On court with 4
Tennis drills for 4 playersMake every minute count. Turn a doubles group into a varied practice. Start with cooperative rallies, work on serve-and-return roles, and finish with a short team challenge.
Before your first ball. Call the ball and agree who covers the middle. Keep all four players involved, alternate the feeding role and use the listed round lengths so net, baseline and serving roles are shared fairly.
Plan a 4-player session Activities for 4 players
Doubles partner rotation: court pattern A serves with B at net against C receiving and D at net. Change partnerships after six points: AB/CD, AC/BD, AD/BC.
Net
A B C D 4 players · Beginner · 12 min
Play short doubles rounds and experience every partnership.
Doubles teamwork · Serve and return
Rackets + balls
Team consistency challenge: court pattern A and B share the near baseline, C and D the far baseline. Rally cooperatively to include all four; swap left/right after four rallies.
Net
A B C D 4 players · Beginner · 12 min
Build a cooperative doubles rally with everyone involved.
Consistency · Doubles teamwork
Rackets + balls
Doubles serve-and-return patterns: court pattern A serves to diagonal receiver C. B and D begin at net; after the return the point is open across doubles. Rotate servers after four points.
T Net
A B C D 4 players · Intermediate · 12 min
Connect the serve, return and first team decision.
Serve and return · Doubles teamwork
Rackets + balls
Net versus baseline teams: court pattern A and B are the near net team; C and D are the far baseline team. C feeds to A. Teams exchange net and baseline roles after four points.
Net
A B C D 4 players · Beginner · 12 min
Trade net and baseline roles in short, even rounds.
Volleys · Doubles teamwork
Rackets + balls
Parallel lane pairs: court pattern A and C rally straight in the left singles half with one ball; B and D use a second ball in the right half. The lanes do not cross. Both stop if either ball crosses the centre division.
T1 T2 Net
A B C D 4 players · Beginner · 10 min
Run two independent straight rallies with clear lane ownership and safe shared pauses.
Down the line · Consistency
Rackets + balls
Four-corner one-ball pattern: court pattern One ball follows A near left to C far left, C to B near right, B to D far right, then D to A. Near players hit straight and far players diagonally; swap ends after four sequences.
Net
A B C D 4 players · Intermediate · 12 min
Link straight and diagonal groundstrokes so all four players share one predictable pattern.
Crosscourt · Down the line · Doubles teamwork
Rackets + balls
Paired approach transition: court pattern C feeds short to near-left A. A approaches towards C as partner B advances in the near-right half; C and D defend behind the far baseline. Dashed routes show the pair moving forward together.
Net
A B C D 4 players · Intermediate · 12 min
Move forward as a pair after a short ball while keeping shared middle coverage.
Movement · Volleys · Doubles teamwork
Rackets + balls
Doubles lob switch point: court pattern C lobs over near-left net player A. Near-right baseline player B moves left to retrieve after a bounce while A switches to near-right net. B returns to C+D and the doubles point opens.
Net
A B C D 4 players · Intermediate · 12 min
Turn a defensive lob into a planned partner switch before opening a doubles point.
Movement · Doubles teamwork
Rackets + balls
Touch doubles in the boxes: court pattern A+B cover the near service-box area and C+D the far service-box area. All shots bounce once within shaded T; players stay in separate halves and call middle balls.
T T Net
A B C D 4 players · Beginner · 10 min
Make space with gentle placement while partners protect a compact shared court.
Doubles teamwork · Consistency
Rackets + balls
Middle then wide doubles: court pattern A+B and C+D begin at opposite baselines. The first four returns use central backcourt T at each end; after that, a wide ball may open the doubles point.
T T Net
A B C D 4 players · Intermediate · 12 min
Use a central ball to organise the rally before looking for open space.
Doubles teamwork · Crosscourt
Rackets + balls
Return and charge pair: court pattern A serves from near deuce to C at far left. C returns deep and advances in the far-left half beside net partner D. B begins near-left net; serving and receiving teams exchange roles after four points.
Net
A B C D 4 players · Intermediate · 12 min
Coordinate a forward-moving returner with a partner already guarding the net.
Serve and return · Volleys · Doubles teamwork
Rackets + balls
Alley pass and protect: court pattern Near-baseline A+B face far-net C+D. After a gentle feed and volley, the baseline pair can seek a pass into far doubles-alley T1 or T2. Targets are outside singles but inside doubles.
T1 T2 Net
A B C D 4 players · Intermediate · 12 min
Practise a controlled passing lane while a net pair protects the doubles alleys.
Volleys · Doubles teamwork · Down the line
Rackets + balls
Pressure points with a team budget: court pattern A serves near deuce with B at net, against C receiving and D at net. The teams may make one pre-point bonus call per eight-point round; this changes scoring, not court boundaries.
Net
A B C D 4 players · Beginner · 14 min
Choose when to use a limited bonus point and discuss a simple plan with a partner.
Doubles teamwork · Serve and return
Rackets + balls
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