• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Tennis Tribe Logo

Tennis Tribe

Tennis Gear Reviews, Doubles Lessons, & Tour News

  • Gear Reviews
    • All Gear Reviews
    • Tennis Racquets
      • Best Racquets Overall
      • Beginner Racquets
      • Intermediate Racquets
      • Advanced Racquets
      • How To Choose A Racquet
    • On-Court Gear
      • Shoes
      • Bags
      • Skirts
      • Dresses
      • Shorts
      • Sunglasses
      • Socks
      • Elbow Braces
    • Tennis Equipment
      • Strings
      • Ball Machines
      • Tennis Balls
      • Ball Hoppers
      • Overgrips
      • Training Aids
  • Doubles Strategy
    • Podcast
    • Lessons
    • Products: Ebooks & Courses
    • Newsletter
    • ATP/WTA Scouting & Strategy Analysis
  • Pro Tour
    • Tournaments
    • Pro Doubles News
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • About
    • Contact
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Rafael Nadal’s Practice Strategy

Will Boucek · February 12, 2023

How many of us actually get better at tennis when we practice?

Most people I watch hitting on the ball machine, or with their doubles partner will go through the motions. They’ll hit crosscourt, volleys, and maybe work on some serves.

But when is the last time you actually got better during a practice match or hitting session on the tennis court?

Rafael Nadal hits a forehand with his Babolat Pure Aero

Below, I’m going to show you the strategy that, according to Darren Cahill, Rafael Nadal uses when he practices between tennis tournaments.


Ebook: 25 Winning Doubles Tactics

Ebook: 25 Winning Doubles Tactics Guaranteed to Help You Play Smarter

25 expert serve (7), return (5), net-play (5), baseline (4), & approach (4) tactics you can use in your next doubles match.

learn MORE

How Nadal Gets Better In Practice

I was watching a Nadal match against Pospisil at the US Open recently. Tom Rinaldi, Chris Fowler, and Darren Cahill (the best announcer in tennis & one of the best coaches) all started talking about Nadal’s practice.

It went something like this…

Tom: Now if you have the chance to see Nadal practice, it’s another level. If you think his match play is impressive, you need to see him practice. I’m not talking about during a tournament, I mean several days before a tournament, or between events.

Chris: What do you mean Tom?

Tom: That backhand he just hit (Nadal had just hit a 999mph crosscourt backhand on the run angle winner that no one can hit)… He hits like 10 in a row in practice. It makes a different noise. Kind of like when you watch some of the top golfers in the world on the driving range, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka. The ball just makes a different sound coming off the club. Even other pros stop and watch. The same is true for Nadal in practice.

Darren: Actually Tom, I’ve been able to watch a few of Rafa’s practices and your right. But the thing I notice is how much he misses. He’s always pushing himself to hit more difficult shots in practice, so he misses a lot more. That’s important because you can’t improve if your hitting shots you’re already comfortable with.


How Can You Improve During Tennis Practice?

Darren is right!

This made me think about my own practice.

Just the other day I was practicing some “king of the court” points with some friends and taking way more risks and going for bigger shots. But I had never articulated why I do that until I heard Cahill say this.

If you’re not missing in practice, then you’re not getting better. The only way to get better is to hit more difficult shots that you’re not comfortable with, until… you are comfortable with them.

So next time you go out for a practice match or hitting with a friend. Go a little bigger on your forehand. Try a little more angle on your volleys.

PUSH the boundaries of your comfort zone, so that in the match, you’ll have more shots to choose from.

About Will Boucek

Will Boucek is the Founder & CEO of Tennis Tribe. With over two decades of experience playing & coaching tennis, Will now works as a doubles strategy analyst for ATP & WTA tour players and coaches. Will helps tennis players at every level play better doubles through smarter strategy. He also has expertise in tennis racquets & gear, testing the latest products from Wilson, Babolat, Head, Prince, and other tennis brands.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. glen says

    August 5, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    yeah, we go for the lines, try to make the net top tape snap with fast balls (balls go over and in surprisingly often), hit 100 as hard as (we or) you can, topspin deep and hard (in) so it hits the fence 4-8 feet up as the second bounce, chop underspin so hard it could “slide” under opponent’s racquet, force the other to make an error – but not a winner out of range.

    Reply
    • Will Boucek says

      August 16, 2021 at 11:58 am

      Thanks Glen! Those are all great ways to push yourself during tennis practice 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar


Your style and advice worked where hours of private lessons with coaches have not in the past.

- Cindy L. 3.5 player from Atlanta
Get Your Free Doubles Tips & Strategies

Review Tennis Gear. Learn Doubles Strategy. Follow The Pro Tour.

  • Tennis Gear Reviews
  • Doubles Lessons
  • Doubles Strategy Products
  • Pro Doubles News
  • Tribe Talk Tennis Blog

Doubles Only Tennis Podcast logo

Become a smarter doubles player with expert tips & strategy. Learn from ATP & WTA Coaches and Players.

Listen Here


Most Popular Lessons

  • Doubles Strategy: A Complete Guide
  • How To Be A Good Doubles Partner (& What To NOT Say!)
  • 7 Tips For Poaching In Doubles
  • The 3 Step Volley Checklist [Volleys Made Simple]

Featured Product

Ebook: 25 winning doubles tactics
 

Ebook: 25 Winning Doubles Tactics

Follow Tennis Tribe

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

FREE 20-page guide - Learn 3 doubles tactics to force errors and get more easy volleys! Download

Tennis Tribe

Copyright © 2023 | The Tennis Tribe

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy