Good footwork drills for young tennis players are short games that make them move sideways, change direction, stop in balance and get ready for the next ball. Six to try at home are Side-Step Race, Colour Dash, Freeze Feet, Get Tall Get Small, Line Hops and Split-Step Pop. Two or three of them for a few minutes is plenty.
The 6 drills
Tap a drill for the steps, and an easier and a harder version. Ages are a guide: go by what your child can do.
1. Side-Step Race
Ages 4 to 12
You need: 2 markers
Moving sideways without crossing the feet, the way players shuffle along the baseline.
Get low, with the feet wide
Step sideways to one marker without crossing your feet
Touch it, then shuffle back to the other
Easier: Put the markers closer, about two steps apart.
Harder: Spread the markers wider, or count how many touches fit into 20 seconds and beat it next time.
Based on the side-shuffle tag game in USTA Net Generation red ball practice.
Why does footwork matter for young tennis players?
Most of tennis happens between the shots: getting to the ball, stopping, and getting ready for the next one. That is why the ITF's Tennis10s manual puts movement skills such as agility, balance and coordination at the centre of tennis for children aged 10 and under, alongside the racket skills.
Moving well pays off beyond tennis too. A study that followed Australian children into their teens found that those with better movement skills in childhood felt more able at sport as teenagers, and were more active and fitter (Barnett and colleagues, 2008).
What do you need?
Space: a clear strip about four big steps wide, indoors or in the garden.
Markers: two or three cones, socks or shoes. Different colours help for Colour Dash.
A line: masking tape on the floor or chalk outside, for Line Hops.
Shoes: trainers, or bare feet on a floor that is not slippery. A grown-up nearby for anything with jumping.
How do I turn these into a practice?
USTA Net Generation's red ball lessons follow a simple shape: a warm-up, then skill games, then a team challenge. At home you can copy it in a few minutes:
One or two warm-up games, such as Skip Party or Star Jumps.
Two footwork drills from this page.
A challenge to finish, such as beating yesterday's Colour Dash score.
Every drill on this page has an easier version: use it, and go back up when it feels easy again. Stop while it is still fun, and keep score against yesterday, not against a brother or a friend.
Praise the effort and the way they did it (“you kept your eyes on the ball”) rather than talent. In a well-known set of experiments, children praised for being clever gave up sooner after a hard task than children praised for their effort (Mueller and Dweck, 1998).
