Every coach knows the feeling. A player looks sharp in the warm-up, then the same four habits creep back in once the ball starts moving: flat feet before the split, a late take-back on the forehand, a vague loiter at the net and a toss that goes walkabout on the big point. None of them are dramatic. All of them quietly cost matches.
Whether your club is shutting the outdoor courts for the winter or just opening them up for the new season, this is a good moment to hunt these four habits down properly rather than nagging about them point by point. Treat them like what they are: fixable technical gaps with a clear drill behind each one.
Why These Habits Keep Haunting Your Sessions
Most of these faults survive because they only show up under something closer to match pressure. A player can split step perfectly when a coach feeds a gentle ball from three metres away, then freeze completely when a real opponent disguises a shot. The habit was never actually fixed, it was just never tested.
The other common cause is that players practise the movement in isolation but never connect it to a decision. Tossing the ball well in a drill is not the same as tossing it well at 5-5 in the final set. If a drill does not eventually add an opponent, a choice or a consequence, the old habit is free to come back out after dark.
Four Tennis Nightmares (and Their Treats)
Step One: The Frozen Feet. The nightmare is the player who watches the ball travel across the net rather than moving their feet to meet it, arriving late and off balance on almost every shot. The treat is an early, rhythmical split step timed to the opponent's contact, not to where the coach thinks the ball will land. Drill it little and often until it becomes automatic rather than optional.
Step Two: The Late Turn. This is the rushed, one-piece forehand where the racket, shoulders and feet all arrive at the same moment, forcing a short, jabby swing under pressure. The treat is an early shoulder and hip turn the instant the ball is identified as a forehand, so the racket is already back and the swing can stay long and controlled.
Step Three: The Ghost at the Net. Players drift forward after an approach shot and then stop wherever they happen to be, rather than in a position they have actually chosen. The treat is coaching a clear first-volley position, close enough to cut off angles but with enough time to react, so the player commits to a spot instead of haunting no man's land.
Step Four: The Cursed Toss. A toss that drifts left, right, short or behind the head under pressure is behind more double faults than any technical serve fault. The treat is isolating the toss on its own, with a target and a consistent release point, until it holds up when the stakes go up.
How to Train It
Start the session with a short movement warm-up built entirely around the split step, so the timing is fresh in the legs before any racket work begins. Move into technical blocks on the turn and the toss separately, feeding balls so each player gets high repetition without a rally to think about.
Add decision-making once the technique holds up: live-fed points that start with an approach shot to work the first-volley position, or a serving game where a missed toss target costs the point. Finish with a normal game or set, but ask players to self-report which of the four nightmares they felt creeping back in. Naming the habit is often half the fix.
Key Coaching Points
- Time the split step to the opponent's contact, not to a guess about where the ball will land.
- Turn the shoulders and hips early on the forehand so the racket is already back before the ball arrives.
- Give net players a specific first-volley position to move to, rather than letting them drift and stop.
- Train the toss in isolation with a target before adding it back into a full serve.
- Test every fix under a small amount of pressure or decision-making before calling it learned.
- Ask players to name the habit they are working on; awareness speeds up the fix.
Recommended Drills
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do players still freeze before the split step even after years of coaching?
Usually because the habit was only ever trained against predictable, slow feeds. Once the drill is well grooved at a gentle pace, add disguise or a second option for the feeder so the player has to react to real information, not a rhythm they have memorised.
How many reps does it take to fix a late take-back on the forehand?
There is no fixed number, but expect it to take longer than it feels like it should. Start with shadow swings and fed balls to groove the early turn, then test it in a rally. If the old habit returns the moment a real opponent is added, go back a stage rather than pushing on.
Which of these four nightmares should I fix first?
Start with the split step. It underpins movement into every other shot, including the forehand turn and the first volley, so fixing it first makes the other three drills easier to teach and quicker to stick.
