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Forehand Cross-Court Rally

Rally forehands cross-court with a partner, aiming past the service line for depth.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Stand at the baseline corners, both on the forehand side.

Core: Medium. Beat your own longest rally.

Ages
11 and up
Time
10 min
Players
You and a partner
Space
Gym or court
Bring
Racket, balls, partner, court
Level · skill
Developing · Forehand

The steps

How it works

  1. Stand at the baseline corners, both on the forehand side.
  2. Rally cross-court with full swings at a steady pace.
  3. Aim each ball to land past the service line.
  4. Count your longest rally out of 5 tries.

Coaching point

Through the ball, finish high.

Safety: Use the ball and court for your age: red ball on a short court at 8 and under, orange at 9 to 10, green at 10 to 12.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Rally game: a pair rallies forehands and tries to beat its own longest rally, then swaps feeders.

Challenge

Pick a level: Less (soft balls, close), Core (medium), More (cross-court targets). Beat your own longest rally.

Story

You are playing the last rally of a final.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own longest rally. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

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