As people up and down the country adapt to spending more time at home, it is more important than ever for the family to keep active. Whilst many may feel more restricted at home, the truth is that there are plenty of exercises that you can do right from your own living room or garden and tennis is a fun way for everyone to get involved.
The LTA has pulled together 12 fun activities and exercises the whole family can play at home to practice your skills and get ready to become a champion on the court!
First up, why not try your hand at ‘Floor Tennis’? Grab yourself a partner, a racket and a ball and start passing the ball between you on the ground. Make sure you keep swapping hands and always stop the ball in front of you. See how many you can get up to.
Next we’re going to test your reactions with the ‘Switch Catch’. This is a great game that you can play indoors. Stand opposite your partner with a ball holding it out in front of you. On the count of 3 you’re both going to drop the ball and try and catch your partner’s after the bounce. This one’s definitely trickier than it looks…
‘Hand Ball Rally’ is a great way to practice your shot positioning, changing from side to side to hit the ball back to your partner using your hand. Always make sure to swap over after 5 shots, so both players have a turn at hitting and receiving.
Now let’s put these all together and get some rallies going with ‘High 5 Rallies’. With a partner, drop the ball and after the bounce, gently hit it in the air for the other player to catch on their racket – that’s a rally of 1. Then on the next go, see if you can get both hit it to each other before catching – that’s a rally of 2. Test yourself and see how many shots you can get in one rally.
Where to find more
If you’ve enjoyed these fun tennis exercises you can do at home, there are plenty more available at the LTA’s YouTube channel. Just visit here to find out more.