The Wall

Submitted by Keith Richardson
Former Tour Player, Highly Ranked US Senior Player and Former Club Professional

Writers Note:

There is no substitute for a hitting wall. It doesn’t have to be expensive or pretty. Almost any wall will do from brick to wood to cinderblock. If there is not a wall available at your club, park or school, a building wall with a small parking lot will do nicely. Just get permission to use it first.

A great idea for CTA’s is to gather donations or have a local builder donate a hitting wall. Most builders have enough scrap left over from building a house to do the job. Perhaps a local Scout Troop could use it as a community project. Again, it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

The Wall

The best advice I can give any High School player that is wanting to improve is to find a brick, cinder block, or wooden backboard to hit balls against. This applies to any level: beginner, intermediate, or advanced skill level.

I grew up in Rock Hill, SC, and was lucky enough to live across the street from a public park that had 6 tennis courts. At age five I would go to the courts daily and swat balls against the FENCE for hours. I would get a good bounce about every third hit. With no formal instruction, I did this for hours on end, chasing the balls left and right until I finally got the perfect bounce to step in and hit, in my mind, the perfect forehand or backhand. Rallying against the fence made me watch the ball, move my feet, and get the racquet back. Little did I know that I was learning the basics to becoming a tennis player....I was just having fun!

The Rock Hill Parks & Recreation Department decided to add a gigantic cinder block wall behind one of the hard courts. They painted a black line across the middle that was the exact height of the net. It was an enormous wall and was so high I wondered if I could even hit a ball over the top. This wall was the greatest thing to happen to me and my brother David. We now had a hitting "partner" that never missed a return back to us and the rebound off the wall was the perfect bounce every time! We spent hours hitting against the wall. As we improved from repetition, the wall became an opponent that we tried to beat with long rallies, lobs, drop shots, service aces, and kill shots.

I became addicted to the wall, seeing if I could hit one more shot than I did the day before making an error. On weekdays I would rise extra early and hit before going to school. As soon as I got home, I was off to the wall for my hitting fix! Games to "twenty shots in a row" grew to fifty and then one hundred.

I owe my current tennis skill to that wall. It gave me the foundation that helped me begin playing State and Southern Junior tournaments, a collegiate career at Appalachian State University, and then onto four years on the ATP/USTA Professional Tour.

For the High School player, the wall rules are simple: watch the ball, move your feet, get the ball on first bounce, and try to hit one more ball today than you did yesterday. Pretty good strategy for any level player!

Go get 'em!

Keith Richardson