Getting to the kitchen as a team

Setup

1. Two pairs on one court: A serves, B receives. Extra players wait outside the court and rotate in after each point.
2. A1 and A2 start behind the baseline. B1 receives at the baseline; B2, the returner's partner, starts at the kitchen line.

How it runs

1. A1 serves crosscourt. Both A players stay back: under the two-bounce rule the return must bounce before they can play it.
2. B1 lets the serve bounce, hits a deep return and moves straight in to stand level with B2 at the kitchen line.
3. A lets the return bounce and plays a third-shot drop. Both A players then come forward together, pausing in a split step each time a B player hits.
4. Play the point out. Award a bonus point to a pair that reaches the line side by side, neither player more than a step ahead of the other.
5. Swap serving and receiving every 4 points so everyone practises both journeys.

Coaching points

• Returners: a high, deep return buys the time you need to reach the line.
• Move as a pair. If one partner is held back, the other waits in the transition zone rather than charging ahead alone.
• Split-step as the opponent makes contact, read the ball, then move again.
• Stop just behind the kitchen line, not on it: if a volley's momentum carries you onto the line or into the kitchen, it is a fault.

Common mistakes

• The serving team creeping in before the return bounces, then getting a ball at their feet.
• The returner watching the return instead of moving forward straight away.
• Partners at different depths, leaving a gap down the middle.