Agility is one of the most important skills to have when playing tennis. It’s imbued in every piece of the sport, from getting the right angle on your racquet to keeping your footwork in place. But agility can also be one of the most difficult places to work on, too- if you’re not born with acrobatic grace, how do you work to build it? Well, fear no more- here are some great agility drills for the practicing player.

The Underhanded Tiebreaker

The first drill for today uses two people. Face your partner on opposite sides of the net, with both of you in your service boxes. Toss the ball back and forth to one another, underhanded, without leaving your box. Attempt to catch the ball bounced once, and then get it back to your opponent as fast as you can. The first one to step out of their box to catch the ball . . . loses! Surprise, it was a game all along. A game that’s great to help out with learning agility.

The Lateral T Drill

This one, while not requiring a partner, does need you to find some practice cones. Arrange them in a zigzag formation, with each cone about a yard apart, diagonally. Starting at the first cone, step horizontally towards the next one. When you’ve reached your second cone, bend your knee and push off the cone, giving you a bit of a boost in speed as you resume walking horizontally towards the next cone. Repeat until you’ve finished your line of cones, and then do the whole exercise over again about three times for maximum potential.

Cone Calls

This final drill also involves your practice cones, but also requires a partner!. Put four of the cones in a square, about 2 to 3 yards apart on each side, and number them. You will stand in the middle, and your partner off to the side. They’ll call the number of cone they want you to go to, and you have to get to that number as quickly as possible. Before you reach that cone, though, your partner will call out another number, and you have to follow the sequence as you go from cone to cone.