Modified Games

Playing Modifications

Modified games
Jail
Beginner and advanced beginner: 4-20 players

The students line up at one end of the court. Feed from the opposite side of the net. Each student
gets a certain number of chances to get a forehand or backhand into the doubles court. If she gets
one in, she is safe. If not, she goes to jail: she goes to the other end of the court where she'll try to
catch a ball hit by another player. If she makes her catch, she is free from jail, and the player she
caught goes to jail. When only one player is left, she tries to get three shots in that don't get caught
before she misses three. If she succeeds, she wins the game. If someone catches one of her shots,
it's a jailbreak: everyone is free, and a new round begins.

- Give weaker players three chances, stronger just one, and vary the depth of which they hit
according to their abilities.
- Let weaker catchers catch after one bounce in jail. Very small kids can simply touch a ball in
the air to be freed.
- If jail starts to get crowded, limit the prisoners to two steps to get to a ball. That will keep
the more aggressive players from running into or in front of other players.
- Keep the playing area clear of loose balls.

Around the World

Advanced beginner through advanced: 5 - 16 players

Half of the students line up at one baseline, half at the other. Feed one of the students at the front
of his line. He must hit into the singles court, then run to the end of the line at the opposite end of
the court. The student at the front of the opposite line does the same. The rally continues, with each
player hitting the ball, then running around the net. When a player misses, he gets an out. With
three outs, he drops out of the game. Once only two players are left, they no longer run around the
net: they simply play points (still from a feed) until one of them has three outs.

- Stand next to one of the net posts to feed.

- Players must always run to their right.
- Remind players to give the current hitter plenty of room to move back for deep balls.
- When a player misses, send the next feed to the player to whom the missed shot was
supposed to go.
- Players who get out may go to an adjacent court to hit.
- Make sure the running path is free of obstructions and loose balls.

High Five Volleys

The High Five Volleys drill is good for children under the age of five. Have the kids line up along the
net. The leader then walks along the opposite side of the net and lifts her hand in a high-five motion.
The children are to touch the leader’s hand with their rackets to reciprocate. After the children are
accustomed to the angle of the racket, the leader can toss the balls for the children to tap over the
net with their rackets. This drill helps children with learning how to position the racket.

Ring Around the Rosie

You’ll need at least three children for the Ring Around the Rosie tennis drill. Have the kids stand in a
circle around the leader or instructor. Beginning students should stand approximately 15 feet from
the leader. As the students become more advanced, they can stand father away from the instructor.
The leader begins by hitting the ball to a student. After the ball bounces, the student should hit the
ball back, making it bounce in front of the leader. The leader continues hitting the ball to students,
at first in order then in a random pattern as the students become more adept at anticipating where
the ball will go.

Agility Ladder Drill

Tennis players need to be agile and quick. The Agility Ladder drill helps players practice the
combination to improve these combined skills. Place a long ladder down on the ground so the rungs
form boxes. The players should stand in line and practice this drill one at a time. Have the players be
in a sideways position to the ladder then quickly put the foot closer to the ladder into the first box.
The other foot should follow into the first box while the first foot moves into the second box. The
player should repeat this motion all the way to the other end of the ladder. To make a game of this
drill, the coach can time each person. You'll want to use a real extension ladder for older children. To
prevent injury in younger children who have shorter legs, you may use a rope ladder.

Triangle Game
Divide the group of players into two teams with at least three players on each side. Have each team
form a triangle with a point at the net and the farthest players standing at outer corners of the
baseline. Start the ball into play by having one of the players at the baseline serve. After each point
is completed, players rotate to the next position. The Triangle game helps the kids learn to quickly
react at all positions on the court.

The Bucket Game

One of the games that teach this is called the bucket game. In this game, 5 buckets are placed in
various locations on each side of the net. The participating players each stand on their respective
baselines.
The first player tries to hit 10-20 balls into any of the buckets across the net. If the ball doesn’t cross
the net, it is added to the balls that the other player will use. The other player does the same thing.
After all balls are hit, each player collects all the balls on his side of the net that didn’t land in any of
the buckets.
He collects these balls and tries to hit them into the buckets of the other court. After all balls have
been hit into the buckets, they are counted and the player who was able to get the most balls into
his opponent’s buckets is declared the winner.

The School Game

School is one of the simplest tennis games for beginners. It is actually a serve practice drill. Players
start at the service line and try to serve into the service box. Once he or she gets three serves into
both service boxes, the player will graduate from kindergarten to grade school. This is around 4 feet
behind the service line from where he or she will try to get three serves into both service boxes
again.
Middle school is about 8 feet from the service line and high school 12 feet away. College is just
inside the baseline. Once the player is able to serve from behind the baseline, the player is said to
have graduated from school.
A unique game for beginners teaches them control and consistency and helps them resist the urge
to showboat or hit outright winners. In this game, players are paired up but the pairs are positioned
on opposite sides of the net facing each other. The teams rally by hitting volleys or half volleys and
the pair that can sustain the longest rally is the winner.

Rally-ball
Tennis games for beginners also have to be fun and some are designed to simulate the way points
are played in actual matches. Rally-ball is a good game because it can accommodate a lot of players
who would otherwise not yet be able to rally the ball normally. Players are divided into two teams. It
is a simple game.
One player drop-hits the ball to the other court where the first player from the opposing team tries
to hit it back. If the ball is hit out or into the net, the serving team wins the point. If the ball lands in
the doubles court, the receiving team wins the point. Roles are reversed for the next point while the
players on each team rotate so that everyone will get a chance to hit. The first team to score 25
wins.

King of the Court

Kings of the court is one of the most popular tennis games for beginners. This game requires the
players to pair up. One pair takes their place at the net on one court. They are the kings, queens,
rulers or champions. The other pairs line up behind the baseline on the opposite side of the net.
The kings will drop-hit the ball to the first pair of challengers who will then try to dethrone them by
winning the point. If they are successful, they have to run over to the other side of the net to assume
their positions as new kings.
Simultaneously, the dethroned kings lob the ball back to the next pair of challengers waiting on the
baseline as they run to the back of the line of challengers. If the kings aren’t dethroned, the
challengers will simply have to go to the back of their line and let the next pair take a crack at
dethroning the kings. There is a version of this game for singles as well.

Cross Court Rally

Playing live points is always more enjoyable for players because they get to feel what it is really like
to hit the ball under a fair amount of pressure. One of the tennis games for beginners that makes
use of playing live points while at the same time developing control and consistency is the simple
cross court rally game.
Players play individually against each other in this game. They stand at opposite deuce service boxes
and try to rally the ball back and forth using only the forehand. They switch to the ad sides and play
only backhands. The first player to score 21 wins.
There are many different ways that this game can be played. You can have students play only
forehands, even from the ad court. To keep things interesting and fresh, try to modify the games
from time to time.

Catch & Throw Game

Some tennis games for beginners combine the sport with other sports like baseball. In one particular
game, a group of four players line up on the baseline on one side of the court. Across the net, four
players take up their places in the service boxes and inside each corner of the baseline.
One of the net players feeds the ball to the first player in line who will then hit it back. The four
players will try to catch the ball on the fly. If the ball is caught, lands outside the lines or hits the net,
the hitter is replaced by the next player in the line-up. If the ball is not caught and lands within the
boundaries of the court, it is scored as a run and the teams switch sides and roles.

(Livestrong.com, 2019: Tennis Australia, 2017: Optimum Tennis, 2017)