First Four Shots
Why this drill
Statistically, most club points end within the first four shots: serve, return, serve-plus-one, return-plus-one. Practicing exactly that window — and nothing after it — concentrates improvement where matches are decided.
Setup
Normal court. Points are played to a maximum of four shots — after the fourth ball crosses the net, the point stops and is scored.
The drill
Play first-to-15. If the point is still alive after four shots, whoever is in the stronger court position — closer to the baseline center, opponent stretched — wins it by honest agreement. Servers rotate every five points. Both players must call their serve target and their plus-one intention before each point.
One thought to take on court
Play the first four shots on purpose — if you can't say your plan out loud, you don't have one.