If your local tennis court has a backboard, then you’ve doubtless experimented with practicing your strokes against it. While it can be a somewhat helpful experience (especially if you can’t get anyone to come out and play with you), you may have had mixed results. Even if you can refrain from hitting the ball over the wall (innocent whistle), you’ll notice that the balls don’t come back the same way they would if you had a partner hitting them to you over the net.
Well, this dual-curved and tilted Ralley Champion backboard from Tennis Express may be a better training option. Its features are supposed to make your ball rebound with “extraordinary realism, as opposed to the typical non-tilted backboard where balls bounce downward at an unrealistic angle.” An optional sound-reduction kit can keep the noise down too.
Of course, the fancy backboard costs more than $2,000, so if this is just going to be for personal use, you might be better off buying a ball machine.
Trying to perfect your topspin forehand and backhand? Need to work on getting your whole body into the rotation? Well, here’s the tennis gadget to help:
Tennis Swivel Disks.
You stand on the bouncy disks, and they’re supposed to teach you how to use your entire body to generate force, not just your arm or shoulder. “Our Swivel Disks help players feel optimal body rotation needed to generate powerful topspin forehand and backhand groundstrokes… players will gain a quick feel for naturally opening the hips to gain more power from the body’s core. A second benefit is increased loading of ground forces, the result of improved balance.”
Though they might not look like much in the picture, the 11″ slip-resistant swivel disks have dozens of steel ball bearings inside, “to ensure a smooth circular glide.”
$49 from Mansion Select
Unless you belong to a tennis club, it can be hard to practice your game, especially when the weather isn’t ideal. Not only do you need a dry court that’s free of leaves and debris, but you need a partner. This makes tennis less easy to practice than some other sports. Even if you’re lucky enough to belong to a club and have access to ball machines, there might be days where you’d just like to hit a few balls without driving anywhere.
Enter the English Tennis Trainer.
This is a device you can set up in your yard or driveway, so you can work on your strokes right at home.
“Made by John Jaques of London, the oldest game and athletic equipment manufacturer in the world, this tennis trainer allows you to hone tennis skills without requiring a partner, reloading ball machines, or chasing errant shots… As you hit the ball, it will rebound with considerable force, testing your reflexes and ability to maintain a rally. The trainer allows you to practice serving, forehand and backhand shots, and drop shots with the same mechanics that are required during an actual match.”
Everyone knows you need special shoes to play tennis (well, everyone who plays tennis knows that anyway), but did you know you can get special tennis socks too?
The Falke TE2 Tennis Sock has support features specifically designed for tennis players. Here’s a look at what they offer:
- Specially designed support function
- Ankle and toe cushion
- Lateral instep cushion
- Stabilizing effect
- Anatomically shaped foot bed for the left and right foot with air circulation
Maybe all those cushions and supports will keep you from getting foot and ankle injuries while playing. At the very least the air circulating foot beds might mean your feet don’t get as sweaty (a boon for your stinky tennis shoes!).
Available at Technical Sports Socks
What aspiring tennis star doesn’t want a tennis ball machine of her own? Imagine being able to go out and practice any time you want, whether you’ve got someone to play with or not. Having your own ball machine would be a heck of a lot better than hitting a ball against the side of the garage.
While any tennis ball machine would do for practice (ideally a small portable one unless you own your own club), the Swing Shot Tennis Robot looks particularly promising.
Unlike with a traditional ball machine, the robot hits balls from a racket instead of just launching them from a little hole. Practice your split steps and getting ready as the ball is about to come your way.
Ball speeds can be adjusted between 20-70 km/h and can be set for specific strokes such as lob, spin, and smash.
The Swing Shot is of Japanese origins, so it may be hard to get in the Western half of the world, but maybe some day!
If you’re running out of room in the garage, storage room, closet, etc. for all your fitness equipment, you might want to look at racks that let you put your sporting gear on the walls.
For lovers of racket sports, this little wall rack could be handy:
The StoreWall Racquet Rack holds up to 7 rackets of any type (tennis, squash, badminton, racquetball, etc.) and two cans of balls (or six individual balls).
You do need to have a GadgetGrid or StoreWall system already (or buy one at the same time), which mounts to the wall and lets you hang a variety of racks, baskets, etc. to your wall for storage. If you’re short on space, it’s probably not a bad investment.
Just the racket rack is $25 at Amazon:
The Tennis Twist ball machine
Since this machine doesn’t need to be plugged in, it can be used on outdoor courts.
The unique spiral “twist” design allows it to hold 28 balls that won’t become clogged inside. It shoots one ball per 5 seconds, and the ball arc can be adjusted from anywhere between 12 and 20 feet.
The ball machine has an adjustable range, too, so it can actually be used off court in settings such as driveways, backyards, and even basements.
Pick yours up at Amazon: Tennis Twist Ball Machine