Running The Lines In Tennis: A Basic Pattern

If you’re new to tennis then learning how to run the lines is a fantastic way to start using the tennis court to either warm-up your body before practice or dial in your footwork skills.

Let’s start by taking a look at the individual steps involved in running the lines of a tennis court.

Basic Running Pattern

While there are a number of different ways you can run the lines the following is a common approach, which you’ll find many tennis instructors and coaches using.
Start facing the net at the far right net post with one hand on the net

1. Backpedal all the way to the baseline
2. Sidestep to your left to the singles sideline
3. Jog to and touch the net
4. Backpedal to the service line
5. Sidestep to your left to the service center line
6. Jog to and touch the net
7. Backpedal to the service line again
8. Sidestep to your left to the far singles sideline
9. Jog to and touch the net
10. Backpedal all the way back to the baseline
11. Sidestep to your left to the doubles sideline
12. Jog back to the net

Pretty simple right? Of course, as with most drills, what you get out of it will be entirely what you or the player who’s running choose to put into it. Let’s take a quick look at how this simple drill can be used to warm up or improve a player’s speed and footwork.

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Warming Up

Running the lines can be a great way to warm up. It’s important to be deliberate about how you run the lines when warming up, but you’ll jogging at a slow pace will be perfectly sufficient.

Improving Speed & Footwork

In addition to the warm-up, running the lines can be a great drill to improve your footwork. Here are a few things to up-the-ante and make this tennis drill a bit more challenging.

• Run at a faster pace
• Bend your knees and get low
• Challenge yourself against another player and see who finishes first
• Touch the bottom of the net instead of the top of the net

As with most drills that take place on a tennis court, running the lines can be a fantastic drill when practiced properly as it helps mimic the type of stress your body will experience in a tennis match. That is, quick bursts of speed, as well back and forth and quick side to side movements.

Have any unique twists with this simple drill that you use in practice? Feel free to share in the comments below.

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