Never Give Up Rally
Effort
Legend
- player
- coach / parent
- movement path
How it works
Build the habit of playing out every ball in a rally to its conclusion, never conceding a point before the ball is actually out or past them.
What you need
- tennis racket
- tennis balls
- court
Your focus
Players who mentally concede before a ball is truly over lose a significant percentage of points they could have won. Drilling the habit of chasing even seemingly impossible balls in a no-pressure setting rewires the default response to difficult situations. The effort habit built here transfers directly to match resilience.
Coach rallies with the player; once per minute, coach deliberately hits a ball that appears very wide or very deep.
Player must sprint to the ball and make any contact before it bounces twice, no stopping, no assuming it is out.
Each ball the player reaches and contacts earns a point; each ball they give up on (stop running, raise hand) costs a point.
After 20 minutes, review the effort points versus give-up points and set a goal to reduce give-ups by 50% in the next session.
Helpful cues
- It is not out until it is out!
- Sprint to the ball, decide after!
- Every ball you reach is a ball your opponent has to hit again.
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Coach hits all balls to moderately difficult positions (not extreme angles) to build the habit of moving early without overwhelming the player.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Play out the point fully after the player reaches the difficult ball; they must now win the point, not just reach the ball.No account needed
Build a practice plan
Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.
This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.