Shadow Patterns
SoloNTRP 2.0–3.510 minfootworkforehandbackhand
Why this drill
Full point patterns — footwork, stroke shape, recovery — rehearsed with no ball, no court fee, no partner. Dancers call it marking. Club players almost never do it, which is one reason their patterns break under pressure.
Setup
A baseline — real or imagined — and a marked center point. A racquet. No balls.
The drill
Three sequences, five rounds each, at match intensity: (1) three crosscourt forehands with full recovery shuffles between, then one down the line and a sprint recovery; (2) the same on the backhand wing; (3) full serve motion, two steps in, split-step, shadow forehand. Walk back slowly between rounds — that's the rest.
One thought to take on court
Make the recovery steps as honest as the swings — the drill is what happens between the shots.