Pattern Play: Inside-In and Inside-Out Forehand
Groundstrokes
Legend
- player
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Master the inside-in and inside-out forehand patterns to dominate baseline rallies and create winning opportunities from the backhand corner.
What you need
- tennis racket
- tennis balls
- court
- ball hopper
Your focus
Running around the backhand to hit an inside-out or inside-in forehand is one of the highest-percentage offensive patterns in professional tennis and must be trained at the advanced level. The pattern requires precise footwork, disguise, and decision-making about which direction to select based on opponent positioning. Consistent execution of this pattern under pressure is a hallmark of high-level competitive players.
Coach feeds a deep ball to the player's backhand corner; player runs around the ball to set up a forehand.
Player reads the coach's position: if coach is near center, player hits inside-out to the open court; if coach moves wide, player hits inside-in to the opposite corner.
After the shot, player must recover quickly to cover the potential down-the-line response.
Run 20 repetitions; coach varies position randomly to force genuine reading rather than anticipation.
Goal
It's real when you execute the inside-out or inside-in pattern on purpose, not by accident, and it goes where you aimed, repeatable, not lucky.
Helpful cues
- Run wide enough to hit the forehand, not a backhand
- Disguise direction until the last moment
- Cover the line after going inside-out
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Coach signals direction before feeding so the player only focuses on footwork and execution.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Coach feeds the next ball immediately after the inside-out shot to simulate the opponent's reply, requiring rapid recovery.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.