Serve, Retrieve, and Rotate

This fast-paced drill combines serving practice with movement, teamwork, and quick transitions. After serving, players must immediately sprint forward to retrieve another ball, emphasizing forward motion and recovery. The activity also encourages accuracy under pressure, as only successful serves count toward the team’s total score. It’s an energetic way to build serving rhythm, footwork, and team competition in a short time frame.

Setup

• Two doubles teams (four players total)
• Basket of balls placed near the service line (blue marker)
• Full singles or doubles court
• Stopwatch for timing

Rules & Objectives

• Player 1 from each team serves into the service box (one from deuce side, one from ad side)
• After serving, the player sprints forward to the basket, retrieves a ball, and returns to their partner
• The teammate now takes the next serve
• Continue alternating servers with immediate ball retrieval after each serve
• Run the drill for 2–3 minutes, keeping track of how many serves each team makes
• Out serves do not count toward the score, and you may subtract a point as a penalty

Repetition

• Repeat for multiple timed rounds, switching sides of the court
• Add scoring variations: require serves to land in specific service-box zones (inner or outer)
• For advanced players, set targets with cones or markers for bonus points
• Turn it into a competitive match between pairs (winner is the team with the most successful serves in the time limit)

Coaching Points

• Improves serve accuracy and consistency under time pressure
• Reinforces proper serving mechanics: full extension, hitting at the highest point, and weight transfer from back leg to front leg
• Builds forward movement and conditioning after the serve
• Encourages teamwork and competition in practice

Drill Tutorial