For the first hour of our session, we did nothing but lace the ball at each other. We hit hard forehands and backhands that produced great satisfaction. We both realized that playing matches, which is the final goal in tennis, is an ineffective method of learning new techniques. When you play for points, there is no time to focus on improving technique. All efforts are aimed at winning points.

I had already learned from my online coach, Tomaz Mencinger, that what we were doing – Free Hitting – is the most underrated method for improving your strokes. It will not teach tactics or the mental game – for that you need matches - but free hitting will allow you to hit many balls and assess your strokes’ strengths and weaknesses. The following video shows numerous 20+ rallies in a relaxed setting with no pressure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BRDWXel8f8

Free hitting improves every element of a stroke, such as watching the ball, hitting out front, using the non-hitting arm, shoulder rotation, balance, footwork, and more. So the next time you are out on court, spice up the session with one of these free hitting drills:

1. Count the number of shots in your rallies and try to build on that number.
2. Play a match without serving, agreeing with your partner to try to keep up rallies. You win a point when your partner accidentally hits long, wide, or into the net.
3. Play games without serves of maintaining cross-court rallies. When your partner accidentally hits long, wide, or into the net, you win the point. First to 11 wins the set.