Random Rally
Ball machineNTRP 3.5–4.015 minforehandbackhandfootworkstrategy
Why this drill
Oscillation with the pattern switched off is the closest a machine gets to a real opponent: you don't know where the next ball lands. Reading, not guessing, becomes the skill.
Setup
Machine on random oscillation — corners, middle, varied depth if the model allows — at an interval you can just handle. Start at the hash.
The drill
Play every ball as a match ball: neutral answers deep through the middle when stretched, crosscourt when balanced, down the line only from inside the baseline. Three-minute rounds, four rounds. After each round, say aloud one decision you'd take back. That sentence is the coaching.
One thought to take on court
Split-step at the machine's release just as you would at an opponent's contact — the read starts before the ball does.