Setup-and-Finish Baseline Patterns
Point Construction
Legend
- player
- cones
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Practice a two-shot pattern, a deep setup shot followed by an angle winner, to create and exploit openings.
What you need
- tennis balls
- tennis racket
- target cones
- full court
Your focus
Intermediate players often swing for winners too early; structured pattern play teaches patience and sequencing. Hitting deep first pushes the opponent back, making the subsequent angle more effective. Repetitive pattern training develops muscle memory for reliable point construction.
Place one cone deep in the opponent's court (near the baseline) and one cone short and wide (inside the service box).
Coach feeds a mid-court ball; player drives it deep to the baseline cone (setup shot).
Coach feeds a second ball; player redirects to the short-angle cone (finish shot).
Run 8 sequences per side, tracking how many times both cones are hit or challenged.
Goal
Success is landing the angle winner after setting up with a deep ball, if the setup was too short or the angle was off, start again.
Helpful cues
- Deep first, wide second.
- Load and accelerate through the finish.
- Watch the ball, not the cone, until contact.
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Coach feeds both balls slowly from the net post; player focuses on direction only.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Player initiates the pattern by serving and then executing the two-shot sequence in live play.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.