Drop ladder

Setup

• The feeder at the kitchen line, with a handful of balls.
• The dropper at the baseline on the other side, straight across.

How it works

1. The feeder hits a deep ball to the dropper.
2. The dropper hits a drop. If it lands in the feeder’s kitchen and low enough that they can’t attack it, the dropper climbs a rung: one step in.
3. A drop that floats, lands outside the kitchen, or goes into the net: back down a rung.
4. Reach the kitchen line and you’ve climbed the ladder. Swap.

Turn the dial

Easier: the feeder feeds softer and to the forehand.

Harder: the feeder attacks any drop that floats instead of catching it, so a bad drop costs you the point, not just a rung.