Recovery Discipline
Ball machineNTRP 2.5–3.510 minfootworkforehandbackhand
Why this drill
The machine tells you where the next ball is coming — a luxury no match ever grants. This drill deliberately refuses the luxury: full recovery to center after every single ball, exactly as if you didn't know.
Setup
Machine feeding steadily to ONE corner, moderate interval. A cone at the center hash — your home.
The drill
Hit the ball crosscourt, recover fully — outside foot around the cone — then return for the next identical feed. Fifteen-ball sets, four sets, alternating wings by set. The shot is easy on purpose; the drill is the honest commute. A set only counts if every recovery rounds the cone.
One thought to take on court
The point isn't over when you hit the ball — it's over when you're back home in a split step.