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on court

Serve to the towel

1 player · 10 min

Setup

  • A court and a bucket of balls.
  • Fold two towels in half and lay them in the deep corners of one service box: one against the baseline by the sideline, one against the baseline by the center line.
  • Serve from the diagonal box, as in a game.

How it works

  1. Ten serves at the sideline towel.
  2. Ten at the center-line towel.
  3. Change sides and do the same into the other box.

Score

Only a ball that lands on a towel counts. Near it doesn’t. Out of 40, write down your score and try to beat it next time. Most players start lower than they expect.

Turn the dial

Easier: unfold the towels, or count any serve that lands in the back third of the box.

Harder: alternate towels on every serve, so you never hit the same target twice in a row, as in a game.

Why it works, and the rallies drawn out →