tutorials can help you improve your overall game by teaching you everything from the best grip for each shot to how to get topspin on the ball.
Many free videos on YouTube, especially ones with past pros and coaches, might help you build your talents. To get an elevated tennis lesson without quitting your house, pick a skill you wish to develop and then search YouTube for one of the most-watched videos on that talent.